6 Weeks Old (April 7 - 21)

Graham is 6 weeks old today! Here are a few pictures of what we've been up to for the last two weeks.

There has been quality time with Millie.

which Graham is pretty relaxed about. 

 

A night at the brewery. The Moby wrap worked great for getting around. 

More bottles and burps with dad. All is calm here...

And then check out this action shot!

Snuggles with mom. 

 

And Aaron and I enjoyed our first night OUT while Grandma and Grandpa Hill babysat. We went to Indian Palace and Bar Nine with Robyn and Brandon. Home by 10:00 and it felt great! 

Graham was in good hands and didn't seem to miss us at all.

Bright eyes.... 

Passed out... 

More resting...

Just chilling

And more time in the bathroom

Fresh and clean in his personalized towel from the Veseys. 

The Moby wrap is magical....guaranteed sleeping every time. I took advantage and even made some "cinnamon swirl bread" with Graham in this. First time I've cooked or baked anything since he was born. We've been a tad spoiled with gifts of food from friends and family. 

On Wednesday, April 10, Graham turned 1 month! I'm going to try to keep up on documenting his monthly milestones. And I can't decide which method is best, so there are a few options.

Option 1: New fabric each month

Option 2: On our wedding quilt

Option 3: On the recliner with his personalized blanket

 

Annnnnnd....Graham is over it. 

So I'll attempt some sort of combination each month. Hopefully I keep up on all of them! 

On Saturday, April 13, Graham made his first trip to the zoo for Norah Hardy's 3rd birthday party. Since the weather is still garbage here, we spent the day inside, entertained by the carousel. I'm sure Graham will LOVE this in no time. In the meantime, mom and dad took a spin and had a blast! 

On Tuesday, April 16, Dad and Jan came to visit.

As you can see from these pictures, Graham is having no trouble growing. We went to the "Nurturing Connections" group at Sanford on Wednesday, April 17 and Graham officially weighed 12.2 pounds. Such a big boy!! I love how big his belly is in this next picture.

Then on Thursday, Graham and I made our first road trip together. We went to Fergus Falls to visit Mindy and meet her and Titus's new little guy, Leif! I think the boys played very well together and started off a lifelong friendship on the right foot.

 

 
On Friday, Graham and I met up with friends Erin Welle and Baby Declan for a walk at Family Wellness. Graham is becoming a regular. And I take way too many pictures of him in his car seat, but I just couldn't resist the way his cheeks were resting on his shoulder...

Oh, and ok. Here are a few more in the car seat ...

These were taken while Aaron and I enjoyed the fine dining of HiHo on Friday night. Graham had a good time watching us eat but eventually got bored and fell asleep. 

Saturday was "Manadatory Mama Day" (required by Aaron; named by me). He's been busy with school and gone a few nights so he sent me away on Saturday to get a massage and relax. It was a great day! I had a massage in the morning and then shopped a little before enjoying lunch at Nichole's in downtown Fargo. But being reunited with Graham and Aaron was a great way to end the day!

Saturday night we went to a surprise 30th birthday party at the Green Mill (for Baby Declan's dad, Matt). Graham did a great job meeting lots of new people!

At 4 weeks old, we officially moved Graham to his crib downstairs and we've all been doing great with the arrangement! The video monitor is worth every penny and makes it easy to keep an eye on Graham from upstairs. And he (and we) have been sleeping better since moving him out of our room. He's been sleeping about 4 to 5 hours at a time at night. But this weekend it got even better (I hope I'm not jinxing it by saying (typing) it out loud. On Friday night he slept for 6 hours straight. Then on Saturday night he actually slept for 8 hours! I couldn't believe it. I still woke up around 4:00 a.m. and thought I would hear him cry soon. But when I woke up again, it was 6:30 and he was just waking up for the first time since 10:30! I credit the new onesie (from Aunt Chelsey) that he slept in that night. If it really is magical, you can believe he'll be sleeping in it every night and we'll cut the feet out when he gets too tall for it! :)

 

With all of us well-rested, we got into our Sunday best and headed to church the next morning. 

Then Grandma came over and helped the little man fall fast asleep. 

And I don't know how it took this long, but Millie has discovered Graham's chair

So that's what we've been up to lately. Until next time ...

