Uh oh...

It's not even noon and I think Ben has eaten 3.5 bananas. That can't be good.

And has anyone else noticed that Eric Estrada is now following the Graichen Nation? Love it!

What Up

I guess I can still post without pictures, but it's not nearly as fun. Ben and I have explored and almost conquered the State Botanical Gardens...an absolutely beautiful park with loads of fountains for Ben to try to swim in. Ben has been rising early again which is no fun at all, and yesterday my Feat of the Day was applying a band-aid to my right hand (which meant using my left!) after I removed a splinter with said left hand all while Ben was screaming and tugging at my leg. Since I generally can't do much of anything with my left hand, this was an accomplishment indeed.

This weekend will be low-key as we hang in Athens between jaunts down the road to Hilton Head...hope we can manage to pass the time!

HHI, Part 2

Two August weekends have been spent at the beach...not quite the same as living there year round, but the closest thing we've got here in Athens and not a bad situation at all. The good news: no rabid jellyfish, no sharks (a fear since watching this year's Shark Week), fun with John & Melinda, tasty cocktails. The bad news: I was reminded the hard way that our camera isn't waterproof. Todd, John and I also learned that we're not very good at Scattergories...and Melinda is a little too good. (but come on...a linguini sandwich? that was a gimme)

After the Hurricane-Bill-Induced Wave (which also knocked down Ben incidentally, but he, fortunately, was saved) the camera worked but now seems busted. We'll have to see what our warranty says about all of this...future posts could be iffy.

For now, enjoy a pic of Ben diving into his first real slice of pizza (real = triangle shaped slice). We tried to show him how to fold it, but...baby steps.

Benzilla

Note Beckham hiding under Ben's bed...poor guy needs a new safety zone!

It's Time For...

Another Birthday Shout Out! Happy Birthday to Ben's favorite Godfather...make it a good one Justin!

Georgia's Own Johnny Marzetti

Ben definitely liked dinner tonight more than we thought he would, but he shared a lot with Beckham too. Mmmmmm...

The Graichens Great Outdoors

We took a two hour hike this morning...mostly because we may have missed a trail or two. Ben let us do most of the work, but he did learn to duck from low-hanging branches pretty quickly. Definitely a fun morning...even with the extra 30 pounds we each got to lug around.

Birthday Shout Out!

And a Birthday Shout Out to our friend Dave in Seattle celebrating the Big 30! Hope he sees this soon and let's this cover for the birthday card we forgot to mail.

Ben's Fan Club

Ben is getting ready for the Premiere League; no doubt this will be priceless video footage when he goes pro. Greg & Ali were super impressed...mostly that Ben was able to concentrate even with the distraction of Greg's insane ensemble.

Most Pitiful Ever...

Poor Beckham has taken to hiding under Ben's bed in any hopes of getting even the shortest of naps. Now that Ben considers him his very best friend, our poor pup doesn't get a break. And of course, Ben found his buddy 10 minutes after I took this picture.

Pasta Party

Mmmm...fettucini alfredo.

This counts as expanding his culinary horizons, right?

Graichen Nation Goes on Vacation

Just in from Hilton Head over the weekend with friends Justin, Aimee, and Baby Taylor. So much fun and a much-needed get-away for all of us. Five hours in the car is absolutely worth it...be it from Athens, GA or Durham, NC.

Highlight of the Trip: Todd got stung by a rogue, rabid, man-eating jellyfish and by all accounts, is lucky to have made it out alive.

Ben of the Future

Round Two for Ben in the Haircut Game wasn't pretty. He screamed, he flailed, he kicked...he ended up with a pretty uneven cut, no fault at all of the barber. That poor guy didn't stand a chance.

An "after" pic to highlight the uneven and now pretty straight hair revealed something else...the fact that Ben now looks ready for college. Talk about changing everyday.

Diabolical Ben

Ein Prosit!

Ben is 21 months old! We taught him "cheers!" a week or so ago and now he does it at every meal...and thus, a party animal is born.

The Best Pizza Deal in Town

Who doesn't love Pizza Tuesday? Since no one with our genes could ever possibly fall asleep while in such close proximity to pizza, have no fear for Ben...he was simply savoring every bite. Clearly not much is going on in Athens except for the heat, which I'm starting to believe might just be the norm. Today we hit Storytime, we hit the playground, and we hit Gymboree...hard. The pizza was an absolute necessity. Bad news for Beckham...he wasn't able to sneak a bite when Ben wasn't looking.

Downtown with UGA

Since we moved here I've been trying to get a good picture of Ben atop one of the many, many Uga's throughout Athens. This was right after a trip to the playground and some Graichen Anniversary Ice Cream...this visit with Uga made for a Monday perfection trifecta!

Headed Down the Atlanta Highway

A rainy day in Athens led us on a family adventure to Atlanta today. We hit the Children's Museum and Centennial Olympic Park with lunch in the CNN center in between. Ben loved the museum and the playground and got lots of energy out...mission accomplished!

My Roadtrip

Was off to Asheville last night to do some research and visit with Greg and Ali at Hotel Hoffman's North Carolina branch. The research went fine...the real story is Greg's River Race Adventure. Here's Greg with his team's "boat"...anxiously awaiting the results!