Well, Graham is officially 10 months old today, so very hard to believe! But, he sure does act it, something new and different every single day! Like today, we were just sitting in the formal living room playing one minute and the next thing you know he made a bee line crawling for the steps and we never dreamed that he could actually climb up them! Time to break out the gates!

Next weekend is Deans bday so we are having a bday cookout at the lake with both our families, so we are looking forward to that. Hopefully, sometime this week, we will have Grahams official 10 month photo shoot, we have some fun ideas for that, so stay tuned! And, here is one last shot of him "walking" with his walking toy that Mama and daddy got him. He looks very serious, woudlnt you say???? He is crawling like a mad man and standing and pulling up lots, but not ready to walk yet, but looks like it might not be long!

Today, we spent most of the day in Colonial Williamsburg. It was all very pretty and historic, lots and lots of people in costumes re-enacting things and giving tours of various things. We had lunch at a nice little tavern and Graham even got to sit in a old timey wooden high back chair style high chair! We have been seeing kids and adults in "colonial" hats and bonnets and clothes all week, wherever we were, so we knew we wanted to get Graham his very own hat. So, that was one of our first stops.

Today, we visited Jamestown, there are two parts to it, the Jamestown Settlement and Historic Jamestown, between the two, there were lots of museums, forts, indian villages, artifacts and of course the replica ships! It was all really neat and Graham again just took it and all the people in.

On Tuesday, we headed out to Yorktown in the morning, we toured Yorktown Victory Center and did a driving tour of the battlefields. It was really neat. Then, we went over to the riverwalk and had lunch at Riverwalk Landing, a cute little place right on the York River. After lunch, we took Graham down to the beach and let him have his first exposure to the sand and the water, he wasnt too sure about it!

We decided to go to Busch Gardens today, because it was only supposed to be in the 80s, as opposed to 90s the rest of the week. We got to the park a little before 9am and the weather was great and it wasnt crowded at all. Dean jumped on the Loch Ness Monster roller coaster first thing and got his roller coaster fix for the day. Then, we rode the train all around the park, Graham loved seeing all the sites. We worked our way through the different countries and landed in German and took a ride on the carousel and then Graham and I rode a kiddie type ferris wheel, but we were in eggs. We went up really high and he was fascinated! Then, we headed in to the Festhaus for a german lunch (well not for Graham, he has his usual!).

Tomorrow, we are heading to Yorktown!

We have a great first day of vacation! We got on the road around 745am Sunday morning. Graham slept the first couple hours and then played with toys and had a bottle the last stretch. He did so good on the ride, he only fussed a little right at the end. We got to the hotel around noon and our room wasnt ready yet, so we went to Uno Chicago Pizza for lunch and then headed to Newport News for the afternoon.

We went to the Mariners Museum and saw boats and ships and ships and boats and lots of history. Graham enjoyed the stroller ride and took it all in. The museum is surrounded by Lake Muary and has a five mile trail around it, we didnt make the whole five miles, but we did hike a good little bit. After we left the museum, we took the scenic route back through Newport News and Dean tried to see what he recognized from 23 years ago.... not much! He did see one of Michelles old schools and the school his mom taught at and the McDonalds where he had two bday parties! We saw the turns to Ft Eustis, but didnt try venture onto base. We got ourselves oriented to the area and then went to Captain Georges Seafod Buffet for dinner, very very yummy!!!!

We finally got back to the hotel around 630pm and got checked in, which only took about 4 trips to the jeep!!!! We have a suite with a bedroom, living room and full kitchen, very very spacious and we love it. So, we got settled and Graham explored the very non-baby proof suite and then we went for a walk around the hotel grounds, there is a pond and a playground, so we went and played a bit on the playground. Then, back to the room for bath time and bedtime! Busch Gardens is on the schedule for Monday!

We are ready to head out on Sunday morning for our week in Wiliamsburg, we are very excited and hope to have lots of fun! The jeep is loaded down as if we are gonna be gone a month! I always was a heavy packer, but traveling with a little one really made me even worse! We plan to get up around our normal time on Sunday morning (since someone doesnt let us sleep late on the weekends) and be on the road first thing. Hopefully, Graham will sleep alot in the car like he normally does!

He still isnt very interested in table foods, we keep offering and trying different things and he pretty much keeps refusing! So, I guess he is trying to tell us that he just isnt ready. Luckily he eats the jars food, of any kind so good, we will just continue with those!

He finally is consistently crawling with his belly off the ground, although he can go faster when he drags his belly and still reverts back to that. And, pulling up and standing are a constant. Actually pulling up and standing doesnt satisfy him, next, he wants to climb up whatever he pulls up on! Like the highchairs at daycare! They call him little acrobat and said the room will be very boring this coming week without him! A new little girl was joining his room this week, so he remains the only boy! Guess he likes to show off for all the girlies!

Okay, next time I post, I will have some vacation pics!!!!

