Learning

Graeme has been mastering loads of new talents in the past few weeks. He has mastered the fine motor skill of transferring objects from one hand to another:

He has mastered eating rice cereal (the pictures of this mastery wouldn't be as fun as those when he didn't succeed would they?):

Finally, (many of us saw this from the beginning) he has mastered the art of watching TV, sometimes from a sitting position:

Thankfully he hasn't mastered the art of movement yet. He is trying really hard to rollover (particularly at six in the morning - which mom and dad don't find so fun), but so far to no success.

A package

Graeme received a package in the mail a few days ago from Great Aunt Pam and Uncle Dean in Iowa.
The anticipation


New shirts!


Mr. Sims assessing the situation


A new barn shape sorter! Dean is a farmer and they always find the cutest farm themed gifts!


Proper Bumbo seat posture.


Thanks Pam and Dean!

Like father, like son

Graeme has hives! As if he wasn't already a lot like Matt, he has an Augmentin allergy like him too! Augmentin is the scientific name for Penicillin. Penicillin comes in many forms, one of those being Amoxicillin. Graeme was on Amoxicillin for his ear infection. See where this is going?! Yes. The Amoxicillin gave Graeme hives. Gross. Here's how it went down yesterday:

Being the naive first-time parents that we are, we sent Graeme to school yesterday after discovering red welts on his legs. Because they were contained to just around his diaper, we assumed that his skin was just irritated, slathered some cream on it and sent him on his way. Not an hour after Matt dropped him off, the school called to ask if we knew that Graeme had hives. They really have a way of making us feel like delinquent parents. Matt explained we had noticed them, but weren't horribly concerned because Graeme wasn't showing any other symptoms or acting out of sorts. They informed us that they were certain it was hives (apparently office manager=doctor these days) and that they would keep an eye on it until we decided what to do and if it got worse they would let is know. Not to be ones to miss a hint, we got Graeme in with the doctor at 9am.

Shoutout to Southdale Pediatrics for getting us in for same-day appointments (even on Saturdays!) with the doctor of our choice all but one time we've gone in.

The doctor called it a classic case, although Graeme was one of the younger kids he's seen with a reaction like this. We've since suspended the amoxicillin -it turned out Graeme's ear infection is gone! So, with a stretch of three doctor appointments in as many weeks, we're hoping to put together a stretch of good health!

4 months old!

Graeme at 4 months

The moment of impact

Graeme is 4 months old. We can't believe it! He's getting bigger and stronger and smarter every day. His checkup went well (minus the 10 seconds where he was shackled and attacked with needles). Here are his current stats:

Height: 25 inches
Weight: 15lbs 9 oz.
Head: 16.5inches

He is in the 50th percentile across the board now. A huge deviation from the 70/90/25 that was his 2-month checkup.

Here are some 4 month highlights..

Look Ma! Hands and Feet!

• Discovered both hands and feet! Graeme uses his hands to manhandle anything he can get in them including, but not limited to: books, toys, blankets, feet, stuffed animals and Mr. Sims.

• Tongues aren't just for eating. When he is in a silly mood it's spends a lot of time poking out of his mouth. Perhaps he is mimicking Sims - note the resemblance...

• Graduated to size two diapers. We've been trying to use up some 1-2s we got before he was born and just are glad to be done with them, they were no match for the amount of 'stuff' that comes outta this guy.

Trouble

• Started on rice cereal. Graeme has been eating a few tablespoons of cereal in the morning and is slowly getting the hang of it. He is pretty distracted by what is going on around him along with his bib so getting his attention and the food directly in his mouth is a challenge. We have accepted that it's a process and are confident he'll be eating bowls full in no time.

• Another ear infection. Well, it's undetermined whether it was a new one or the resurgence of the old one, but Graeme is on Amoxicilin for the second time in 3 weeks. He's on a stronger dosage this time in efforts to knock out the infection for good. Ha!

Happy 6th birthday!

Mr. Sims, our faithful, flighty and furry friend turns six today!



For a little something special we baked him a batch of apple cheddar cakes. Somehow I think he knew they were for him.



Sims has had a pretty good year as far as dog years go. Here are some highlights:



He watched his first television show in 3-d.




He slept in his first hotel room.




He practiced being a big brother.




Now he is a big brother.




He enjoyed several afternoons napping in the sun,




on the couch,



and on the floor.

This is probably a good time to draw attention to the tabs at the top of the page. Once we get our act together, we hope to have a running album of Sims (petables), favorite recipes (edibles), our travels and some design work available for your viewing pleasure.

More posts coming soon!

Ringing in the new year

We kept the weekend pretty low-key in hopes of getting Graeme better and to not infect everyone else. We spent the long weekend cleaning, organizing the surplus store that is Graeme's closet, watching a ridiculous amount of football and just hanging out. Graeme gave his activity seat a test drive. We think it will be a hit!









Look at that concentration!

Can you ear me now?

Graeme had a cough he had been battling for about a week that we thought was getting better. We were wring. We got a call last Thursday from his school that they heard a whistle in his chest when he breathed. We decided to get it checked out and we're glad we did. Turns out he has a double ear infection! Apparently common in little kids, the doctor wasn't surprised. We felt bad that we hadn't taken care of it sooner but Graeme was showing no signs of illness at all other than the cough. He'll be on amoxicilin for another week but is already showing signs of improvement. We purchased a humidifier for his room to help with the dryness and to hopefully help him breathe better. The first couple attempts at administering the meds were ugly. Pink, bubble-gum flavored spatter EVERYWHERE. But, after about the third dose we think he's got the hang of it.

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas. The weather cooperated and we made it to Wisconsin and back without a hitch. I am kicking myself for not taking more photos, but it's hard to hold a baby, unwrap gifts, eat plates and plates of food and still be able to take photos!


A scary-eyed, but current photo of Ryan and Brayden. Brayden and Graeme are 7 weeks apart.


Assembling the gifts. This is Kaylins new baby stroller.


I wish this wouldn't have been so dark, who doesn't love a naked baby under a Christmas tree?! Graeme is still a by too little to understand the whole Christmas thing but he made out like a bandit! We'll be using his new wagon this spring. He also got several cute outfits and lots of toys he'll be playing with before too long.

Christmas morning we went to church and then looked at what Santa brought us. There were gift cards and candy for all of us. We spent the rest of the day at Grandma and Grandpa Tredinnick's house. Toni served a delicious ham dinner, we opened a few gifts and watched movies well into the evening.



Graeme and Dad



Graeme opening his gifts



A new ramp with race cars! He also got a Burberry collectable Teddy bear. It came with the perfume I received.


Chatting with Grandpa


Snuggling with grandma


Our little guy was pretty tired by the end of the night so we bribed him with a bottle for this shot.


Still pooped the next morning, Graeme got some snuggling in with Grandma Janice too.


Love this picture! Those cheeks get kissed a lot.