Mom,
We had a pretty fun weekend. On Saturday, one of my coworkers brought over his puppy. Graham had a lot of fun playing with him (a video will be posted later this week). We watched the US soccer team lose to Ghana, which I know you would have been sad about (not because you loved soccer, but she would have been patriotic and cheering for team USA). On Sunday, we went to the zoo (pictures later this week).
On Thursday, Kinsey, Graham and I are heading back to Iowa for the weekend. Kaci is having her bachelorette party. Dad is on overnight duty with Graham on Saturday night! I'm pretty sure he is excited. We are going to go to the parade on the 4th of July. It'll be Graham's first. It is actually on the real fourth, which is on a Sunday this year. The transplanted southern girl in me is a little shocked by that.
This will be the first time since December since I've flown with Graham. It makes me very nervous. I am insanely happy that Kinsey will be with me. I bought Graham a new toy to introduce on the plane. We also have a dvd player and some Baby Einstein videos he hasn't seen. Usually he only gets sucked into TV for about ten minutes, but it really calms him down. So hopefully we can pull that out if he gets insane. Thankfully we have a direct flight on the way there, on the way home we have a connection. At least planes are loud, loud places. So even if he is loud and obnoxious, very few people will actually hear him. Before I always worried about blowouts (when he was smaller), and now I don't need to worry about that either. Yay solid food and adult like poop! I was hoping he would be walking by July so when we were at the airport I could let him run wild, but he isn't yet. I will let him crawl around to burn off his energy, but it will be really gross. Good thing I'm not a germaphobe.
On Tuesday, Graham was being not so pleasant. I investigated to see if there were any teeth to blame. Graham apparently still has the desire to do things in the wrong order -- he is cutting two molars up on top, but is yet to get one of the four little teeth on the bottom. Portions of the molars have already broken through -- I'm looking forward to those big teeth being in to help out with chewing.
I wish you were going to be home this weekend. We will go to your grave. I'll let Graham crawl all over. :)
Love and miss you,
Kassie
30 June 2010
29 June 2010
28 June 2010
27 June 2010
Fort Fun
Kinsey googled things you could do with 1 year old. Forts were suggested. Kinsey and I tried to build a fort one afternoon. We failed. We are missing the male "build a fort" gene. John came home and was to the rescue. Graham loved his fort.
26 June 2010
25 June 2010
Leaving Graham
Leaving Graham for our mini vacation was such a weird thing.
I was so ready to get away. I was so ready for a Graham break. But at the same time, I didn't really want to leave him. I missed him. It was really hard to walk away from the car. It didn't help that he was crying, but even if he wasn't I think I would have been sad.
I hope that John and I can take annual child free vacations from here on out. I think it is good for our marriage to have some time alone.
We went on a four night cruise. One of the things we thought about while on the boat is whether we thought we could do the cruise with Graham. We decided no, well not until he is out of diapers. Carnival doesn't allow children who are in diapers in the pool. They have this cool water works area, which is basically a mini water park, but he wouldn't be able to play in it. At this time in his life, he would just be annoyed by the cruise. I think a land based vacation to the Caribbean is a much better option. We are considering just that in early 2011.
I do think a cruise with preschool age children would be a lot of fun.
I was so ready to get away. I was so ready for a Graham break. But at the same time, I didn't really want to leave him. I missed him. It was really hard to walk away from the car. It didn't help that he was crying, but even if he wasn't I think I would have been sad.
I hope that John and I can take annual child free vacations from here on out. I think it is good for our marriage to have some time alone.
We went on a four night cruise. One of the things we thought about while on the boat is whether we thought we could do the cruise with Graham. We decided no, well not until he is out of diapers. Carnival doesn't allow children who are in diapers in the pool. They have this cool water works area, which is basically a mini water park, but he wouldn't be able to play in it. At this time in his life, he would just be annoyed by the cruise. I think a land based vacation to the Caribbean is a much better option. We are considering just that in early 2011.
I do think a cruise with preschool age children would be a lot of fun.