Graham continues to be so very very active. He is pulling up on anything and everything that he possibly can. Now, he will pull up in his crib within seconds of being set in it and then proceeds to walk around it and tear down his mobile! He is cruising along furniture, us, anything. At daycare, they have decided that he isnt about to walk, but rather that he is about to RUN, ha! I know we are in for quite a wild ride when that begins!

We are still struggling with the table foods. He is finally eating the puffs and little biter biscuits, but that is about it. He did eat a few bites of a sweet potato on Saturday, but mainly we are sticking to jars of baby food. Baby yogurt and "real" applesauce in different flavors are a hit. And, we are working on some of the Stage 3 meats and lumpier veggies, but he still really prefers the Stage 2 fruits, veggies and meats. He has eaten chicken and vegetable the last two days like it is the best thing he ever had! So, he is eating lots and lots of jars each day now and his milk intake is starting to decrease, so I guess we are making a little progress.

This weekend was all LAKE! On Saturday, we went to the pool first, and there was a sailboat race going on, so we were able to watch that get underway, Graham watched very intently. Then, we took Graham out on our sailboat for the first time, he enjoyed it very much. We were out for about an hour and half and he ate, played, napped, found the ropes and just had a really good time! Then, on Sunday, Mama and daddy, Kenneth and Danah came down and we went to another part of the lake and rented a pontoon boat. We took a big bucket of chicken and headed out! Grandpa thought it would be fun to let Graham drive and he grabbed that steering wheel like it was the most natural thing in the world!!!!!! We rode about an hour and half and then got to our marina, so we parked the boat and went for a swim at our pool (it was 91 degrees) and then got back on the boat and rode another two hours. Something about the rocking must have put Graham out, he took a nice long nap on each leg! It was a lot of fun and Graham really seems to have his sea legs! Guess it was a good idea to decorate his room with all that nautical stuff afterall!!!!!

Next Sunday, we leave for our vacation to Williamsburg, we are very excited, so this week we will be busy packing and getting ready! I hope to do some travel blogging during our trip, so stay tuned!

Graham had his nine month check-up on Thursday, just a few days after he turned nine months old. He weighed 21 and half pounds, 64th percentile and was 30.5 inches, 97%, she said he is gonna be tall! And, his head was 18 inches, 61 percentile. So, all in all, pretty good. We told her how he still isnt really interested in table food. She said to give him the jar food until he shuts his mouth and turns his head and wont eat anymore and that his milk intake will start to decrease. She said to just keep working on the table food, but go to stage 3 jars in the meantime and multiple jars at each feeding. The plan is to take away his bottles at a year and switch to whole milk, so we will see! Finally, in the last couple days, he has started liking the puffs and the little hard biscuits and crackers! So, a little progress. Graham had his first wedding to attend this weekend. It was a big weekend for us all. It was the wedding of a longtime family friend, Stacy Scott, and last fall, she asked me to direct the wedding and Dean to play the piano for the wedding. So, the wedding was Saturday, 7-7-07! We went to Mama and Daddys on Friday afternoon and then headed to the rehearsal. It was a carribean theme, so we all dressed the part. Graham had lots of fun, so much fun he didnt want to go to bed on Friday night!!!

All in all, it was lots and lots of fun and we are very happy for Stacy and Chris! I have tons of pics that I am going to try to get posted today (sunday) from the wedding and the past two weeks. Better go get busy!

Graham is better from his latest round of sickness, so that is good news, but I was at the doctor twice this week with my sinus infection that just wont go away! Tuesday was my bday and I dont recall ever being sick on my bday! We did go out for a nice dinner downtown. Tammy picked up Graham from daycare, since the place we went to wasnt really for a little one. We had a nice evening and Graham seemed to have a fun evening too! We will back at the doctor this coming week, but for a well check! Grahams nine month appt is on Thursday. I dont think he gets any shots and it will be exciting to see all his stats.

We had a full grandparent weekend. We went and visited with Deans parents on Saturday and had a nice lunch out with them. Then, after church on Sunday, my parents came down and we went and spent the rest of the day at the lake. Graham again loved being in the pool, especially in his float. He stayed in for the longest time until finally we just got him out, then he ate, took a long nap in the gazebo and then was ready to go back in the water. Daddy and Dean went out on the boat too, so a fun day for everyone.

We have been experimenting a little bit with finger foods and table foods and Graham is not the least bit interested. For months, everything within reach has went straight into Grahams mouth, but we put the puffs or cheerios on his high chair table and he will pick them up, look at them, talk to them, but will NOT put them in his mouth. We have tried some bread and even some baked potato and nothing interests him. So, we started on the jar meats and he has gobbled those down like crazy - chicken noodle, vegetable beef, chicken and rice, turkey and rice, chicken and sweet potato. How in the world he will eat those and not a baked potato is beyond me!!! We have packed up all the pacifiers as he hasnt show any interest in those in a long while and he is getting better and better at drinking his milk or water or juice out of a sippy cup. So, lots of new exciting times. I guess we will just give the foods a little while longer and surely he will come around!