The Birthday Festivities!!

Holden is THREE !!! :)

At 5:03pm on Thanksgiving day, our little boy was three years old.

And so, three years old deserves 3 celebrations, right? At least. :)

The birthday festivities began with presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house after Thanksgiving dinner - and I think we've watched Toy Story 3 every day since! He loves it. And that night, after "the babies" (as Holden calls them) were in bed, we let him open one present, sang him Happy Birthday, and let him blow out some candles.

Then on Friday, we went to the Cleveland Zoo and Rainforest! We'd been telling Holden that we'd take him to the Rainforest for his birthday, but it was such a nice day, that we even got to walk around the zoo for a bit. We enjoyed the sunshine while we found the leopard, rhinos, polar bear, elephants, and a few others. Then we went in and had lunch and looked around at all the animals in the Rainforest. All the boys did really good, and I think Holden had lots of fun getting to walk around all by himself. So grown up, I tell ya ;)

And then on Sunday night, Mimi, Pap Pap, and Uncle Tyler B came over to our house for pizza and a small party. The Birthday Boy got some more great toys and I'm thinking they might just be enough to keep him busy until Christmas :)

Opening some presents at Grandma and Grandpa's house

They both look so happy and excited ♥

Toy Story 2! A major hit at this house.







Family Photo
(Holden's 3rd Birthday and Graham's first Thanksgiving - It was a big day for us :))








And waiting to blow out his candles while Mommy and Daddy
sang him Happy Birthday that night

The Rainforest!

Beautiful Birthday Boy♥

Pointing out the turtles

Climbing up for a better look

Daddy showing Bridger the orangutan and asking what the monkey says

Getting a lift....

... to see the fishies!

A back seat full of sleepy boys after their big day :)

Opening some presents with Mimi and Pap Pap....
It's a Doodle Pad from Aunt Megan!

New Shoes!

Watching the fun and feeding the babe

The traditional picture of Uncle Tyler B - on the couch, phone in hand

Pap Pap helping open the tractor

A mellow Daddy and Baby Graham

Playing with Mimi and the Doodle Pad

And one last gift... a train set!

Happy boy waiting for Daddy to get it all out for him

Learning how to work the remote control for the train. Doesn't he look so big?!

Playing train set with Pap Pap

And Bridger trying out the Lightning McQueen slippers

Time for cake!
Everyone singing to the handsome man of the hour. ♥

The "after party" with Daddy and the boys

All ready for bed.... just a few more minutes with the new train

Daddy and Bridger - the spectators :)

And one last story....

The train is crashing! Buzz Lightyear, to the rescue!

And Buzz flies in to save the day!
(I just love how you can see Holden's lips making the sound effects :))

Already 3 months old

Just growing like weeds over here....

Graham is already 3 months old now! And truly, he's a good baby.

I mean, he's not gonna lay there by himself and just chill for hours on end... as if.... but in general, as long as his basic needs are met, he's pretty darn content. And deliciously sweet. Mm. Love those cheeks.

We've had no issues with food sensitivity or "colic" or anything like that and he really only fusses if he needs something. So it's kind of hard to complain about that.

He is still in our room (and half the night, laying right beside me...) but, soon we'll try to start the transition to his crib. I'm not really worried about him. I'm just kind of concerned about Holden and Bridger... since we have a 3 bedroom house and in order for Graham to have the "nursery," Bridger and Holden have to learn how to share a room for the first time. And not wake each other and, most importantly, Mommy, up all night long.

And Graham's also now finally getting the hang of bottles, and actually starting to prefer them. So I think we may be starting to phase out breastfeeding. We made it a good 3 months - which, with 2 other little ones to deal with, is honestly longer than I even expected. So I guess we shall soon see what Mr. Graham thinks of formula...

Also, he's lost almost all his hair, loves bath time, is ticklish now, seems like he's starting to reach for/realize when he's touching things now, and giggled (at Daddy) for the first time the other night. It was adorable. I took a little video clip, maybe I'll have to post it for you all. Daddy was blowing raspberries and Graham just loved it.♥

Anyhow, here he is, sitting on Sunday - the bench on the day he turned 3 months old.





Such a sweet pea ♥

Boys, Boys, Boys. (Boys)

Ok, I'm sorry, but so how cute is this baby?! ♥ Squee!



Little munchkin! When he's all smiley and happy like this, I just want to snuggle him and kiss his cheeks all day.







Also, so how much does he look like his Daddy (as a baby)?!



Whenever Jared holds him, facing out, I just can't take it. I feel like he's holding his little mini me.

And I know his looks may still change quite a bit while he grows, but for now, he is just such a handsome little Daddy look-alike.




And just because: all my handsome little boys together one morning.




Isn't it just too much cute?

You're welcome. :)

The Adventures of Captain Underpants

There comes a point in every child's life, when he or she inevitably puts something ridiculous on their head just to see what it will be like. Here is that story for Holden....

One boring morning, a small boy named Holden thought to himself, "Hmm, I wonder what would happen if I put these underpants on my head?"

And as his brother watched, this small, ordinary boy transformed before his very eyes.....

And Captain Underpants was born!
(PS: New favorite picture.)

Now, there wasn't too much need for a hero at this particular point in time, so he mostly just ran around shouting....

... looking for an adventure.

And always with his trusty side kick, Stripey Boy, close behind.

(Also - with occasional pauses to check on the progress of "his show.")








But soon, Stripey Boy went mad with all the excitement, and started trying to climb the walls.







And within a matter of minutes, he was stuck, teetering on the edge and ready to fall!







And Mommy said, "Beautiful Baby Graham! - who was thoroughly enjoying all the hullabaloo, by the way - Stripey Boy is stuck! Who will save him? Whoever shall we call?"

Baby Graham looked to the heavens for the answer....

And, as if by magic, Captain Underpants appeared to save the day!



..... But soon, our dear super hero began to think of the future... and of retirement. He knew in his heart that he would need a replacement.


And just as though it were meant to be, his always faithful sidekick Stripey Boy stepped up to fill his shoes.

In a supreme ceremony, Captain Underpants valiantly passed on the torch to his brave young replacement - crowning young Stripey Boy the new hero of the day.

And everyone cheered! Hooray! The people of earth are once again safely protected under the power of a Captain Underpants!

All except Baby Graham, who said, "Pssht. Fools. Get some pants."


The End :)