Just chillin ...

Pat's trying to match Graham's expression.

Just hanging out on a sunny morning ...

Eighteen weeks - goes TOO fast!

Today was a day I have been dreading. The day I drop my baby off into another woman's arms (Miss Natasha and Miss Colleen were the lucky ladies) and leave for several hours.


It turned that it was not as hard as I had anticipated. This is probably because Graham didn't cry as I left him - I don't think he made the connection that I wasn't coming back right away. We'll see how he does on Wednesday when we go back. I will say, however, that I watched the clock like a hawk all day and raced to my car the minute the clock hit 5 - mincing words with anyone who tried to cordially greet me on my way out the door! My baby is waiting - OUTTA MY WAY!!


When I got there, the teacher had him in a Bumbo seat facing her with two other little ones, singing a song with a puppet. Graham had an enthralled look of joy on his face, with a huge grin and I could hear him cooing along with her. They said he did have kind of a tough day; he'd had moments of tears and he only ate one ounce all day ... but my mother-in-law (and the teachers here) have encouraged me that it's only hard for about 2 weeks, until they settle into the pattern.

Here are a couple of pics of the kinds of fun he had today ... this cute little girl just thinks Graham is the BOMB!!

Four Months Already?

I just can't believe four months have passed! Graham is officially a "big boy" - as big as you can be when you're just four months old. Here are some pictures I took to commemorate the day - I kept reminding myself to take pictures at inopportune times; and thankfully I remembered after I put him in his pajamas - but BEFORE I put him to sleep!

We go to the 4 month checkup on Friday - I'll post the vital stats once we get them. At 2 months his length was 97th percentile - I think he'll continue to rock the charts there! For weight, he's just about normal. Must be that Bettger blood. He sure has the Rank features - he looks a lot like Pat's baby pictures!!

Sun River, OR

We met my parents in Sun River last weekend (weekend of the 11th) - it's a longer drive for them from Boise, but they enjoy making it at some point every year when we have get the condo that Pat's company holds for employee rentals. This year we had special leverage in having Graham with us!

It was too cold for biking while Mom & Dad were here. On Monday after they left, we went to Sisters. We sure had a nice time walking around the little town! And also driving past the Three Sisters (beautiful mountains in Central OR - these pics are from a couple of years ago when Pat and I climbed the South Sister with his brother Doug ...) - what a sight to behold!! It was a good day for biking, but we stayed too long; Graham was pretty tired when we returned to Sunriver - instead, we stayed in and watched The Sting on TV - classic Paul Newman!

And yes, in case you're wondering, Graham has started to contemplate sucking on his thumb!

This is me with Graham at breakfast our last day. Graham is wearing an Oshkosh outfit from our friends the Kleebergers. I think the tag says 12 months! I think he likes wearing it - I sure like putting him in it - especially when it's chilly out like it was here!

Stocking hands ...

Graham slept in our room during a trip to Sunriver over the weekend, and we realized how much he rubbed his head during "active sleep" at night and in the morning. On Sunday we started putting socks over his hands at night, but we did not put them on last night. This morning he woke up with 4-5 scratches on his head from his little hands (and fingernails) rubbing his cradle cap. I winced for him. They don't seem to hurt, but it must feel good to rub it - he also does it when he's dozing in our arms and sometimes when nursing.

So here's a picture for all of you of our little boy sleeping with halloween socks on his hands - orange and green. He also is holding onto his super soft little monkey from Maddie Olmsted ...

We love construction equipment!

For those of you who haven't seen the nursery yet, we have used Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel as our nursery theme. And our curtains have construction equipment on them ... and we are accumulating more and more evidence that this is a boy's room, and a boy whose mommy loved Mike Mulligan, and whose daddy works in the construction industry.

Here's our most recent addition - this is a heavy equipment shirt from Graham's Grand-Uncle & Aunt, Ric & Jeri Lu. Thanks - we love it!!

I like the picture of Pat & Graham - very cute of both of them.

Introducing Mr. Lamb

Greetings friends and family! Allow me to introduce a new member of the Rank family! This is Mr. Lamb. He is a giant stuffed lamb, and he is covered with incredibly soft wool. He was a gift from some friends of ours, the Millers. Pat works with Jeff, and I have enjoyed getting to know Jeff's wife, Lisa. They came to our house to drop off a gift for G - and the gift was taller than Lisa's torso! I love this sweet lamby (lambie? lamb-ee?) - did I mention how soft it is? ... I immediately had images of Graham sitting for photos with the lamb as he grew up to show how big he's getting ...

