For the love of nectarines

In a trait that I'm sure is not all that unusual for babies, Graham adores fruit. Which pretty much means he hasn't met a fruit he doesn't like and if you want him to eat anything else, you better not put fruit on his high chair first.

This has led to what we've dubbed the Summer of Nectarines and all of the Akins have gotten in on the action. Every trip to the grocery store for the past eight weeks has included the purchase of a plethora of nectarines and every week Taylor asks why I didn't buy more. (And if I was being totally honest, he'd ask why I didn't buy more tangerines, and I'd have to again explain that I hadn't bought any tangerines lately, but would he like more nectarines.)

The obsession has gotten so bad in our household that you can't eat a nectarine in Graham's presence unless you are thoroughly prepared for his wrath. Well, his wrath and having to split your nectarine with him. We've gotten to where, after sharing little pieces, we'll give him the rest of it to chow down on until he gets too close to the pit. And even then you'd think we were the most evil parents on earth for taking away his nectarine.

The Giggler

Graham will get in his mind that something is funny and laugh and laugh away as you repeat the act over and over again. For that day. And that day only. Try the same trick again the next day and he looks at you with this expression that says, "Mommy, that was sooo yesterday."At least we captured his humorous moment of the day. Which may or may not have been his daddy blowing into an empty beer bottle. Hey, we like to keep it real around here. Who needs expensive toys when you have a beer bottle to make noise. And with laughs like this, can you really blame us?

Dear Graham, 13 Months

Dear Graham,
Since when did you become old enough to measure your life in months instead of weeks? Even now when someone asks how old you are I pause to adapt to this new reality. Your little life is going way too fast, buddy. You might just have to get me some counseling when we get to measuring it in years!

The past month has been filled with new developments. You are becoming such a little boy instead of a baby and you like to make that distinction known to us every day. Your favorite activity is walking and you're getting braver and braver with each passing day. You want to walk all around the house holding mommy or daddy's hand and take us to random corners behind furniture or curtains where no human really should attempt to walk. You'll let go now of our hands and take 5-6 steps independently and your expressions while doing so are priceless. You begin with a very serious, studious face and then as you get going your smile gets bigger and bigger. We have to be there to catch you as you get so excited that all of your momentum is leaning forward and you would face plant if we weren't there to catch you.

We've also been slowly transitioning away from bottles and to sippy cups this month. We've been weaning you slowly, taking away a bottle every two weeks. You're down to only two bottles now, one at wake up and one before bed. You've transitioned to whole milk in those bottles and you love your milk. While this is clearly another sign that you're growing up, I can't wait to be done with the nightly routine of washing 1million bottle parts each evening. 
  

You've also become more adventurous in your eating...or at least you did until you came down with a double ear infection and decided not to eat anything. New foods this month included edamame, hummus, pork, eggs...pretty much anything we eat is now fair game for you. And I was so proud of how well you were doing that I even told your Uncle Troy that you eat better than he does at age 21. Somehow you must have felt me getting a bit too confident and that's when you decided to go on an eating strike. For the week you were sick you pretty much refused everything but yogurt...even watermelon, which is pretty much your favorite food of all time. We've slowly gotten back to eating normally but it's a good reminder to your mommy to never count your chickens before they're hatched.

 You still love to read and you get so excited when we get out your books. You point to different things that catch your attention and like to turn the pages for mommy or daddy. I've been giving you books when you're in your carseat or while we're changing your diaper to keep your attention and you've started to "read" out loud to us, babbling as you turn the pages.

 

One of my favorite parts of this month is the hugs that you now give to mommy and daddy, especially after waking up for the day or after a nap. You lay your sweet head in the crook of our necks and just pause for a moment. It's a daily reminder that captures everything that's really important in our lives.


Love,
Mommy


PS...in case you're wondering, turning 13 months has done nothing for your ability to sleep past 4:45 a.m. Maybe 14 months will? Please?