Christmas 2015

This year we spent Christmas in San Jose, California with my family. 

This was our first time flying to California with all three kids and they did pretty well. Kathryn was just miserable on the flight there...we almost wished we had driven over flying. The flight back was pretty good.  

We enjoyed seeing our family and just relaxing. We didn't go anywhere special, we just stayed at my parents house and vegged...it was definitely what we needed! 

Merry Christmas 2015

Here is what Christmas looks like at our house...

Goodies to our Neighbors!

5th Annual Christmas Party

This year, we hosted our annual Christmas Party...Details below!

"Come join us for our 5th Annual Christmas Dinner and Gift Exchange!

If you've never been, you're in for a real treat. 

Dinner Menu: Spiral Baked Ham, Green Beans, Scalloped Potatoes, Rolls

Bring: Your favorite appetizer and dessert,  one wrapped gift per person (White Elephant-can be silly, or quite the eye catcher!)

Dress Attire: Elegant/Classy

We'll enjoy appetizers beginning at 6:00 p.m.

We will have Dinner, desserts and coffee followed by laughter and more fun!

*We will provide Cranberry Wine Spritzers and other adult beverages.

You'll appreciate the evening without children :-)

Please RSVP by Sunday, December 6th!"

I really enjoyed planning this year and coming up with a new Winter Wonderland Theme!

My idea came from Pinterest

Hannah's First Teeth

For about a year now, Hannah has been saying that she has lost a tooth.

Thanksgiving 2015

I hosted my first ever Thanksgiving meal. Since we celebrated T-Day with Dan's family a couple weekends ago, and my dad moved to CA already, we decided to invite another family over, who did not have family here either.  It was a lot of prep and a lot of fun. I was passed out on the couch by 9:30 for the night!

Gotcha Day 2015

This past Saturday marked ONE year since the state of Texas officially deemed Jensen as our son, we legally became the parents that we had already been to our precious boy.

We decided that every year we would celebrate this special day when he became a part of our family officially. This year we decided to go to lunch at Chick Fil-A and then go to the McDonalds play place close by because they have all kinds of musical things to do in the play area. If you don't already know, our son has got some moves! He loves to dance and any music he hears, he's bouncing and shaking his little head. We just can't imagine life without this little man to light up our world. 

Take a peak at where we were 1 year ago and where we are now!

Grasham Family Thanksgiving 2015

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving early with Dan's family. Two weeks before Thanksgiving, we all gathered together. We did this for several reasons. One is that costs were cheaper for those coming from out of town and secondly, many of us had other plans for Thanksgiving. It worked out great because all our family was in town for Kathryn's first birthday party, which if you know me well--that is important for me, to have family here with us. 

It was a wonderful time of catching up, growing closer with those we don't see often and meeting new members to the family, a.k.a Reese :-) I really enjoyed seeing how much Alana, my niece had grown and it was just really a nice time of fellowship. It was more laid back than previous ears passed and there wasn't any "family drama"--at least I didn't think so between anyone. In a large family, sometimes it's easy to have misunderstanding or unmet expectations. For the most part, I think it went really well. After all, there were about 26 of us!

Jessica came over a couple times with Reese and it was fun to see her for the first time and watch her interact with Kathryn. This was Reese and Kathryn looking at each other. They are both so adorable!

Kathryn Anne's 1st Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Kathryn's 1st Birthday!

2015 Fall Family Photos

Photography courtesy of  Stephen Paulson Photography

Annual Pumpkin Patch Party 2015

We attended our church's annual "Trunk or Treat". It's the largest in our area, and the kids have a blast! This year, we went as a family, but Jensen was sick with an ear infection, poor little guy. He was a cute dinosaur, Kathryn was a little Strawberry and Hannah was the little mermaid, Ariel.

Hannah was really just interested in playing in the bounce houses and the playground. While I enjoy going car to car, it sure makes it difficult when Hannah can't eat ANYTHING they are passing out. So while there may have been fun in "trunk or treating" in previous years, it's not quite fun for Hannah since she can't have anything. She still enjoys playing the games, but really enjoys seeing her friends and doing bounce houses...because they have only 20 bounce houses there ha!

Here we are!

 Our attempt at a group picture...

Jensen is 18 Months

Our sweet Jensen is 18 months old. He is just a joyful child. He brings so many bright moments to our days and we are so blessed by him. Jensen is growing so fast, I can't believe he is already 18 months. The time goes by so quickly. 

Here are his stats:

Height: 32.5 inches and 50th percentile

Weight: 24.6 lbs and 25th percentile

Head Circumference: 19 inches and 75th percentile

Vaccines: None

Jensen had his first ear infection this month and he is such a trooper. You would never know this boy is sick. He doesn't whine or complain, isn't irritable, etc. He seems to be growing fine otherwise, eating everything, talking a ton and is a healthy boy. We are so thankful he is growing well. 

Pumpkin Carving with Dads

This year, Hannah’s school had a special day where Dads would come and bring a pumpkin and all the tools to carve a pumpkin with the kids. Hannah was long anticipating this day. Dan had to go out of town at the last minute and we didn’t think he would make it. He was very sad about that as was Hannah. In the end, he made it back in town at 11 am and was there at 1:30 for the pumpkin carving and parade. Hannah was so excited and felt so special that HER dad made it there!

Hannah's First Week of Kindergarten

Hannah had a great first week of school. 

