Well, we apologize, but we're going to move the website on you one more time. The good news, though, is that this should be the permanent location:

grafhome.net

So.. please update your links one more time. One cool new feature of the new site is the ability to sign up for email notifications of new postings (look for the "Email Subscriptions" heading in the right-hand column). We've got a new layout and a lot more flexibility to customize it and make it our own. And of course, something had to keep Chris occupied during his two weeks off from work...

Welcome Home

Noah welcomed Gabriel home in our front yard by the stork.


Two things Noah loves are trains and being a big brother.


Turns out babies sleep a lot.


One of the early & rare shots of Gabriel with his eyes opened.

More Gabriel Pictures

Here are some more pictures of Gabriel from the hospital.


Gabriel bought Noah a special big brother gift -- a new Thomas train.

Announcing Gabriel Carter Graf

Gabriel Carter Graf came into the world today at 7:28 am. With a weight of 8 lb 9.3 oz and a length of 20 inches, his size is very similar to that of his big brother when he was born. Everyone's doing great. Thanks to all for the visits today.


Noah is really excited about his new baby brother. He's ready to read him all kinds of stories and hold him all the time. Noah even got a special big brother present from Gabriel -- a new Thomas train. Noah was also very concerned about Gabriel's hat staying on so that he remained warm.


The new family of four.

The End is Near

Well, the end is near. Noah is going to have a nameless baby brother on Monday morning. He is very excited. Every night before bed he wants to "say a lot of things about the baby." He's really interested in the c-section part of having a baby. He is not squeamish at all. He will tell you that the doctor is going to "poke a hole and take the baby out." Then he wants to "stick his fingers in the hole." He has definitely been made aware that that is out of the question. He knows about stitches and that Mama is going to be too sore to pick him up, but he doesn't mind because he's going to have Jello without eggs (otherwise known as vegetarian) and a baby brother. We're all excited, but Noah might be more excited than any of us. His friend Kaiden recently had a baby brother and Noah is obsessed with kissing and touching him. Hopefully it will go as well in our house, but the new will wear off before too long. I hope you enjoy Mama's white belly pics.

Hook 'Em Horns!

Noah and Daddy got to go to the UT season opener against Florida Atlantic. They went with one of Daddy's co-workers, Ben and his daughter Grace. Judging by the picture, they all had fun. Noah and Grace had lots of fun and wore each other out. By the time Noah got home, he was sound asleep. Lucky Noah, he had a Taco Bell bean burrito while he was at the game. Mmmmm. He was a little afraid that the trumpets would be too loud, but I think he survived.

The Greatest Show on Earth

We went to the circus with Ma and Cowboy this week. And to sum it up in Noah's words..."Thank you for taking me to the circus, Cowboy. I didn't like it." Unfortunately, the very last act was the man shooting out of the cannon. Noah does NOT like loud noises. So we finished our night with Noah crying. I would have to say though, that other than the cannon, Noah did like the circus. He got some fun things like a motorcycle and a mama and baby tiger stuffed animal. Of course there was also cotton candy (which came with the cool hats) and a snow cone. He even got to shake Bello's hand. In case you haven't seen the commercials, Bello is the star of the circus right now. Of course, Noah's favorite part of the circus was the clowns. He thought they were funny. Chris thought they were annoying. We had a great night at the circus.

Happy Birthday GiGi!

Yum yum. Noah was so glad that GiGi had a birthday because any excuse to make a cake is a good one. And birthdays are the best excuse because that also means presents to wrap and open. You can't beat that.

Hot Hot Hot Springs

Noah and Cowboy had fun fishing. There were only a few problems... it was so hot that the cheese they were using for bait kept melting. So then we got a veggie dog, but it seems that fish don't really think veggie dogs are very tasty. How sad.

But they prevailed and a fish was caught. Noah thought that was pretty cool

One day while trying to avoid the heat, Ma, Noah and Mama went to the Mid America Science Museum in Hot Springs. That was pretty neat. This was Noah's favorite part of the exhibit. He liked pumping the bubbles and then running up the stairs to see them at the top.

Noah and Ma liked to go feed the fish the leftover bread. The fish really like bread. Too bad there weren't any ducks to share in the fun.

Fun in the Sun

Don't they look like two of a kind?


Noah's getting really good at swimming. He loves to go underwater and "swim". As soon as we can get him to kick his feet with straight legs, he'll be off.

And now the fun is over.

Fun with Makayla in Houston

Noah and GiGi took a trip to Houston to visit his cousin Makayla (and Uncle Otis and Aunt Jane). They had a great time playing. There was even a trip to the zoo. But to be honest, I'm not sure who had more fun, Noah or GiGi.

Best Buds

Noah and Kaiden had lots of fun playing together this week. Playing in the sandbox was really great, but we made sure not to get too dirty.

Then they were off to save the day. Watch out bad guys!

Fun Around the House

Playing football is one of Noah's very favorite things to do. He loves the Longhorns (of course) but Cowboy is trying to work his way in with the OSU Cowboys. As you can probably tell, Noah picked out his own outfit. He especially likes his "fire boots" because he can put them on himself.




What a nice smile! But what an ugly bump. Unfortunately Noah fell and had a small bump on his head. That's bad news because he's a picker (like his dad) and now it is taking forever to go away.