12th mirthday- 1 years old!

as of december 3rd, my sweet teddy graham is officially one!  just like the rest of my life, this first year has flown by.  knowing that graham is our last little one, has made this birthday a little tough on mommy.  but that's okay!  he still had a fabulous day.  he went to mrs. mona's as usual, spent time with mommy in the afternoon, and then we ended his birthday with a party at home with our family.  he had awesome owl cupcakes for his first cake.  he LOOOOVED it!  he dug right in!   ben wasn't interested in his 1st birthday cake (and honestly, still isn't a fan), but graham was very opposite (of course!).

at one year old, graham is close to walking, but isn't there yet.  he'll stand alone for a few seconds, but that's it.  he can crawl like MAD though.  he's so stinking quick.  he's started to bear crawl lately too.  he likes to dance.  he'll hang on to the side of something and bob up and down.  and if you're lucky, he'll throw a hand in the air.

he still has zero teeth, which is making the whole "eating big people food" kinda tough.  and besides, i'm keeping him on baby food as long as possible because that way i know he his getting good fuel!  so the lack of teeth isn't an issue really.  i was very late getting teeth as a baby, and i lost them really late too.  in fact, at age 27 i still have 3 baby teeth!!

we've just started testing the waters with whole milk.  he's been on soy formula the past 11 months, so it's kind of a stretch to throw him into a lactose environment.  the jury is still out on that. 

graham says "momma" and "dadda."  he says "da" a lot for dooley.  he'll also sometimes make a "ba" sound for ben.  if you ask him what dooley says he'll say "woof woof."  he says "agaba" a lot too...although  i have no idea what it means.  but he'll raise his hands and yell "AGABA!"  it's adorable.  if you turn on justin bieber's baby, baby song, he'll start to sing the beginning with it..."whooaaa.."  so cute.   he babbles a lot and points... we only wish we knew what he was saying.  `my favorite thing he says though is he'll point to the owls on my pajamas and say "ow, ow."  he loves the eyes on owls...probably b/c he feels like they are one of him.

graham is in 12-18 month clothes, with a few 9 month things here and there.  he weighs 20 lbs.  wears a size 4 in baby shoes.  he looks best in browns and red.

he is starting to get a little bit more hair.  his big brown eyes are still big and brown and ADORABLE.  they melt me every time.

here are some pictures of graham's big day. 

"sit still? hahaha, you're hilarious, mom!"

ben started this thing with graham to keep him happy in the car.  ben will say "if you love your _____(insert mommy or daddy or brother here), say BEEP BEEP!" and he would lift graham's leg up when he said beep beep.  graham loved it and would just cackle.  so NOW, when you say, "if you love your mommy, say beep beep," graham will kick his leg up like you see below.  :)

 not feeling the birthday hat so much...

 graham's hat and owl cupcake.  ignore the pink candle.  i apparently misplaced the red one...

 

did you know that a group of owls is called a parliament?  you do now. :)

 the first bite of a very long, one sided relationship, i'm afraid.

 yes. this is, in fact, the brother of ben, who cannot STAND to be dirty.

 he knows mommy is always up for a bite of chocolate cake.

 ben was gracious enough to help graham open his presents. :)

 dooley had to get involved.

 graham LOVES his sing-a-ma-jig!  i think i've played with it more than he has though!

see, he <3's it.

 the opening of gifts, and everyone getting chocolate except him, really wore dooley out.

ben, graham, pop, and gimmy playing with all of graham's new toys...

giving hugs to his glow worm from daddy. :)