More Laundry Tales

As I mentioned in my last post, Graham has become very interested in the laundry. He has especially become fascinated with our laundry closet. The other day, our creative little guy turned the space into a game area.

Mommy's Little Helper

Graham has become quite the helper these days, especially with the laundry. I never put a load in anymore without having his help. You see, he's a very good "button pusher" (in the best sense of the word).

He also loves to help me "sort the laundry." Above is Exhibit A of my proof.

Watch out, cows!

Today, we hit a crazy milestone in the Taylor household. Graham had his first tastes of whole milk! After our pediatrician gave us the all clear yesterday, we got Graham his very own gallon of milk today. And based on his first tastes--and the "glug, glug" sounds we heard, we think he's a fan. So, watch out, cows!

The Tigger Test

Graham has been doing a lot of growing the past several months. We only need to look to the Tigger Test for proof.

Graham in July

Graham in January

Buon Appetito

Graham had his first restaurant food last weekend. He went the Italian route with pizza on Saturday afternoon and pasta on Sunday night. Both were well received.

Graham shows his eagerness to sample
his first pizza at Pepper's.

Giving it a try.

Pasta at Pulcinella.
Who needs utensils when you have hands?

Holiday Adventures with Graham

Of all the new dad duties I've carried out during the past year getting Graham from his crib on Christmas morning ranks among my favorites. As you can see in the photo to the left, our little man was up and ready to experience the magic of the holiday by the time I arrived in his room.

Christmas day was the midpoint of two wonderful weeks away from work that allowed our family of three to relax and enjoy lots of quality time together.

We spent the first week at home finishing up shopping and soaking up the experience of Graham's first Christmas by, for example, listening to holiday music while sitting beside the finely decorated tree (which is to say daddy had little hand in the effort).

We traveled to Catonsville during the second week to visit loved ones and introduce Graham to extended family and friends he had yet to meet. With many eager babysitters on hand, we snuck away for some rare time on our own that covered matters practical (visits to the gym), romantic (a date night at Catonsville Gourmet) and traditional (our annual visit to Nacho Mama's and Vaccaros with Pete and Michele).

Along the way we experienced a post-Christmas miracle in that we actually made it on to our 6:05 a.m. flight to Baltimore despite unexpectedly long ticket and security lines at the airport. It was as about as close to a near-miss as you can come; Erica (and Graham) waited anxiously for me at the gate and urged me to run the final steps once I came into sight. It provided some exciting - and totally unnecessary - early morning drama for passengers at RDU airport. The experience scared us straight as we arrived shortly before 5 a.m. for our 6:15 a.m. flight back to North Carolina.

But who am I kidding? You don't want to read about us, you want to see pictures of Graham. Here they are:

Family photo on Christmas morning

 Graham with Mimi

Graham with his cousins/gift-opening assistants

Graham's Christmas shirt and hat

Graham meets Aunt Gin for the first time

Graham and Emily

A pre-Christmas trip to Krispy Kreme

Mommy and Graham on Christmas morning

Madelyn and Graham at the train museum

Graham and Lindsay

Emily and Aunt Erica acting less than serious

Taking a carousel ride with Pop-Pop