The Tough Times Make You Stronger: Happy 6 Months, Grady J!!

Approx. 20 lbs.

size 3 diapers
size 4 shoes
size 6-12 months, 6-9 and 12 months depending on brand of clothes

Daily Schedule
I should really just delete this section from my monthly updates because its just never gonna happen around this house! Grady goes with the flow whether its a nap in the stroller at Disney or a shopping trip in a loud Walmart or a really long day at home where Whitney was just too entertaining to allow little bro to nap. He rarely cries and is just so happy all the time, I have convinced myself that he doesnt NEED a routine or schedule as long as he is happy and healthy. A routine or schedule was way more realistic and achievable with the first kid. Baby #2 just has to learn to roll with the punches and remain calm and happy. Grady has this mastered :) I would love to get organized enough to really work with him the way I worked with Whitney at this age (flashcards, songs, more books, etc) but I think I would need a week just to GET organized and then the challenge is STAYing organized.....Maybe I will get there next month ;)

Activity

Grady is officially sitting on his own. He rolls and wiggles and does NOT give up when he wants something out of reach. I can sit him with some toys on a blanket in the playroom while I go turn over laundry or wash some bottles, and when I come back he is either still happily playing and babbling to his toys, or half way across the room on a mission to eat my flip flops. He is seriously happy in a crowd or left alone to play by himself. He gets his knees under himself but then flops out onto his belly before figuring out the movement process. Im thinking he will be crawling by Christmas, but maybe not Thanksgiving. I was telling Eric that i REALLY cant wait for Grady to start crawling because I love when they can explore on their own and I think he will have fun chasing Whitney....but Eric wisely reminded me that I will no longer be able to leave him in the playroom to wash those bottles or fold that laundry, as he will quickly be into everything. And while Whitney is a great big sister, she isnt so great at keeping small toys out of reach. So maybe we CAN wait on the crawling for a few more months!

$17,000 in toys and this kid is only interested in his big sister's old bathtub foam letters!

Sleeping/Napping

Grady is just far too busy to bother with napping. You see, he has this really awesomely funny big sister who is so fabulous that he cant possibly leave her to go take a nap. She dances and wiggles and makes funny faces and its just too great a show to miss out on! He can rub his eyes and yawn enough to convince me that he absolutely NEEDS a nap, but when I try to lay him down, he wimpers and whines. He carries on in a tired last attempt to avoid the crib, and then....it happens. Whitney rounds the corner to take a peek into Grady's darkened room, and Grady lights up like a Christmas tree. He smiles and shrieks and just glows with excitement. Its too cute to ignore and makes Whitney giggle so much that all efforts towards a nap are officially lost. I flip on the light and let these two crazy kids play some more....heck, as long as he is happy, he can stay awake til the cows come home! I sometimes worry that he might need more sleep than he is getting, but he sleeps when he is ready. He sleeps through the night, wakes up happy, and gets naps in the car or when Whitney is at school. When he does nap, its usually after a bottle, in my arms on the couch. About half the time I move him to his crib where he will sleep for about an hour and 15 minutes. But the other half of the time, I stay on the couch, soaking in the cuddles and reminding myself that the laundry will wait, I dont HAVE to vacuum immediately, and he wont be this little forever. I dont want to jinx anything, but I sorta wonder if he might nap more once he is mobile and busier in the next few months....but Im not holding my breath. For now, as long as he is happy and smiley, he can skip naps every day :)

Yes, hes really asleep. He fought it hard, but finally just closed his eyes and crashed. Literally.

Eating

Just like his big sister at this age, Grady is in a four-ounce funk. He is a snacker, in that he will eat 2oz here and 3 oz there throughout the day, and rarely eats more than 4oz at a time. He likes some baby foods, but Id probably say he "tolerates" them more than he actually "likes" them. He is definitely a bigger fan of vegetables (peas, green beans, carrots, squash, sweet potatoes) over fruits (no pears, no apples, tolerates blends like banana/mixed berry.) The big news this month is that Grady is now rockin' TWO TEETH! Those suckers are SHARP and seriously adorable. He has been whining and reaching for everything we put into our mouths, so I gave him some puffs last week and he liked them. He is NOT good at actually getting them in his mouth. He needs some major practice! But when he finally gets one in his mouth, he is great at chewing and gumming it. Yesterday, he was begging for a bite of my apple, so I let him suck and gnaw on a piece of it and he looooved it. I cant wait for him to have more table foods, as I think he is just one of those kids who doesnt dig baby food. For a kid who is "giant" and chunkalicious, he is not a very good eater at this stage. If there is ANYTHING going on around him, he is too distracted to eat. In a quiet room, he can polish off 6oz. He is just too interested in life to bother with food and beverage right now :)

I could pour an entire canister of puffs on his tray and he would still struggle to get just ONE in his mouth. I tried taking video of this attempts yesterday, and after EIGHT minutes, he still hadnt found success. Do you KNOW how long eight minutes is!? He never gave up though! And he gets better every time :)

Tonight, we tried again:

Eh. We'll keep practicing.

The day his tooth popped through!

Personality

HOLY, PERSONALITY! Grady's expressions and babbles and personality are such a joy! He cracks us up with his belly laughs and squeals of delight, and really impresses us with his determination and happy attitude. He is really happy to sit on a lap and watch the action, or sit on the floor and drag out tons of toys. He continues to be calm and content and relaxed and is really starting to flirt with anyone who says "hi" to him along the way. He shakes his arms and waves them and reaches when he wants someone, and he smiles and laughs at "peek a boo" and anything Whitney does. He laughs harder when he is tired so we get some pretty awesome belly laughs around bedtime. There really isnt anything he doesnt like and even when hes sooo over-tired he cant keep his head up, he smiles and laughs. If he is playing on the floor and Im sitting at the desk in the playroom, he will fake-cough a few times to get my attention, and then his face lights up when I turn to look at him. He copies a lot of sounds we make (Buh buh buh, ah gooo, raspberries, etc) and loves getting into shrieking matches with his sister.

Sibling Fun

I told a friend yesterday that, like any mother, I like when people say my kids are cute (they are!), but I really LOVE when people notice how HAPPY our kids are. Whitney is amazingly happy 95% of the time, and Grady is smoothly following in her path. They are so happy and pleasant to be around....life really is good. As I said, Grady thinks Whitney walks on water. This situation pleases Whitney greatly right now :) She loves making him smile and is happy to talk to him, bring him toys, or shout "Mommy! Can you make a 4 ounce bottle, pwease!?" if Grady is fussy before a bottle is made. (Yes, she repeats everything we say. sigh.)

We had our very first "Mommy!! Gwady, STOP IT! Stop, Gwady! Mommy, tell Gwady to STOP!" moment this month. Whitney was laying on the floor in the playroom and Grady rolled his way over to her and grabbed her hair. Nine times out of ten, Whitney thinks this is hilarious. This day, she was sleepy and not interested in hair pulling hilarity. Grady was so proud of himself :) I know the fun is just beginning!