She has an alarm clock and it's set for 5:55 a.m.

She shot out of bed the first day and the first few days after. She knew her routine and was excited to get started checking on her "to do" list.

(Here she is creating her Routine Chart that we have hanging on the wall for her to reference)

Morning Routine:

1) Wake up at 5:55 a.m.

2) Go Potty

3) Make Bed

4) Eat Breakfast

5) Get Dressed

6) Brush Teeth

7) Brush Hair

8) Get Shoes on 

9) Get Back Pack/Lunch/Water Bottle

10) Head out the door at 6:50 a.m. for the bus

Kathryn is 9 Months

Kathryn is 9 months old and has made leaps and bounds in her development!
How is it that my baby is so close to her first birthday???

Kathryn at 8 Months

Kathryn is 8 months, goodness how the days go by!

She has two teeth on top and two teeth on bottom.

Jensen is 13 Months

Jensen is 13 Months and so full of energy!

Kathryn is 6 Months

Kathryn Anne is 6 months old!

Jensen's 1st Birthday Party

These sweet pictures were captured by our sweet friend Krytondra, with K. Mamou Photography

Jensen is 12 Months

This little man turned 1 yesterday!!

I can't believe this year has flown by so quickly. He has changed so much in one year. 

                                   April 28, 2014                                           April 28,2015

Stats:

Height: 29.5 inches and 50th percentile

Weight: 21 pounds 6 inches and 50th percentile

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches and 75th percentile

Vaccine: Pneumococcal

One Year Ago

Dan and I headed to bed anxiously anticipating the next morning when we would be going to the hospital to witness the birth of our son, Jensen Leigh. I remember that we packed our bags and got to bed early because we had to be up at about 4:00 a.m. We didn't know what to expect when we got there. We were hoping to be in the room when he was born...we were hoping that our birth mother would want to see Jensen...we were praying that the Lord would be guiding us and our birth mother, giving us all strength and her, courage to make the most difficult decision of her life that would affect the rest of her life..."we were" so many things that night.  

Hannah is "Person of the Day"

Hannah presented this poster below at school

She was so put pictures of events that occurred during the last 5 years of her life, starting with birth. 

I let her pick out the pictures and there were a few events in her life that she recalled quickly.

1) Fishing with Papa--so we searched for that picture.

2) Boating with Grandma Glenn--so we searched for that one. 

3) Jumping Date--trampoline place I took her a few months back. We found that one as well.

I'm sorry this video is not the best quality. Either way, you can hear what she is saying.
(Her teacher was kind enough to text me the video)

We had so much fun creating this poster and reminiscing together about her life!

Kathryn is 5 Months

Kathryn is 5 months old.

Here are her stats:

Height: 24 1/2 inches and 25th percentile

(We switched pediatricians and their method of measurement is different, so it's a little off from previous months)

Weight: 15 pounds 4 ounces and 50th percentile

As you can see from 4 to 5 months, she gained 2.3 pounds--good progress girl!

She is on formula exclusively now

Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches and 75th percentile

She has one vaccine: Pneumococcal

She appeared to be growing well and heading upward in the growth curve for weight, which is great news.

Hannah turns 5

Hannah Grace was born on April, 22, 2010

April 22, 2011 (1 Year old)

April 22, 2012 (2 Years Old)

April 22,1013 (3 Years Old)

April 22, 2014 (4 Years Old)

April 22, 2014 (5 Years Old)

On our way to her 5 Year Well Check

Happy Easter 2015

Easter Sunday 2015

Kathryn is 4 Months

Kathryn is 4 month old. 

Here are her stats:

Height: 25 inches and 75th percentile

Weight: 12 pounds 1 ounce and 25th percentile

(She dropped again on the growth curve)

Head Circumference: 16 inches and 50th percentile

She had one vaccine: HIB

Other than weight, everything else looked great. 

Jensen is 11 Months

Jensen is 11 Months old. I can't believe it's been almost one year since he was born. As they say, "the moments go by slow, but the years go by fast!" As we are about to have an almost 5 year old and Jensen turning 1, that statement is more true now than it ever was before. It's becoming our reality. Cherish those precious moments with your little ones, before you know it, they are not so little anymore. 

Sensory Egg Hunt 2015

This year for Easter, we had a few different festivities to be apart of. 

The first was a Sensory Egg Hunt. This was a special event put together by an amazing woman, Dior. She started , "Reach For Kids", an organization designed to help families find resources for their special needs child. She sponsored this event.  It was great because there were few people there and not so much sensory overload for Hannah. My mom and I took Jensen and Hannah. It was a great time of fun and relaxation!

Hannah's Hair Cut

A few weeks ago, we caught Hannah having cut her hair.

She has been doing a lot of "attention seeking" behavior. I believe this was one of those times. 

But, she did say that she wanted her hair to be like her Papa, so she thought she could just cut it. 

Kathryn Anne-- 3 Month Photo Shoot

Kathryn was 3 months on February 25th. 

Here are photos captured by our good friend Krytondra with K. Mamou Photography.

Jensen is 10 Months

Little man is 10 months old! 

I can't believe that he is almost 1 year. We have already begun the party planning. We are so excited to celebrate the life of our sweet son!

Kathryn in 3 Months

Sweet baby girl, you are already 3 months old. 

You are beyond precious and perfect.

3 Month Comparison Hannah and Kathryn

Here are Hannah (left) and Kathryn (right) at 3 months!