Graeber Family: 2012

Sunday, December 30, 2012

P-nut is 4 months old

A year ago tonight Eric and I found out that we were pregnant...again...and we would be welcoming a precious baby into our crazy family in August. I still remember the feeling I had....the overwhelming joy, the tinge of nervousness, the excitement and amazement, the feeling that God had 100% planned this precious child inside my tummy. We had no idea what to think...we had no idea that we could love ANOTHER baby as much as we already love our beautiful Grafton and sweet James. Now here we are, celebrating Price's 4 month birthday, and we can barely remember life without this precious baby girl!!

Our sweet, little P-nut is really such a "cool" baby. She is calm, she is crazy happy, she is curious, and she is strangely laid back. She smiles all the time and has suddenly become very ticklish (her neck especially). She is a tad silly...always sticking out her tongue or making a goofy face. She always wants to be sitting up, preferably in my lap, so she can see what all is going on. She takes great naps in her swing, isn't the biggest fan of the car, and loves her playmat. James is still all over her all the time, and she smiles at him so much and has a different kind of comfort level with him...like when he hugs her and squeezes all over her this calmness comes over her and she is just content. BUT...when Grafton is around...Price absolutely cannot take her eyes off of her. Grafton could just be watching TV next to Price, and Price will stare and stare at her with this huge smile. I guess it is a sisterly bond, or that is what I tell myself. It is pretty neat to watch.

So, what is new with Price? She has THREE teeth!!! THREE!!! And I think the 4th is headed this way too! And the funny thing is that the 3 teeth are her fang teeth!! The top two began coming in about 10 days or so ago, and the bottom was about a week ago. She has been a tad fussy with them and chewing on her fingers so much. She also rolled over for the first time this month! She rolled from tummy to back while we were in Grafton's bedroom one night. Grafton was extremely excited to see it. It's funny because Grafton and James both got their normal front teeth first and both rolled from back to tummy first....go figure Price would have to do thing her own way and be different! Price loves to hold things, loves to pull Grafton's hair, and loves to grab James's toys (which does NOT go over well with him!!!). She is truly such a joy to have and such an easy 3rd baby. She was around a ton of family over Christmas week and was passed around from person to person and really never cried! I think she liked the attention...poor 3rd child.

I am beyond thankful for this little chunk of love and feel so amazingly blessed to get to squeeze her, kiss her, and love on her each day. What an absolute joy these 4 months have been.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Joy of Christmas

Christmas Day was absolutely wonderful this year for our family! It started off around 7:30, the kids were bouncing off the walls to get down the stairs, and they both went straight for their new Gator!!! We knew that would be the big hit this year! Grafton also got a baby doll with diapers, a new cradle, a plasma car, roller skates, and lots of activity books and stocking stuffers. James got a plasma car and roller skates too, a John Deere wagon, vacuum, motorcycle, car rug, frog umbrella and lots of activity books and blocks. Price got a car she can be pushed in, a new lamb mat, some vera bradly bags, precious bloomers, and a few toys. It was really a fantastic spread for the children!!!

The kids played and played and played all day, ate way too much candy, napped a little, then played even more. We were exhausted by the end of the day but have some really great memories of it all. And we were so thankful to have DeeDee and Uncle Scott at our house to experience all of it! The kids have so much fun hugging on DeeDee and climbing all over Scott! It was really such a happy day.

Eric and I were looking back at last year saying "Wow, we had no idea then that we would have a 3rd child this Christmas!!!" and oh how special it was to be able to celebrate another 1st Christmas with another special baby. God has blessed us beyond measure this year....what JOY we have in our hearts this Christmas!

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

A Holly Jolly Christmas Eve

We started Christmas Eve off with our typical family tradition....each kid opening a present first thing in the morning! So at 7:00 the kids piled up in our bed and opened their first present of the day...emergency vehicles! Haha. Would you believe Grafton really loves trucks, cars, sirens, horns, trains, etc just as much as James does?! They were ecstatic over their present and the day was started off with a joyful bang!

We spent some fun lazy time in the morning, made an impromptu trip to Walmart and Kroger in the midst of crowds and chaos, put together the "big" toy for the kids, and enjoyed the company of DeeDee, Uncle Scott, Carly and Zella. We had a fantastic dinner, opened some fabulous gifts, and had blast watching the children's faces as they ripped open present after present. Oh how wonderful it is to experience Christmas through the eyes of your children.

At the end of the night, way passed bedtime, we decided to remind ourselves again what this celebration is really all about. We put candles on a cake, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and let the kids blow them out. It was a sweet way to draw a close to the night....one of those "keeping it real" moments that gave us a chance to stop and reflect on the amazing birth of our Savior.

As the kids went to sleep and the house grew quiet, Eric and I began to set toys out and arrange presents perfectly for the children to see in the morning. We played Christmas music and when "Silent Night" came on I couldn't help but stop what I was doing and just listen. "Silent Night, Holy Night, All is calm, All is bright"- In that little, quiet town of Bethlehem, two thousand years ago, a baby's cry broke the silence of that night....and the exhausted yet excited parents stared in amazement at their savior, knowing that the world would never be the same again. Can you imagine the feeling and wonder of that night?! No amount of excitement or anticipation that we can feel this night could begin to compare to that special night years and years ago. Oh how marvelous. Oh how wonderful. Praise the Lord for that Silent Night...Praise the Lord for sending his Son!

1st present...bright and early in the morning!