Happy Halloween!

Top Tooth!

Last night, we saw a tiny bit of white peeking through Graham's upper gums. Houston, we have a top tooth!

Graham got his bottom teeth pretty early (between 4-5 months), but since then, we haven't seen any other pearly whites.

We thought he was teething, and it looks like we were right. Yay!

Out of Control

Graham's hair is getting longer and longer, so we're always entertained at his post-nap look these days.

Kick up your feet and relax

Graham tends to be a pretty relaxed fellow. Here's a photo we captured on our video monitor of our little guy kicking up his foot and relaxing as he sleeps in his car seat.

Train Ride (Sort of)

I plan to take Graham on plenty of train rides over time. I suppose you could say this served as practice for the real thing.

Taylor Team 5 Visits Durham

Our home was filled with wonderful chaos this past weekend as Graham entertained his cousins from Maryland. Pete and Michele brought the girls on a surprise trip to North Carolina on Friday, sharing news of the excursion with Emily, Lindsay and Madelyn as they woke them up that morning.

Everyone visited my office on Friday afternoon; the girls photocopied their hands, and then we headed to lunch to kick off our weekend together. We stayed active on Saturday with a trip to the UNC-Maryland field hockey game. There was a party for kids beforehand and a clinic for them afterward. Emily learned firsthand from members of the No. 2 ranked Tar Heels team after their 2-1 victory.

On Saturday night, we celebrated the Maryland Taylors' second-place finish in the 2011 Great American Tobacco Duck Race at Tyler's in Durham. Among the prizes for that strong showing was a $50 gift certificate for dinner. It still pales in comparison to the duck trophy, if you ask me.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Subscriptions in Our Future?

As I caught up on some computer-related tasks this afternoon, I let Graham play in the floor of our office. He was interested in his own toys for a while, but as you'll see, he was far more interested in catching up on Triangle-area events listed in the "Annual Manual."

Laughter

We never know what's going to tickle Graham's funny bone, but it's wonderful when we find something that does. This time it was the sound of the Velcro on his bib.

The Hat Says It All

I mean, honestly, how could I resist this hat? As soon as I saw it tonight, I knew it belonged on Graham's head.

Movement = Trouble

Although Graham isn't crawling yet, he's becoming very adept at scooting, rolling, and stretching to get to things he wants.

Today, I left him in the bonus room sitting on the blanket and playing with his spin toy while I went to his room to get dirty clothes from the hamper.

When I returned approximately 60 seconds later, this is what I found. Oh, how our lives are about to change.

First Word!

So I'm exactly a week late on this post, but one week ago today, Graham said his first word!

He's been babbling "mamamamama" and "dadadadada" for quite some time now, but he's not really said either one intentionally.

I was at a women's bible study last week, and I went to pick Graham up from the nursery. He had been fussy, but as I walked toward him, he stopped fussing and said "mama."

I began to tear up on the spot. It was so incredible and sweet to hear my little man recognize me and gain comfort from having me in the room.

I look forward to Graham's first utterance of "dada," because I can't wait for Matt to experience the same feeling. It's pure joy.

Sweet Little Man

As Graham was doing his signature scoot/push/roll move across the floor today, I was able to get this sweet photo of him. How we love this little man!

From the archives: Graham's Harry Potter Impression

I came across this video today and realized I never posted it to the blog as I had intended. Those of you who've seen Harry Potter may remember the "Accio" command, which summons things to you wherever they may be. Perhaps Graham is planning on using that command as a substitute for crawling.

Squash the Squash

Graham's introduction to foods of all kinds continued today with his first tastes of squash.
His first few bites were great, and by all indications, he liked squash. As the meal went on, however, it was clear that our little man was becoming less and less of a squash fan.

Mommy's Little Helper

As I was folding laundry today, Graham became very interested in "helping" me. Never one to turn down help, I welcomed the extra (little) hands.