So I got started!

Sep 15

Sep 19

Sept 26

Sept 30

Out with the dog

We finally purchased an "umbrella" stroller - the Maclaren Triumph. I like it, and so does Graham - must be more comfortable for him to ride in ... I think it must be a rougher ride - it bumps along over every crack in the sidewalk. Maybe it's just a more interesting experience for him. In any case, I am happy that I can actually make it through the whole way to the park without having to stop to try to see if the pacifier will help him stop crying - he doesn't even make a peep!

OR ... maybe it's the hat ...

In any case, it doesn't have a rain cover - YET - which means we'll still be using the Chariot ... that stroller is an all-weather, all-terrain vehicle!!

Just to be sure ...

Just want to be sure you all see that I posted three posts on the 3rd ... yes, over-zealous, I suppose, but the third post down has pictures that really shouldn't be missed; so I want to make sure you see them!

October 3, 3:42 pm

Graham just rolled over! Tummy to back! I'm trying to see if we can get a repeat, but having a hard time! WOW! Milestone!!


M

Want to get set up to leave Comments on blogs?

My mom-in-law, Laura, has said she will try to leave more comments on the blog, and since we're trying to post more and because we love responses because we hope to publish this stuff for our family some day; I thought I'd put directions for how to create an account for those of our readers who aren't already active bloggers. Wow, that was one long run-on sentence, and I'm not quite sure how to edit it in order to have it make more sense.

In short, here are instructions to create a Google Account (note - you do not need to have a gmail account) so you can leave comments!

Okay ... here we go. What you see may be slightly different from these instructions, since I tried to fake this even though I already have an account).
(1) To get started, click Sign in at the top right corner of your screen. This takes you to www.blogger.com.
(2) Skip entering username or password, and just click Sign In, then click Create an account now.
(3) Enter your current e-mail address - it doesn't have to be a gmail / google address - it can be hotmail, yahoo, etc.
(4) Pick a password, and enter it twice, as requested.
(5) Pick your location (i.e., USA).
(6) Type in the word for verification (this always makes me laugh, because they use words like, "clatserp, hootsubs, tueccatc ..." Funny)
(7) Accept the terms (click the button and it will kick you into the next window).
(8) I'm not sure if you have to do anything more from here because I didn't want to create a new account, but I think after this your account should be active and you're ready to post comments!

To post Comments after you've created your account:
(1) Click the Comments line. This opens a window where you can read everyone else's comments and leave one of your own. As a note, it asks you if you want to display non-secure items. If you say Yes, it will show the pictures of the commenters; if you say No, there won't be any pictures (it's more of a personal preference, I guess - maybe pics make it take longer?)
(2) So when you get to this window, there's a section called, Leave your comment. Write in your notes/ thoughts, etc., then enter your username & password, then click Publish Your Comment. You might also be asked to verify some word again.


That should be it. Pretty easy once you do it a couple of times.

If you have any questions, click Help. Or maybe you can ask me. I might be able to help.

Update!!

Okay, first of all, I'm not sure how many of you are frequently checking the blog for updates, but I want to apologize for not updating in so long! I know how frequently I check other friends' blogs to look for updates - so if you're like me, sorry it's been so long in between my posts. I have been trying to upload a movie of Graham grabbing his toys hanging from baby links in our back seat on the way back from ID. We were so proud that we taped it, but we can't share it due to technical difficulties (I'll figure it out someday ...).

We are all doing well here. Graham has had a good week, full of lots of sleeping (I love it!) and book reading. He talks along with me when we read - especially when we read The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Eric Carle). I think he's looking at the pictures on the pages - which just warms my heart to no end!! And with The Very Hungry Caterpillar, he touches the pages (probably because they're so big!!) Thank you to Rachel's Abueluli (Grandma Lourdes Mike) for such a great addition to our collection!



Pretty cute, huh? I hope he becomes quite the reader.

I do have to share two more pictures - of two very special gifts we received. The first is of Graham with a construction equipment blanket from a special friend in Boise, Phyllis Pullman. Phyllis used to be the office secretary at our church in Boise, and she is a constant presence in many of my memories from church growing up. The second is of Graham wearing a new hat that was knitted for us by our good friend Kimberlee Olmsted. Her timing of delivery is perfect, as we are just hitting fall and he needs a fun warm hat. This hat is fantastic not just because of its adorable shape or cool boy colors, but because it will grow with him! We are thinking it will be something he can wear at least into next year! How fun!!

Enjoy the pics!!