11 months.

(I love the progression of pictures...)
toothy smile

serious face

...and she's done!

Each month I sound like a broken record, so basically I need to come to terms with the fact that time flies when you're having fun. June still believes that anytime we are with a crowd of people everyone is there to see her. We took the Metro into LA for my moms birthday and June waved to the passengers the entire train ride. She loves clapping and playing peek-a-boo. Our sweet girl does have an attitude at times (what girl doesn't) and she wakes up screaming in the middle of the night more often than we'd like (we still can't decide if that is part of the attitude or something else.) June is slowly becoming more stable on her feet, walking around the furniture and standing for longer periods of time. Junie's personality is really shining these days, we love her fake laugh, her dance moves, and how she continues to admire her brother even when the admiration is mostly one-sided.

Lazy bones.

I have no motivation to work-out. I really do not think I could even run a mile right now if I wanted to. Here we are at Adam's half-marathon last month. After seeing all the runners cross the finish line I was determined to pick up running. It is the perfect form of exercise. The kids could go with me and it is quick and to the point. The only thing is I don't know if I am cut out to be a runner. A few years ago my sister broke her foot. When the doctor looked at the x-ray he asked if she had a difficult time running. She said, "Not really, but my husband always makes fun of the way I run." Then the doctor told her she has an extra bone in her foot. Interesting. Adam makes fun of the way I run too, so maybe this extra bone thing runs in the family. Really, I am probably just looking for an excuse. I think I need to put the plate of cookies down, get my booty off the couch, and go for a run...

I {heart} this guy.

I really have the best husband around, you should all be jealous. He has the biggest heart of anyone I have ever met. If we were in high school I would vote him "BEST ALL AROUND." He is thoughtful and giving... and forgiving, thank goodness. He LOVES his kids and he is their favorite playmate. I have never heard him complain about a single meeting or activity he has had for church, and he has lots! He is so positive, only hard on himself because he wants to do and be better. He works hard and plays hard. I have never met a single person who does not like him. He runs half-marathons, donates blood, and is good at every sport he tries, even horseshoes. He cleans bathrooms, folds laundry, changes diapers, washes dishes, and the list goes on. I find him reading his scriptures early in the morning and kneeling in prayer late at night. I think the thing I love the most about him is that he takes me the way I am. He loves me the way I am (and I can be a real jerk at times). Happy Valentine's Day Adam. I am glad we will be together forever because it's going to take an eternity for me to learn to be more like you.

10 months.

This month June has gone from being a baby to a total toddler. The little missy is a whopping 20+ pounds and my hip is starting to feel it. June's missing bottom tooth finally appeared and so did all four of her top teeth. June has figured out how to pull herself up but it has taken all month for her to master getting back down. The first time she stood up in her crib she got stuck and freaked out... I just grabbed the camera and snapped away. Army crawling still continues to be her favorite mode of transportation. The only frustrating thing about this lady is she has started to make a habit out of blowing her food all over the place when she eats, but somehow everything she does seems to be cute!

"I'm a BIG KID now!"

A week of rain. Many accidents. Lots of laundry. Countless trips to the toilet. Stickers. Candy (M&M's, Skittles, and Gummy Bears to be exact). Suckers. A trip to the donut shoppe (for the first # 2 in the toilet). It's official, my baby is a BIG BOY now.

We are FAM-A-LEE

the Grahams

the Martinos (minus Ben)

the Grahams

the Kochs

the Menloves

We took some family pictures in my mom's backyard over the holidays, it's been a long time since our last family pic. Ben was the only one not there but thanks to Photoshop it will be like he never left! The picture below was taken on a whim, someone said "What about one with just the original Grahams." As the pictures were being taken I could not help but have an overwhelming feeling like someone was missing. I kept looking around feeling like the picture was not complete. Then my eyes got teary; the picture is not complete. Someone is definitely missing. I don't think we have taken a picture with just my mom and us five kids since my dad has been gone. It felt weird while we were taking it and it looks incomplete to me now. I guess it will always feel like someone is missing but I am happy to have frequent reminders, especially in the personalities of my kids, of how close my dad really is.

Cousins.

Charlie and Junie are so lucky to have so many cousins close in age as well as some older examples to look up to. They got to spend time with almost all their cousin on both sides of the family over the holidays... and oh what fun they had!
Charlie and Gracie modeling Grandma Graham's glasses.
A little teeter-totter action with Josh.
Abigail, Addie, and June looking incredibly cute in their matching pink dresses.
Big cousin Alli watching after June-bug.
The classic tub picture, we are missing Addie and Josh but for sure they could have fit.
June and Shea enjoying some bananas in their matching pj's.
Noah, the best baby sitter around, holding June. She loves him!
Jordan showing Charlie the seriousness it takes to play video games... and to be a teenager!
Evan and Char-char enjoying some grapes, PB&J, and a good laugh.

Horns

Charlie got these two random bruises on his head and we have no idea how he got them. While we were staying at my mom's house over the holidays the he was constantly getting into mischief, bopping his cousins on the head, and spending much of his days in time-out. When my sister saw him she said, "Hey look, Charlie's horns are starting to poke through!" So sad, so funny, but so true.

Party Hardy.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! We had an awesome New Year's Eve. Thanks to my party-planner sister, Emily, the kids did not miss out on the fun. It all started with some party hats, then the cousins all sat on the back porch and threw "poppers" on the cement, followed by some serious gaming.
Charlie had a blast! I am sad I did not get any pictures of June but she was in the background of it all enjoying the chaos. The kids played musical chairs (Alli made sure she won every time), they raced toy cars down a ramp (Adam made sure Alli did not win every time) and they played a few rounds of Duck-Duck-Goose.


Here is the party planner in full effect. After organizing all the games and activities for the night we decided that she needs to open a Daycare!
A little dance party...

Some Martinelli's...
And some celebrating...
Then off to bed. The "kid party" started at 6, was over by 7, and they were all sleeping by 8. That is what I call a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It was MERRY and BRIGHT.