Best and Worst of 2009

Well here we are at the end of another year. I've put together a little list of my best and worst moves this past year:

Songs put on repeat:

Best: "Read My Mind" The Killers. This song is so fabulous. Graham and I groove out to it in the car, the kitchen, and anywhere else I can plug in my ipod. I love mimicking the little "tssst, tssst" noise of the drum. I'm going to get mocked for including that tidbit.

Worst: "Forever" Chris Brown. Again, a kitchen dancing favorite. However, I always feel like I'm supporting a man who hits ladies when I listen to it.

Books (I'm putting in both serious and guilty pleasures because let's face it, that's how I roll):

Best: Team of Rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin. Loved it. I'm sure I still would have gotten a little weepy at the Lincoln Memorial if I had not read it, but wow, it sure made an impact. It is hallowed ground if ever there was. What a man and what a nation, all the good, bad, and ugly that encompasses us.

Worst: Truth & Beauty, Ann Patchet. AAaaaaaahhhhh!!!! It was extremely depressing, and this is coming from a girl who loves poetry and the gritty side of life. It was more self-loathing and self-destructive than anything poetic or gritty. I do not recommend.

Best Guilty Pleasure: The Hunger Games Series, Suzanne Collins. Loved it. It is teen lit and completely awesome. A little gory but fabulous story. I highly recommend.

Worst Guilty Pleasure: At First Sight, Nicholas Sparks. I really should know better by now, but I always get pulled in and can't get out until the end!!!!!

Purchases:

Best: Audible.com membership. I've found that my two hands tend to be a lot more occupied of late whether with laundry, or dinner, or poop (whatever the case may be), so I did a trial with an audio book and I'm hooked. It's fun to be read to again, and I've been able to "read" more this last year than I have since I graduated. Now, we could surely argue about whether or not listening to a book can be considered "reading," but I'm of the philosophy that any type of exposure to a book is good exposure.

Worst: The Ped Egg. Don't waste your dollars. It does not give you anything close to the pedicure found at your local Salon de Belleza. Learn from my mistakes.

Parenting Moment:

Best: Buying Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. Reading together will never be the same again.

Worst: Laughing at a toot. Because it got such a great reaction, our Graham now tries to toot on command. Eyes bulging and all. He is all boy.

Karma:

Best: Realizing I kept my old phone after I lost my new phone. Being a pack rat has never paid off so much.

Worst: Yelling "I hate people!!!" once I was safely inside my car after a particularly rough trip to Costco only to have a nice gentleman tap on my window with my wallet that I had just dropped in the parking lot on my way to the car. I was appropriately chastened.

Well, that is what I've come up with so far. It has been a remarkable year, and we are so grateful for the opportunities and blessings and good friends and family around us. Here's hoping 2010 is only the better.

Autumnal Update

It has been a great fall. We hit the fair, which is a must for me. McKay feels it is a little too white trash. But isn't that why we go...to reconnect with the trashy within us??? The butter cow was choice, sorry no pics, and the corn dog was as delicious as I'd dreamed. The giant yellow slide was everything you'd want a giant yellow slide to be. Graham, pictured below post slide, did not feel the same.

Do you think I'm a bad parent for pushing the slide too early?? I was going to make him go again, but McKay nipped that one in the bud.

Little ol' Aug left for the MTC. This is us pictured outside Market Street after his last breakfast of freedom. I had eggs benedict. They were delicious.

Inspired by the Ken Burns series on National Parks (I know, I got my nerd on), I said our fall trip this year had to be to a National Park. We chose Yellowstone, and it was magnificent...minus the hotel nights with Graham. That could have possibly been our worst nights together....ever. I decided long about 3 AM that he would be an only child. We may reconsider, but the event is still too close to make an unbiased decision. Below are featured several more fab pics from our trip.

A boy and his dad.

A boy and his mom. (I think we're both looking at a dog).

Graham getting his walk on.

After swimming in the pool in Idaho Falls. The pool was one part water to two parts chlorine. It burned.