Weeks 3 and 4 (March 25 - April 6)

Graham is growing and changing every day. Even in these two weeks of pictures, I can see changes. He is also going on all sorts of adventures! On March 26, we visited Daddy at the brewery. After feeding him, I enjoyed my first Porter on tap!

He enjoyed another bath with his cool new towel...

And some lounging around.

Then Graham got to meet his new friend, Peyton Larson. Due 4 days apart (G = March 15; P = March 19) and born two weeks apart (G = March 10 and P = March 26), these two will be best friends in no time!

The little man enjoyed some swinging... 

 

Some visits from Grandma Ange and Aunt Robyn

Other visitors to the house since being home include: 

John and Andrea Lillestol

Mindy and Titus Christianson

Brandie Strieff

Amber DeKrey

Matt and Erin Welle

Kris Lindemann

Aunt Cheryl Miller

Emily Gess

Lindsay Koffler

Abby Barber Burgum

Erin Westby

Randy and Marilee Johnson

Tyler Bosch

Mary Seiffert

Amie Fortier

Laura and Teddy Owens

Here's Graham and mama enjoying some quality time together.

And more snuggles with mom .. "insta-Graham" style. :)

Our big boy has officially transitioned to his 3 month clothes.

And has to wear mittens now since he started scratching his face. 

Graham and I have gotten more adventurous, going on multiple trips to the gym, mall, Target, Scheels and more. He does great in his car seat and in the car, so it works out well for both of us. Mama gets out of the house and Graham gets some quality rest in.

Since I don't yet really know how to use our stroller, and I hadn't realized that the mall rents out little car seat carriers/strollers, we rolled around the mall in this sweet Sears cart on our first trip there while I was having my tires rotated and oil changed. I'm sure the passerbys in the mall were very impressed... 

On Saturday the 30th, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa Hills for a little pre-Easter celebration. As you can see, it was Graham's request to get away from home and over to Grandma's.

And this was the welcoming committee. They couldn't take their eyes off of him from the moment we arrived. 

Aunt Chelsey got some quality time in with the little guy. 

And so did Grandma... 

Then Sunday was Graham's first Easter. He did great at church and then slept his way through most of the afternoon at Grandma Ange's. Uncle Eric kept him good company on the floor. 

 

Family picture. 

We think he looked pretty cute in his Easter bibs. 

Sunday was also the day Graham turned 3 weeks old which meant we were ready to start on a bottle with dad. He took it like a champ! 

On Wednesday, April 3, Grandma Sue came over to watch Graham while I got a hair cut and color. I'm not sure who appreciated it more. Me for getting to get out of the house for some quick mommy time, or Grandma for getting almost 3 uninterrupted hours alone with Graham.

This next picture is my current favorite of the little guy. I actually think he looks a tad like Uncle Paul in this picture. So grown up in his track jacket! 

Looking the part, we of course went for a walk at Family Wellness that evening. 

The other milestone of this week is the first crack at daytime naps in the crib. Soon enough, he will have to transition out of our room and I figured I'd do a lot better putting him in his room (downstairs away from us) if night time wasn't his first rodeo in the crib.

He did really well in the crib. And I got used to watching him through the video monitor. This particular time dad was home in the evening and helped with rocking him back to sleep ...

And this picture shows just how little space he takes up in the crib. I know I'll look back at this picture in awe someday soon. 

Here's what waking up for a diaper change and feeding looks like. 

And here's some more daytime rest upstairs on the lounger. 

 Mom needs daytime rest too ... we're both loving the rocker downstairs for that.

Not sure if we were attempting some tummy time here or what... whatever we were doing, Graham was more interested in a nap. 

And on Friday, April 5, our "Moby Wrap" arrived in the mail. We are already loving it! Thank you to Emily G in Maine for the tip on this great product. Graham seems to like it and I feel like I'm going to be able to get a few more things done now ... like maybe vacuuming ... with this hands free way to still hold and bond with little Graham. He gets his most fussy in the evenings and this worked great last night for calming him down and helping him fall asleep. Then he can stay sleeping right next to me throughout the evening. It was awesome.

Putting it on sort of made me feel (and look) pregnant again though... 

Even Aaron is trying it out. Real men wear babies! 

Graham turns 4 weeks tomorrow (April 7). Then one month already on Wednesday. I will try to keep the pictures coming!