3 years/44 weeks, 6 days.

Connor loves playing the ukelele.  He holds and plucks it correctly.  Looks like we are going to sign him up for guitar lessons...starting next fall when Graham starts school at Old First Nursery School!  His admissions letter came today!

3 years/44 weeks, 5 days.

My little bunny rabbit and I are ready for some warmer school drop-offs.

3 years/44 weeks, 3 days.

According to Miss Laura, Graham's teacher, Graham typically spends the longest amount of time of any of the kids working on his art.

3 years/44 weeks, 1 day.

Graham wasn't the only one happy to see Nana.  Connor seems to have had a stomach virus the past few days but it hasn't affected his mood, even immediately after barfing.

3 years/44 weeks.

Nana came to visit!  Thanks for braving the snow and Connor's stomach bug, and of course, for the presents, Nana!  It was nice of the weather to warm up enough for us to make a trip to the playground.

3 years/43 weeks, 5 days (10 months!).

We went to Ashley, Chris, Eric, & Ian's house today for a good-bye playdate before they move to LA this weekend.  Farewell, dear friends.  We'll miss you.

Connor has picked up a couple new tricks in the past few days, just in time for his 10-month-birthday--he can wave and give high-fives!

3 years/43 weeks, 4 days.

After watching the sea lion show in pouring rain (at least it should help melt some of the snow!), Graham had a long chat with the baby baboon about not pulling his daddy's fur.

3 years/43 weeks, 2 days.

Thanks to President's Day, Daddy got to come to music class for the first time this afternoon, and afterwards we went out to dinner with Annika, Klara, Erin, and Karsten.  It was our first family trip to a real restaurant (the sort where you are seated, order, and wait for a check) in at least a month or two and everyone was incredibly well-behaved.  I guess we should have french fries for dinner more often!

3 years/43 weeks.

Today was Graham's big party!

3 years/42 weeks, 5 days.

Daddy had a snow day today, but school was on for Graham.  We took the sled both ways.  Some shoveling happened in the interim, but not enough!

3 years!/42 weeks, 3 days.

Happy birthday, Graham Graham!  We love you so much.

We kicked off the day with "cupcakes" (aka, Morning Glory Muffins) for breakfast.  We brought the extras, plus cream cheese frosting and sprinkles, for snack at school.  Graham liked the muffins but wasn't tricked into thinking they were real cupcakes.  Connor was too preoccupied with his own image to eat much.  Graham is very excited about his birthday (mostly about the upcoming party with CAKE) though we're still working on him correctly reporting his new age.

At age 3, Graham is 32.6 lbs (60%) and 36.5" tall (26%).  He is still a great sleeper, consistently taking a long nap (he often needs to be woken up after 2-3 hours) and sleeping from about 7:30-7:30, though since we gave him a night light a few weeks ago, he's started staying up reading, singing, and chatting to himself for an hour or more some nights.  He's a decent eater, still mostly vegetarian with a definite sweet tooth.  He doesn't refuse to eat much, especially when there's a dessert on the line, but he gravitates towards nursery food.  He's been day potty-trained since July and nap/night-trained since December.

He's been trapped inside due to the weather for most of the past month but honestly, doesn't mind much--his favorite things to do are read and talk about books, play with his legos, and do projects of any sort--his kiwi crate crafts, cooking, science experiments, etc.  He loves school but is also perfectly happy to stay home and play with Connor.  Their favorite time together is bathtime, when they splash and laugh like maniacs with Daddy for 20 minutes before getting shuttled off to their respective rooms for bedtime.  Graham's favorite question is, "what does X say?" (as in, what is X thinking or how will X react to a situation), which he asks about Daddy, Mama, Graham, Connor, the cats, characters in books, people on the street, inanimate objects (his socks, the snow, etc.), and so on, ad nauseam.  He is doing more and more imaginative play, making up scripts--maybe that is why he loves the "what does X say" question so much--and building houses, grocery stores, fortresses, etc. for his various "guys."

Graham is sweet, snuggly, silly, and smart.  He loves to squeeze into a 3 inch space between me and the side of the couch with all his blankets and at least a few stuffed animals to read books.  He has an astonishing memory and can "read" many of his books virtually perfectly.  He is empathetic and thoughtful (for a 3-year-old), sharing special treats and getting cushions for my back without me asking.  He loves making Connor laugh and teaching him how to crawl, clap, etc.  We are very proud of you, Graham, and love watching you grow up.

2 years, 11 months/42 weeks, 2 days.

We had a double playdate this morning--Connor and Lucy explored their budding awareness of other babies while Graham and Maddie played in his room.

2 years, 11 months/42 weeks.

Happy birthday, Hazel!  Graham committed a very serious faux pas by blowing out Hazel's candles, but she didn't seem to mind, so no harm, no foul.  Back at home, Graham helped Daddy read Connor his favorite book, Peek-a-boo Elmo.

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks, 6 days.

Graham practiced his boulder lifting skills at the park this morning.  It's been just warm enough to ice over all the snow, leaving crusty obstacles all over the sidewalk.  Is it spring yet?

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks, 5 days.

Connor doesn't like to be contained.  He gets restless in his high chair after about 30 seconds, but enjoys eating his meals off the bottom step of the chair (dragging bits of food all over the apartment in the process).

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks, 4 days.

Graham went to the dentist for the first time today!  It was basically a birthday party without cake--presents, games, goodie bag, adults fawning over children.  All his baby teeth are accounted for and cavity-free.  Unfortunately, the visit was precipitated by one of his front teeth turning discolored due to his big fall a couple weeks ago.  At least it's a baby tooth.

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks, 3 days.

Mad scientist Graham experiments with water, oil and food coloring.  Thanks for the kiwi crate, Grammy!

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks, 2 days.

Gingers Annika and Graham listened to the story together at music class today.

2 years, 11 months/41 weeks.

Most mornings, Connor sorts the cat food while I make breakfast.

Thanks Uncle Peter and Aunt Tiffany for the overalls, making their first hand-me-down appearance!