McKay always made certain that Graham had a great view of some of natures most gnarly creations.

I show the picture of rice and beans at this point to allow for easy transition to the end of this post, but mostly to comment on how much my baby loves rice and beans. He has become the pickiest of eaters, but we discovered on a Cafe Rio night that rice and beans does it for him. So, my fabulous sister-in-law has a fabulous recipe for Cafe Rio rice, and this is what he'll have for dinner most nights when he won't even attempt a try at whatever else I've prepared. I started putting shredded carrots and peas in it just to bump up the nutritional value.

He was a darling doggy for Halloween. Thanks Amy, for the costume loan. He was just as stickin' cute as he is pictured here. He would even venture a "fuff, fuff," if he felt so inclined when prompted.

Only bit of sad news was the passing of our dear "princess puppy pants," Bella. She has been with us for 11 good long years, and she went to that big backyard in the sky this October. It was very sad.

I close with a video of Graham and Old Faithful. He loved...the benches.

We've got ourselves a walker...

We've now entered a new stage in life.  I dread the day he's faster than I am because he's got so many good ideas and no fear filter to omit the ones too dangerous to be tried at home!  As you can see, he continues to lead with his head.  

And one year later...

Just a little stat comparison to marvel at what miracles abound in the human body:

Weight at birth:  5 lbs 13 oz - 3.29 percentile

Weight at 1:  22.24 lbs - 42.23 percentile

Length at birth:  19 inches - 6.35 percentile

Length at 1:  31 inches - 85.58 percentile

Head circumference at birth:  13 inches - 3.33 percentile

Head circumference at 1:  18.5 inches - 69.13 percentile

I talked to a woman at work yesterday who had been a NICU nurse for 35 years, and I have to admit I got a little teary eyed when I told her of my own experience with the wonderful nurses at St Marks who took such good care of my little guy.  Man, what a difference a year makes!  I'm no longer fretting to make sure he gets his 30 cc of milk per feeding but am running defense for all things 3 feet high and below!!!  He is a pleasure and a half and 100% rough-and-tumble boy.  Heaven help us in year two!!!!

The Burger

What a buddy.  McKay started referring to him as "Grahamburger" shortly after his birth to indicate those time when Graham was less than pleased with his situation.  It has since become an everyday name and shortened to "Burger" or "the Burger" if you want to be more formal.  We must also give a shout-out to Amy and Paxton for the loan of the burger shirt.  I think it was all meant to be.

January and February have of course flown by.  My return to work has been better than I could have ever hoped for.  I am in the office only 20 hours a week, and to be honest, I feel like I'm getting away with something.  McKay is home with our little buddy while I'm gone, and since he just loves his papa, it has been a very smooth transition.  I got all of my meltdowns out before I went back, and I have to say that seeing how well things are going, I don't know what all my fuss was about!  I could not have asked for a better situation.

And what makes everything all the more wonderful is that it feels like spring!!!  I've started wearing bright colors and short sleeves to let the weather know my feelings, and I check my flowerbed daily to see if the daffy-down-dillies have started to make their entrance.  Nothing yet, but I think any day!!  We have even finally given in and purchased Graham a stroller.  He is loving this new independence of sitting upright and being the master of all that he sees, albeit with so many straps he looks like he could also be about to ride the Maliboomer.

Graham also made it to his first Jazz game (thanks Sam and Kel for the tickets).  He ended up yacking 6 times (all of them on McKay, I might add).  He also tried very hard to get the drink from the cup holder of the man next to us, but alas to no avail, and he almost ended up falling asleep in my arms during the 3rd quarter but coaching tips from the lady behind us ended up making that impossible.

All-in-all, it has been a fine couple of months for us.  My valentine took to me a fabulous dinner, Aunt Camille took the sweetest care of our Burger, McKay was able to golf in Vegas with his buddies, and I think I have mastered Julia Child's "white sauce."  I'll let you know how "brown sauce" goes!!!  Love to ya'll.