24 June 2010
23 June 2010
Letter to Mom
Mom,
It was so hard to leave Graham. I didn't think it was going to be. Graham didn't get his normal 2-3 hour nap on Thursday, it was only about an hour. He was crying when they dropped us off at the cruise terminal (not because he didn't want to leave, just because he was tired), and I did not want to leave that crying baby. But I did. I had my first cruise cocktail, and all was right in the world. :)
We were gone for four nights. It was a the perfect amount of time to be gone. We went to Freeport and Nassau. Both places we effectively just went to the beach. We ate dinner when we wanted to eat dinner. We woke up when we wanted to wake up. We stayed up as late as we wanted to. But I was ready to be home at the end.
It seems like Graham grew five inches when I was gone, and his noise vocabulary doubled. He is also so much better at standing and cruising.
After you died, I wrote a thank you note to your lung doctor. I told him how much you liked him and his positive attitude. I got a thank you note for my thank you note yesterday. That is definitely something you would appreciate.
Dear Kassie,
Forgive me for the long delay between the time you took to send me a note about your mother and my reply. I did speak with your father when I learned of your mother's death.
I wanted to acknowledge and express my gratitude for the sentiments about my care for your mother that you kindly wrote in your note. Taking the time to let me know how you feel and the family felt means a great deal to me and helps me become a better physician and person.
Sincerely, MW
I am definitely 100% your child. Before I received this I was wondering if I was ever going to receive an acknowledgement about my note (as ridiculous as that sounds, why would one ever expect a thank you note for a thank you note). In the end he sent me one, which makes it even more obvious why you liked him so much as a doctor.
I feel like a month ago getting this note would have been the beginning of a sad day, but so far it hasn't affected me that way. I'm not sure what to make of that. I do feel tired. Life has been wearing me out. I would sort of like a few days at home by myself without work, without Graham, without anything. That might just be thinking about July wearing me out. It is going to be a very busy month.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
It was so hard to leave Graham. I didn't think it was going to be. Graham didn't get his normal 2-3 hour nap on Thursday, it was only about an hour. He was crying when they dropped us off at the cruise terminal (not because he didn't want to leave, just because he was tired), and I did not want to leave that crying baby. But I did. I had my first cruise cocktail, and all was right in the world. :)
We were gone for four nights. It was a the perfect amount of time to be gone. We went to Freeport and Nassau. Both places we effectively just went to the beach. We ate dinner when we wanted to eat dinner. We woke up when we wanted to wake up. We stayed up as late as we wanted to. But I was ready to be home at the end.
It seems like Graham grew five inches when I was gone, and his noise vocabulary doubled. He is also so much better at standing and cruising.
After you died, I wrote a thank you note to your lung doctor. I told him how much you liked him and his positive attitude. I got a thank you note for my thank you note yesterday. That is definitely something you would appreciate.
Dear Kassie,
Forgive me for the long delay between the time you took to send me a note about your mother and my reply. I did speak with your father when I learned of your mother's death.
I wanted to acknowledge and express my gratitude for the sentiments about my care for your mother that you kindly wrote in your note. Taking the time to let me know how you feel and the family felt means a great deal to me and helps me become a better physician and person.
Sincerely, MW
I am definitely 100% your child. Before I received this I was wondering if I was ever going to receive an acknowledgement about my note (as ridiculous as that sounds, why would one ever expect a thank you note for a thank you note). In the end he sent me one, which makes it even more obvious why you liked him so much as a doctor.
I feel like a month ago getting this note would have been the beginning of a sad day, but so far it hasn't affected me that way. I'm not sure what to make of that. I do feel tired. Life has been wearing me out. I would sort of like a few days at home by myself without work, without Graham, without anything. That might just be thinking about July wearing me out. It is going to be a very busy month.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
22 June 2010
Happiness Project
Life Cereal
(it doesn't have to be cinnamon)
When I was in daycare, the center bought life just for me because it was the only cereal I would eat.
20 June 2010
10 Reasons Graham Loves John
In honor of Father's Day, I consulted with Graham on a list of reason he loves John.
