Graf Keepin Up -- 1 1/2 years old

Some of his favorite words are Ew...yuck!, Yeah!, No no!, Vroom, cleanup (song), bath!, and any sound effect you can think of. His favorite activities are starting the CD player for his "Footloose" soundtrack to come on and dance to; kicking and throwing balls; having me blow bubbles to pop especially "big"; going to the bus stop; and swimming. I wish I had more pictures to do the justice, but Graf is a fearless, go-getting, mess making, tackling, growling, fit-throwing (yes, sad but true), loving little man.

Graf does more than keep up actually--he kind of runs the place. From chasing the girls as the BIG BAD WOLF for our ward Halloween party
to helping the grocery store clerk at Target (and earning a free am/fm radio headset)
to managing the weed-whacker--a task he takes on whenever outdoors,
he finds his niche quite nicely.

On of his favorite activities is visiting the girls at school. He has a little bit of a hard time saying goodbye (particularly to Lorin), and his voice has been known to echo down the hallways whilst school is in session--woops!:
Messes are definitely a specialty of his right now. Here's where he helped me make scones for Christmas Eve dinner:
Afraid of Heights? Not when there are airplanes to be seen out of the watchtower:

Yes, he landed in the hospital with Bronchialitis--a sad tale of him not breathing at full oxygen levels and getting admitted on the spot. Ask me if this slowed him down...breathing tubes up his nose (taped to his cheeks), an IV complete with bag and pole, and a hospital gown too long to maneuver in..............................I had to run with that pole to keep up with him and constantly adjust tubing over and under toys in the toy room so as to avoid kinks, breaks, and general mayhem.

ALERT: OK, I admit, he did stop once...and it happened to be on the 4 wheeler in one of my arms while I was driving. It was freezing cold with wind whipping us in the face. Ryan was on the front "helping" me steer, and Cory, Lorin, and Izzy were being pulled on sleds with ropes. We were giving them a rip-roaring ride. He chose that moment to stop and sleep for a while!!!


A few more cute pics: