Changes Everyday

These days, it seems like Graham and Patrick are changing every single day. Patrick is coming up with new words daily now and Graham is getting more coordinated and mobile. Every weekend after barely seeing the boys for the previous 3 or 4 days, Delmar swears that they are both bigger. They are just growing and developing faster than seems possible. 

Graham is now sitting up unsupported like a champ. I don't know where that came from either. It seems like he was a wobbly hot mess and then one day I sat him down and he was solid! He didn't tip over until he tried reaching for one of his brother's toys. Now he's testing how far he can reach without falling and his strength and coordination is really impressive. Of course he has gone too far a few times and taken some good headers, but that's all part of the learning process!

Here's his first time sitting up. I had to get him his own block to play with so he would stop reaching for Patrick's toys (and falling over!)

Speaking of chewing on blocks (and everything else in reach), Graham's first tooth finally broke through! I don't think a lack of teeth is going to stop this kid from finding a way to eat his food but some new teeth will definitely help. 

Graham is also getting close to crawling already! He has been doing his backwards push/crawl for a while and now he's getting up on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. I think he'll figure it out soon. Patrick has some really cool toys that are always just barely out of reach. Let's just say that he is highly motivated!

Graham's absolute favorite thing right now is his jumper. I think he would jump all day long if it wasn't for eating and naptime. He's already working on his strong Nakamoto legs. Recently he started jumping forward and then lifting his feet so that he swings backwards. And repeat. And repeat. And repeat! It actually looks like a lot of fun!

We were very happy to have Nana and Bapa Nakamoto come and visit recently to help take care of the boys so that I could be involved in my HSU Soccer Alumni weekend. I didn't actually play on the field during our soccer game (my hips haven't recovered from being blasted twice by these boys) but I did play goalie for a half and kept a clean scoresheet! 

Patrick impressed everyone on the sidelines with his kicking skills while wearing a pair of hand me down soccer cleats about 20 sizes too big. They were impressed not only by his accurate left footed passing but also with the fact that he didn't trip and fall wearing his clown cleats. I thought for sure he would eat it at least a couple times. 

This is in our driveway, not at the game, but you can still see him with an accurate shot of goal with his while wearing his clown cleats!

Patrick is such a little man. A very observant little man with great focus. A few weeks ago we spent the afternoon washing both our cars in the driveway. After helping me and Delmar out for a while and getting the swing of things, Patrick got his own truck out to wash. It was one of the cutest things he's every done! Such attention to detail cleaning all the dirty spots in and out, cleaning the wheels, the grill. It was spotless! 

And yes, he's in his underwear :)

Here are a few more good pictures from this past month or so:

Graham trying to look tough...thug face!

Grandpa and his blond mini-me

Not a great pic, but I see Grandpa when Graham is in profile too

 Patrick is a very serious young man with a very silly side! 

Our blue-eyed stud wearing his firetruck pjs with a junior police sticker badge. Daddy's boy :)

I will be in Santa Clara with the boys for the week of June 12th while Delmar is in Sacramento for training. Let me know if you want to get together!

Sarah

Where Did My Babies Go?!?!

Well, time is continuing to fly by. Patrick recently hit the 2.5 year mark and Graham is already 5 months old. A lot has happened with our two boys in the last couple months since my last post. Let's start with The Patness Monster. 

Mr. Patrick is such a sweet, caring little boy and he loves his little brother so much. From the moment Graham wakes up in the morning until they go to bed at night, Patrick is giving Graham hugs and kisses. He yells at Sophie to stop barking when Graham is sleeping; "woof woof nooooooo"! He gets a wipe to clean Graham's face when he spits up. The list goes on, and it just makes my heart burst every time!

Patrick's speech is still very far behind but it's definitely starting to pick up. He recently started calling Graham "baby". We are very excited to start speech therapy for him soon. There is nothing wrong, nothing to be concerned about, but we want to help our little guy learn to express himself with his words more. 

We have had some beautiful weekends lately, so Patrick and Delmar have been spending a lot of time out in the yard working on the garden. Nothing makes Patrick happier than being outside, getting in the dirt, using his tools just like Daddy, and driving his truck like Daddy too. Patrick loves taking care of the animals too. We recently sold our ducks but we will have 10 new chickens in about two weeks when they're old enough to live outside in our chicken coop. Patrick used to collect the duck eggs every morning, clean them, and package them up all on his own. He is going to be so excited to have birds in the yard and eggs to collect again.

