I absolutely cannot believe that May 7 marked Grady's half-birthday. How has that much time flown by? Do I even remember life without this wonderful little boy? I feel so very blessed to have such a happy little baby - while we may have our challenges on occasion, for the most part, Grady is an easy kiddo who's quick to smile, easy to comfort, and growing up too fast for my liking!
Here's a quick run-down on what month 6 brought in the life of Grady:
* Has mastered the art of rolling! It's a rare occurrence to find Grady where I originally put him down. He's got the hang of using multiple rolls to get to what he wants going both tummy to back and back to tummy. He's also pretty decent at turning himself in circles.
* Isn't sitting yet. We've been working on it, but it's not my favorite thing to work on as it often results in spit up. I'm trying to do a little sitting every day though, and Grady's definitely getting the hang of it. However, if he sits unsupported, he pretty much falls forward until his belly is on top of his legs - then, eventually he tips over. Thankfully he doesn't seem to mind this! Grady would much prefer standing than sitting - he's got some strong and sturdy legs!
* Along the same lines, is a big fan of butt lifts...don't know what else to call them. He plants his feet on the ground and pushes lifting his butt and trunk off the ground. He does this a lot - not sure what he thinks he's accomplishing though!
* Has started babbling even more. I was right in my 5.5 month entry that Grady did start saying "da-da." So sweet!
* Continues to enjoy food and lets you know if you're too slow getting it to him! We're doing breakfast and dinner (maybe I said that in the last entry?). Grady usually does a fruit and cereal or a vegetable in the morning and two vegetables at night.
Trying out ice-cream! He initiated this and LOVED it!
* Has become a terrific napper! Yea! While not always perfect - Grady's napping for a minimum of 1.5 hours at each nap time (typically) with one nap often being 2.5 hours. He also still takes a short late afternoon snooze and then heads to bed around 7:00.
* Has made some improvements with night-time waking. I feel like we're all over the board in this regard. I have started to let Grady sleep on his tummy as he's so good at rolling. This seems to have helped, but it certainly hasn't been a total solution. We're getting many nights of just 2 wake-ups, but, there are just as many of 3 wake-ups. I'm trying to be positive (although I admit to feeling frustration, too) because Grady made such progress from a few months ago in regards to napping, so hopefully he will do the same with nights.
* Unfortunately has been struggling with some constipation (too much information???). Poor kiddo. If he'll take it, a mixture of apple juice and water definitely helps with this, but getting Grady to take a few ounces of this can be challenging or really easy...depends on his mood.
* Completely rejected a bottle of formula. I thought I'd try a bottle just to see what would happen...I thought that maybe we could do one of these at night if he'd take it. Maybe not...the little guy was majorly mad at me for attempting to give him such "nasty" stuff! I plan on starting to cut back nursing when school starts in August. I have a decent amount of frozen milk, but I imagine we'll have to do mixes of this and formula to get Grady adjusted when the time comes.
Gnawing on a "veggie" straw. Again, self-initiated.
* Is a bit of a peanut...at Grady's 6-month check he weighed in at 15 pounds 11 ounces (17%), was 26 3/8 inches long (49%), and had a head circumference of 17 inches (29%).
* Loves people - especially his family! Grady is so quick to smile and be comforted by all of us. Just seeing the girls can make him smile or settle down if he's squawking a bit. So sweet. Grady loves watching the girls play outside; he especially likes doing this while hanging out in the Baby Bjorn - his hands and feet just get going crazy showing his excitement.
* Enjoys bath time, his play gym, being outside, his paci (only at nap/bed time though - otherwise, he's not interested), being tossed up in the air or pretend dropped, getting tickled along his ribs and upper thighs, blowing spit bubbles, attacking my face and chin (I'm assuming this is a sign of affection?), pulling hair, and spitting up on whomever is holding him! :)
Whew - if 6 months has brought so many joys, changes, and, yes, challenges - what will the next 6 months bring. I can't wait to find out!
PS - Today we got formal pictures taken of Grady and the girls...looking forward to seeing, posting, and sending them!