1. Dad plays with my stacking cups.
2. Dad gives me baths. I love baths.
3. He doesn't follow me around with a camera.
4. He lets me eat more fruit than veggies.
5. Dad still gives me a bottle a night.
6. Sometimes, when mom isn't around, he'll let me play with the remote.
7. My favorite 30 minutes of the day are between 6:30 and 7:00. Right after Dad gets home and before bedtime.
8. He always puts my toys away where they belong. He doesn't mix block types.
9. Dad is too cheap to leave me with a sitter (go on date nights) that frequently.
10. He gets out of bed on the weekends and gets me. It seems like Mom would just let me scream and scream.
19 June 2010
Life Advice
John and I have this saying:
If you talk about something often enough, it'll happen.
We do it all of the time.
I did it with the vacation I'm currently on.
Day 1: K-We should go on a vacation since Kinsey is here. J - No.
Day 2: K - I've looked into some options over father's day weekend. J - I don't think I can take anytime off of work.
Day 3: K - This only requires 1.5 days off of work. J - I don't think Kinsey would want to watch Graham.
Day 4: K - It only costs $X. J - I'm not sure.
Day 5: K- Kinsey wants to watch Graham. J - How much money?
Day 5: J - I called a travel agent. K - awesome.
See, I talked about it consistently, and it happened! :)
I think you can apply this saying to other things too. For instance, getting your parents used to the idea of you moving across the country. Getting your boss used to the idea of you going part-time. Getting a promotion at work. Getting your husband to be on-board with having more children. Getting your sister, Kinsey, to move to Florida.
If you talk about something often enough, it'll happen.
We do it all of the time.
I did it with the vacation I'm currently on.
Day 1: K-We should go on a vacation since Kinsey is here. J - No.
Day 2: K - I've looked into some options over father's day weekend. J - I don't think I can take anytime off of work.
Day 3: K - This only requires 1.5 days off of work. J - I don't think Kinsey would want to watch Graham.
Day 4: K - It only costs $X. J - I'm not sure.
Day 5: K- Kinsey wants to watch Graham. J - How much money?
Day 5: J - I called a travel agent. K - awesome.
See, I talked about it consistently, and it happened! :)
I think you can apply this saying to other things too. For instance, getting your parents used to the idea of you moving across the country. Getting your boss used to the idea of you going part-time. Getting a promotion at work. Getting your husband to be on-board with having more children. Getting your sister, Kinsey, to move to Florida.
18 June 2010
17 June 2010
16 June 2010
Letter to Mom
Mom,
Tomorrow John and I are going on our vacation! Yay!
I hooked Kinsey up with a connection at a Jacksonville high school, and it seems like she might have a job lined up for after graduation. The principal at the school suggested that she could start in January part-time after she graduates in December. It is very exciting. I'm really happy about it.
I think having this in Kinsey's back-pocket is great. It gives her confidence going into other interviews if she chooses to look elsewhere. She knows at least one principal thinks she would be a great hire. I'm also really happy that Kinsey might be coming back to Jacksonville after graduation. Having family in town is amazing.
Graham's favorite place to hangout lately is the kitchen. He loves opening all of the drawers and doors. He also loves getting to "sit" on the couch. He doesn't really sit though -- it is more like crawling and standing all over the couch (and making me nervous).
Dad finished redoing your old bedroom. He calls it my room :). I'm excited to see it in July. I made him a photo book for father's day (from all of his children), I got pictures from everyone, and put a book together of our year. It is pretty cool. You would have really liked it.
Kinsey and I tried to play bingo on your birthday. It was too smoky, we couldn't handle it. So we went to a place of bingo and then promptly left and went shopping. As result, we did not win big.
Kinsey did make that cake you used to make, and it was delicious. However, I must tell you that Kinsey does not know the first thing about cooking. I usually tell people I don't cook --- but that is seriously a lie when I compare myself to her. I cook, but I need a recipe to work from. Kinsey doesn't know how to follow a recipe (it should be noted that the recipe wasn't 100% clear, perhaps you should have taken some more time to clarify your recipe cards. Kinsey insists her struggles were because of the recipe, and not because of her inept cooking abilities).