Mr. Graham is just growing up so fast, I can't believe it. He started rolling over just after he turned three months. These days he's rolling around in all directions. For a baby who doesn't crawl yet, I don't understand how he moves around so much when I put him down on a blanket! He absolutely adores his older brother. All day long he's tracking Patrick. He's watching and learning everything Patrick does. He recently started eating rice cereal and I don't think he could have possibly been more enthusiastic to be eating solid food! He was lunging his head forward and reaching for the spoon with his hands. He even managed to get a hold of the spoon a few times and brought it to his mouth. I was very impressed! I don't think we're going to have much trouble getting this kid to eat! 

For those of you who are wondering, Graham's eyes are still blue! They are a very dark blue though, unlike Patrick. From afar his eyes look dark but they're actually blue, while his hair looks like but up close is actually very dark. Delmar and I think that he looks just like my dad. He has those tiny Asian eyes and those giant Nakamoto cheeks!

 

       Our little potsticker! Look at those Nakamoto genes shining through.

                                                Eyes on brother all the time!

These pictures are all before Graham had his first hair cut. Most of his newborn hair fell out, leaving behind a very awkward comb over, which we decided to cut off. He's a very sharp looking young man now :)

                    

Graham is just the happiest baby I've ever met. He wakes up cooing and smiling, and he just keeps smiling and laughing all day long. It's wonderful!

      Playing with his ball!

 

      Enjoying his first rice cereal!

Here are a few pictures from Patrick's Easter Egg this year, with the help of Uncle Mike and Auntie Lauren. 

  

We put cars inside plastic eggs for Patrick. Boy loves his cars!

One last parting shot... :) 

3 Month Old Graham

I am writing this blog post to you today from Ramone's Cafe, one of my favorite spots in town, while the boys are off with Daddy. Delmar sent me off this morning for my "mommy parole" :) 

Well, believe it or not, Graham is three months old. Somehow he seems so much older than that already. He is such a happy boy, laughing, smiling and engaging all day long! And he's already rolling onto his side. My baby boy is growing up so fast.

Graham gets "nakey time" every morning when he wakes up. He's always such a happy boy first thing in the morning. Patrick is always so excited when his brother gets up. Patrick doesn't understand the loose cannon that naked little brother can be and has been peed on several times :) Graham seems to enjoy laying on his side because he can reach his hand easier to suck on it. He hasn't managed to dislodge his thumb from his fist yet but I'm not sure if he wants to. He seems to like the full fist sucking!

                                              

I love these pictures because you can tell that Graham is watching Patrick play with his trains in the top picture, and that Patrick is watching over Graham in the bottom one. 

Patrick is becoming such a grown up boy too! His language is still a bit behind but he improves every day. He's putting a few words together at a time and he is slowly adding to his vocabulary. Last night in his sleep, I heard him say "mama apple"! 

Patrick is also expanding beyond his little man sports and trucks personality to having quite a creative side. He loves to dance, draw and paint. Here are a couple pictures of him painting. And yes he is naked, we're potty training :) 

We have had a lot of rain up here this winter which has created a giant puddle in our driveway. While it isn't very convenient for me loading and unloading the baby and all the gear in and out of the car, Patrick and the ducks absolutely love it! Patrick drives his truck through and around the puddle for an average of 30 minutes a day, and then gets out and plays in the puddle with the ducks. Here are a few pictures of him playing and feeding the ducks. 

You can see the pieces of food hitting the water. The tricky part is keeping the dog from chasing off the ducks and eating the food herself! 

Well that's about all for this month. I'd like to take advantage of my "mommy parole" and this beautiful day. 

Love,

Sarah

Graham Dean Tompkins

I can't believe it has already been two months since our precious baby boy, Graham Dean, was born. We welcomed a very healthy 8 lb, 19.5 inch long bundle of joy to our family on October 24th. He didn't want to come out but he seems to be pretty happy now that he has.

For those of you who can't tell for sure from these small photos whether or not Graham looks much like his older brother, the answer is yes! Can you tell who is who?!?

I'll give you a hint, Graham likes his pacifier more than Patrick ever did ;)

Patrick has been such a fantastic older brother. He loves to give his little brother kisses and hugs, and he likes to have Graham sleep on his belly (I think he saw Mommy 

and Daddy doing this).

Patrick put stickers all over Graham's face. You can guess how Graham felt about it :) 

Patrick does want to be treated like a baby on occasion. Here Nana is holding both of he "baby" boys 

Patrick loves his brother!

Cutie Pie!!!

Well, I'm having technical difficulties, so that's all for now before I get too frustrated! I hope to be able to add more pictures and stories soon.

Love,

Sarah