Dear Graham, Weeks 24 and 25

Dear Graham,
You've made so much progress over the last two weeks! I feel like I say that a lot, but you're learning new things almost daily and it's been a delight to see what you'll do next.



Lately, you've been a rolling over fool. And by fool I mean you've rolled over a handful of times, including now from your stomach to your back. While you know you can do it, you remain most content on your back.



You are also getting closer and closer to sitting up. Your head, neck and back are strong enough to stay aligned for up to about a minute, but then you emulate Humpty Dumpty and come crashing down. We practice sitting up on mommy and daddy's bed so that you have a soft place to land.





When daddy came home from work on Friday we were practicing sitting up and when he walked into the room, you couldn't contain your excitement. You began kicking your legs and flailing your arms and grinning ear to ear. It's neat to see you react that way to your daddy...although it wouldn't be so bad if you threw a little bit of that excitement your mom's way every once in awhile. Maybe in gratitude for me sustaining your life for the last almost six months?? I'm just sayin'.

We used our jogging stroller with you for the first time last week. In the stroller, you faced forward for the first time and you loved looking outward. We also went to our neighborhood park and pushed you in the infant swing for the first time. You were all smiles as you swung outdoors...it's a combination of your two favorite things: swinging and being outside. We had to use a few blankets to wedge you in there, but you didn't care.







You also met your first mascot last weekend. We went to our local Academy (a sports store) and there happened to be several Astros players signing autographs. Junction Jack, their mascot, took a special liking to you and spent time interacting with you. He even signed his autograph just for you! You, on the other hand, paid no attention to Junction Jack.



One day last week your daddy came into the bathroom with his guitar while I was giving you a bath and played you a few songs. You continue to love music and you were so happy in that moment. I paused and took a mental snapshot...life could have frozen in that moment and I wouldn't have been more content.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Graham, Week 23

Dear Graham,
Hi my sweet baby...you continue to be the happiest, smiliest (no, that's not a word that your 4th grade teacher will one day approve of, but we'll tackle spelling and grammar as you get older), good-tempered baby. I love how much you smile and how those adorable dimples make themselves evident when you show your happiness.



Let me tell you about a few of the things you continued to love over the past week:

• Your feet! You recently discovered that you can put your foot in your mouth (literally, not figuratively) and you spend much of your free time exercising this right.

• The outdoors. We've had a somewhat mild winter to date so last week the two of us took several walks after work. You can't get enough of being outside...you just look all around, taking in your surroundings. I talk to you about the sky, the trees, the dogs barking...I pretty much fill you in on everything going on around us. Which, I'm sure looks totally normal to our neighbors.

• Your baths. When your Grahamma was here she introduced a new game of pouring water out of a cup and you attempt to "grab" it with your hands. You love playing this game and could spend hours in the tub if we let you.
  
• Baby Einstein. One of your Christmas presents was several Baby Einstein DVDs. I don't know what the people making these videos were thinking, but let me tell you: you are mesmerized by them.
• Your daddy. Ever since your daddy came home from his last trip you haven't stop staring at him when he's in the room. You are always watching to see what he's doing and you love interacting with him.
  
• Eating. I seriously think you would never stop eating if we gave you unlimited food. You eat all of your rice cereal, your bottles at school and you always are interested in breastfeeding. Maybe you have your daddy's metabolism!
  

It's been awhile since I mentioned your nicknames and I just wanted to let you know that we haven't fallen down on the "let's see how embarrassing of a nickname we can create" front. These days mommy is calling you "knuck knuck," which is short for "knucklehead, knucklehead," which is your daddy's nickname for you. You also go by G Man 3000 (a take off of Outkast's Andre 3000....don't ask), Little Man, and sweet baby, which is my favorite one of all.

Love,
Mommy

Dear Graham, Week 22

Dear Graham,
It will be hard to top the celebrations of the last week...in your 22nd week of life we celebrated both Christmas and New Year's, both of which were so much fun with you in our lives. It also meant that mommy and daddy were home more during the week, and we had so much fun being in your company.



Your first Christmas was nothing short of spectacular, thanks mostly to your relatives who sent you so many packages. We're on a first name basis with our FedEx, UPS and mail delivery guys, as we were a daily stop on their routines during December. Santa even included you on his route and brought you a high chair and a mobile...both of which were things you really needed. (How did he know? Maybe you told him when he stopped by your school earlier this month.)







At church on Christmas Eve you spent the first half of the service in the nursery and the second half with us in church. You loved the music, especially Silent Night, which is sung in candlelight. During the song, you enjoyed a special time with your daddy...I thought my heart would explode with the love I felt for the two of you in that special moment.



On Christmas Day we opened presents throughout the morning around your nap time. You loved playing with the tissue paper and tried to put everything in your mouth, which is common these days. We went over to our friend Haley's parent's house for Christmas dinner, and you kept everyone entertained with your smiles.







Your Grahamma flew out from Florida on Tuesday to watch you while mommy and daddy worked. She, like us, is enthralled with each of your noises, and especially your laughs, which are more and more common. You are such a happy baby, and when you're not, it's normally because you're hungry or tired, so it's easy to determine the culprit of your cries.



You're up to 2 tbsp of rice cereal twice a day...such a growing boy. As soon as we feed you the first spoonful you stick your hands in your mouth, which means you end up covered in rice cereal. And, you're even patient as we wipe you down after each feeding.

Every week we keep thinking that this can't get any better and our love for you can't grow any more. But then it does. And we again give thanks for our many blessings.

Love,
Mommy