Love and miss you,
Kassie
Tomorrow John and I are going on our vacation! Yay!
I hooked Kinsey up with a connection at a Jacksonville high school, and it seems like she might have a job lined up for after graduation. The principal at the school suggested that she could start in January part-time after she graduates in December. It is very exciting. I'm really happy about it.
I think having this in Kinsey's back-pocket is great. It gives her confidence going into other interviews if she chooses to look elsewhere. She knows at least one principal thinks she would be a great hire. I'm also really happy that Kinsey might be coming back to Jacksonville after graduation. Having family in town is amazing.
Graham's favorite place to hangout lately is the kitchen. He loves opening all of the drawers and doors. He also loves getting to "sit" on the couch. He doesn't really sit though -- it is more like crawling and standing all over the couch (and making me nervous).
Dad finished redoing your old bedroom. He calls it my room :). I'm excited to see it in July. I made him a photo book for father's day (from all of his children), I got pictures from everyone, and put a book together of our year. It is pretty cool. You would have really liked it.
Kinsey and I tried to play bingo on your birthday. It was too smoky, we couldn't handle it. So we went to a place of bingo and then promptly left and went shopping. As result, we did not win big.
Kinsey did make that cake you used to make, and it was delicious. However, I must tell you that Kinsey does not know the first thing about cooking. I usually tell people I don't cook --- but that is seriously a lie when I compare myself to her. I cook, but I need a recipe to work from. Kinsey doesn't know how to follow a recipe (it should be noted that the recipe wasn't 100% clear, perhaps you should have taken some more time to clarify your recipe cards. Kinsey insists her struggles were because of the recipe, and not because of her inept cooking abilities).
Love and miss you,
Kassie
15 June 2010
14 June 2010
Preview of Life as a Mom of Teenagers
As you know, my sister is living with me for the summer. She is the world's best nanny. I've encouraged her to have a social life while here.
She went on a date.
That same night I had a terrible dream. John had a heart-attack and was going to die. The nurse told me so. The nurse was a random person that I sort of know, but don't really know, and she isn't really a nurse.
I woke up.
I woke John up. He was still alive. No heart-attack. It was 2:30am. I realized I didn't hear Kinsey get home. So I texted her. To see if she made it home okay. I was very very concerned (but not concerned enough to get out of bed and look, but that might have more to do with being scared of the dark and/or being physically lazy especially at 2:30am. I was, however, planning on getting out of bed if she didn't respond.)
She responded. Her date was not some psycho killer. Hoorah.
She is 22 years old. I should not be freaking out about her being killed on a date. What am I going to do when I actually have real teenage daughters?
She went on a date.
That same night I had a terrible dream. John had a heart-attack and was going to die. The nurse told me so. The nurse was a random person that I sort of know, but don't really know, and she isn't really a nurse.
I woke up.
I woke John up. He was still alive. No heart-attack. It was 2:30am. I realized I didn't hear Kinsey get home. So I texted her. To see if she made it home okay. I was very very concerned (but not concerned enough to get out of bed and look, but that might have more to do with being scared of the dark and/or being physically lazy especially at 2:30am. I was, however, planning on getting out of bed if she didn't respond.)
She responded. Her date was not some psycho killer. Hoorah.
She is 22 years old. I should not be freaking out about her being killed on a date. What am I going to do when I actually have real teenage daughters?
12 June 2010
John is Awesome
I just asked John, "What can I blog about? Is there anything interesting going on?"
All he had was "John is awesome."
So there you go. John is awesome. He got up this morning, got Graham ready, fed him breakfast, folded laundry, and cleaned up Graham's toys. I slept. He actually is sort of awesome.
*************************************************************
Last night Andrea and I started watching season 1 of True Blood -- seasons 1 and 2 are on-demand right now. I think I am hooked. I imagine a lot of my "Graham is asleep time" is going to be taken up with True Blood the next few weeks.
All he had was "John is awesome."
So there you go. John is awesome. He got up this morning, got Graham ready, fed him breakfast, folded laundry, and cleaned up Graham's toys. I slept. He actually is sort of awesome.
