Their chariot awaits

The other day^* we decided to take the kiddos out for a walk. This may^** have been motivated by my impatient desire to try out our new "kid chariot" - our Bumbleride Indie Twin. I've been drooling over this stroller since Graham was itsy-bitsy, and I was pretty convinced this was "the" stroller I "needed" as soon as I found out I was going to have two under two. And it did not disappoint!

The Bumbleride gets Graham's approval!!

We ended up walking down to our corner market and grabbed some bagels and (much needed) coffee.

Smiling and drinking coffee. Coincidence?? I don't think so :-)

Eating a 'nana (yes, in his jammies!!) and lovin' it

Graham takes his milk drinking very seriously

After our al fresco breakfast, we continued on down the road to what will be Graham's elementary school. They have an incredible playground!!

SEE?? And this is only half of it!!

We were highly impressed with the elaborate play structures, and even moreso by the fact that the elementary school is a "green" school, with on-premises recycling and a playground composed of recycled plastic :-)

Enjoying the fruits of mom's recycling obsession ;-)

I give the day, the stroller, AND our first outing as a family of four a BIG THUMBS UP!



^* and by "the other day," I really mean "many, many days ago. Like 14. Or maybe 21. I'm a little behind on my blogging. I plead "newborn, nursing, sleep deprived" insanity. K?"

^** and by "may" I mean "absolutely it was!"

Hell on two wheels feet...

Shortly before Christmas, Graham's Oma generously purchased him his very first pair of real, big-boy walking shoes. Prior to getting these walkers, which are the "next best thing to barefoot walking," G had been in soft-soles shoes like his PediPeds, which I don't think were offering him quite enough support. Once we got him in the StrideRites, the improvement in his walking skills were near instantaneous. Which is great, I love watching Graham improve and develope new skills, but yeah... he's EVERYWHERE now!!!

He gravitates to cabinets and their contents. The more breakable/spillable/crumb-producing, the better:

@ Oma's house, getting into her baking goods

He has a newfound love of toilet paper, tissue-filled trash cans, and that little porcelain "pool" in the powder room:



Shoes? I don't need no stinkin' shoes now, I'm a professional walker! (And yes, those ARE mini-Saucony trainers! Aren't they just too freaking ah-door-ah-ble?!?!?)


He's not even safe in his little "baby jail" anymore. He just wants to get out and RUN.



Who knew these little things could cause so much trouble?!?!



So yeah, a big ol' huge THANKS MOM for getting him those walking shoes. How ever will I repay you?!?!?

Oops, gotta go, *someone* is getting into the entertainment center. Again....

Catching up, the lightening round!

Whew, busy month! Sorry for the lack of updates, here's a quick month-in-review:

Graham went up north and saw his Grammy and Grampy

...and the tree planted in his honor

Got a new stroller

Started crawling, and is going everywhere, FAST!
...and getting into EVERYTHING


The lucky boy got some fun new toys (thanks Melissa!)

And gets cuter by the minute!

For Daddy...

We went to Graham's buddy Grayden's baptism party this weekend, and Graham had lots of fun meeting all the new people, but mostly, he was just diggin' hanging out with his daddy. Check out the big smile below:

My two favorite boys!

First Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of my friends and family! I certainly enjoyed my first Mother's Day - I was treated to a delicious brunch (at Big Rock! nomnom!), an hour massage, and a day spent hanging out with my boys. It was great to kick back, spend the afternoon in my jammies, and just relax with my fam.

Because she's pretty darn important in my life, I spent the day before Mother's Day with my mommy. My sister and I met up with her for an afternoon of shopping, facials and dessert. If you've never tried the carrot cake at J. Alexanders, I HIGHLY recommend it. It's too delicious for words, and definitely big enough to share! And because it's a hilarious picture, I HAVE to post this one:

I LOVE YOU MOM!
Happy Mother's Day, thanks for making me the super mom I am, I learned from the best :-)

Brady

Every once in a while, you come across an animal that touches your heart. It might be a crazy canine, like Marley, or a clever horse like Misty, or a goofy cat like.... Garfield??? (Ok, so I'm not a "cat person," sorry!). I was lucky enough to have one of those special companionships with my weimaraner, Brady. He was my sweet 16 birthday present, and from the minute we brought him home, he was MINE. He went everywhere with me, slept in my bed, kissed me when I cried, and loved me with all his heart. I may not have been the best, most dotting dog-mom he deserved, but he certainly was the best dog ever, hands down.

Growing up, I always imagined having pictures taken on my wedding day, me in my dress, hugging my best friend. And I always thought what a great big "brother" Brady would be to my babies. Unfortunately, Brady passed away from brain cancer before my life reached any of those milestones. So today, on the anniversary of his passing, please just take a minute to hug your pets and remember your special friends.

Bradford Doubleday Allstar Tettleton
February 27, 1994 - April 27, 2006

I miss you, buddy

Oma's birthday surprise....

I've been waiting for what seems like forever to make this post.... we had Graham's three month professional pictures taken a few weeks ago, and the results are STUNNING.

Now, I know I'm *just a titch* biased, but damn, do I have an adorable son! And Jessica at Mod4 Photography captured him perfectly -- I have a perfect mix of his smiley, goofy faces, his Serious!Baby! looks, and his adorably pouty faces. I couldn't have wished for, hoped for, or planned for pictures any more perfect than the ones Jessica took. Unfortunately, I couldn't share them with the world, since I had planned on presenting my mom (Graham's Oma) with one as part of her birthday present.

We spent Saturday afternoon with my mom, and she LOVED the naked baby pictures we gave her. So, without any further ado, here are some of Graham's three month pictures. And be sure to follow the link at the end of this email to view (and have the option to purchase) the rest of the 64 spectacular pictures Jessica took:


To check out the rest of the pictures, go to Graham's Gallery. The password is our last name, in all lower case letters.

Cool Aunt Karen

Graham's one pretty lucky kid. He has an amazing extended family that loves him to bits and pieces. Grandparent, aunts and uncles, cousins, and godparents who all think he's the best, sweetest, and most deliciously cute baby ever (and in my completely un-biased opinion, they're completely right!!!).

Graham's particularly lucky to have his Aunt Karen* around - and by extension, so are we. This past Friday, Aunt Karen came over to babysit so Mom and Dad could spend some much-needed time out, baby-free. It was our little pre-Valentine's Day surprise for Daddy!!! Erik and I had such a great time out; we went to a quick dinner, had some minor movie-time drama (hey, you didn't expect us to have an entire night free of chaos, did you?!?!), and caught a show. We HIGHLY recommend Taken, the new Liam Neeson movie that's out right now. We loved it, it was a good mix of drama, action and a good plot-line. And I'm sure *those* of you (and you know who you are!) that find Liam super-sexy won't be disappointed either!

Anyway, back to Aunt Karen... she just loves her little nephew. I can honestly say that Graham and I wouldn't have enjoyed my maternity leave nearly as much without K around to lend a hand, entertain and provide much-needed respites. I can't count how many times I've been saved from a near-breakdown or been on the brink of chaos, only to have Aunt Karen come to my rescue. So, it's time for my public acknowledgment........ THANK YOU, SIS! You rock!

Nostalgic moment: 3 week old Graham
shopping with Aunt Karen on Black Friday

*aka: the chick legally known as Karen Marie, but who insists on being referred to as Karin....