*************************************************************
Last night Andrea and I started watching season 1 of True Blood -- seasons 1 and 2 are on-demand right now. I think I am hooked. I imagine a lot of my "Graham is asleep time" is going to be taken up with True Blood the next few weeks.
11 June 2010
09 June 2010
Letter to Mom
Mom,
Today is your birthday. I took the day off, and Kinsey and I are going to hang out. We are going to make that cake you used to make for me. We are going to go shopping and maybe play BINGO in honor of you. I'm pretty sure if we play we'll win big. :) I'll let you know.
On Tuesday, I had a work lunch thing, and one woman was talking about how she lost her dad when she was 9. She talked about how she still thinks about him periodically -- like on her wedding day and on her children's birthdays. I almost started crying (thankfully I didn't). I miss you so much. I wonder when a day will go by that I actually don't think of you. On one hand, I want the pain to lessen, but on the other, I don't want your presence to disappear either.
Happy Birthday. I wish you were here to celebrate.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
Today is your birthday. I took the day off, and Kinsey and I are going to hang out. We are going to make that cake you used to make for me. We are going to go shopping and maybe play BINGO in honor of you. I'm pretty sure if we play we'll win big. :) I'll let you know.
On Tuesday, I had a work lunch thing, and one woman was talking about how she lost her dad when she was 9. She talked about how she still thinks about him periodically -- like on her wedding day and on her children's birthdays. I almost started crying (thankfully I didn't). I miss you so much. I wonder when a day will go by that I actually don't think of you. On one hand, I want the pain to lessen, but on the other, I don't want your presence to disappear either.
Happy Birthday. I wish you were here to celebrate.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
08 June 2010
Happiness Project
First - please vote for Graham!
Come on - just do it :)
Come on - just do it :)
Second, because bids were submitted yesterday, I left work early today.
Being home at 1pm is amazing!
06 June 2010
Yay Tomorrow!
Tomorrow is bid submission day! Yay!!! I'm so excited for life to get back to normal.
Look how excited we are! :)
04 June 2010
03 June 2010
Graham at 13 Months
He forgot how to say ball.
He is a cruising pro.
He likes to crawl into places that he might get stuck (like between the couch and the wall).
He doesn't like yellow peppers.
He loves dogs. He'll let them lick his hands.
He is scared of waves.
He kicks his legs when he is excited.
He lifts up his arms for you to pick him up.
He'll use his legs to push his body off of you when you are holding him (I'm pretty sure it means put me down).
He likes my bathtub. If he is missing, that is where he is.
He points.
He points at interesting things in books.
He survived peanut butter.
He eats his fruit before his veggies.
He plays catch.
The bowling alley has fun balls that are really heavy and different colors.
He won't immediately destroy a tower and will "fake" that he is going to push it over. Super cute.
His favorite aunt is Kinsey.
02 June 2010
Letter to Mom
Mom,
Yesterday was 6 months since you died. Six months. In some ways the time has flown by, in others it has stood still. One of my coworkers had a baby on the day you died. His birthday is going to be a sad day for me. His mom will be looking forward to that date, and I'll be dreading it. She'll say "wow I can't believe it has been a year" and I'll be thinking "I can't believe it has been a year" but with a completely different tone. She'll be talking about how he has hit or not hit some one year milestones, and I'll just be wishing I could tell you which milestones Graham has passed.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
Yesterday was 6 months since you died. Six months. In some ways the time has flown by, in others it has stood still. One of my coworkers had a baby on the day you died. His birthday is going to be a sad day for me. His mom will be looking forward to that date, and I'll be dreading it. She'll say "wow I can't believe it has been a year" and I'll be thinking "I can't believe it has been a year" but with a completely different tone. She'll be talking about how he has hit or not hit some one year milestones, and I'll just be wishing I could tell you which milestones Graham has passed.
Love and miss you,
Kassie
01 June 2010
Happiness Project
Temporal Thermometer.
No longer having to take a rectal temperature from a squirmy one year old.
Pure happiness.
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