8 Months

Gray Man is 8 months old today!  This month has been an exciting one for us because Grayson has conquered some huge milestones.  Here are some things we noticed about him this month:

• Grayson weighs 20lbs, 2oz and he is 27.5" long.  He is definitely growing but we have noticed it is starting to taper off and not be so rapid.
• He is sitting on his own without any support and also able to sit up from lying down without any problems at all.
• Grayson has mastered the army crawl!  This boy is all over the place now.  We think he would prefer being on the move rather than staying in one place.  He still crawls on his belly using mostly his arms and his right leg to propel himself.  The left leg is more of an accessory that drags behind him.  
• Shortly after crawling, he started to pull himself up to stand.  He will grab his activity center or the couch and just stand right up.  Every now and then he uses his mouth for support.  It didn't take him long to figure out how to sit back down either.  It is pretty funny to turn on the video monitor and see him standing in his crib.
• He loves making different sounds but our favorite sounds he has made are "ma-ma" and "da-da".  He started saying "ma-ma" earlier this month and "da-da" just recently.  We don't think he knows those names are associated with us but hearing him make those sounds melts our hearts.
• Grayson's first tooth made an arrival!  We were very lucky that he didn't get too fussy during the process.  He had a couple of moments but nothing a little baby Tylenol or some Orajel couldn't fix.  We are definitely continuing to reinforce the "friends are not food" rule since his little mouth is now sporting a sharp weapon.
• He continues to be a good eater and seems to be enjoying solids.  He has cereal in the morning with his 11am bottle and some sort of veggie or meat with fruit at dinner.  So far we have not found anything this boy doesn't like. 
• Due to his new found mobility, we have been teaching him the word "no".  Outlet covers are on and cabinet locks are being installed this weekend.  Although safety measures are in place, little man loves to crawl over to an outlet and reach out.  We tell him "no", he stops and turns to look at us with the most devilish smile and starts to laugh.  It may be a game to him, but eventually he will realize we mean business.  :)
• Grayson loves to swim.  We have taken him to the pool a couple of times and held him out in front of us so his body can float.  He immediately starts to kick and giggle.  I love that he is so comfortable in the water and can't wait to get him in classes so he can learn how to swim and be safe.  
• He is still wearing size 3 diapers.
• He is wearing some 6 month clothes but alot more 9 month and even 12 month clothes.  
• Grayson is sleeping 10-11 hours at night.  One thing we love about him is that when he wakes up, he just sits up in his crib and plays with his taggy blanket, schnoolie, giraffe or jelly cat.  He doesn't cry or scream out for us, he just happily plays until we come get him.  

Everyday we are thankful for this bundle of joy in our lives and can't get enough of him!

First Tooth!

Standing like a big boy!

Daddy's idea of fun

Little Man got a few new toys.  This is a workbench
that makes sounds and lights up.

Grayson's Father's Day gift to Shane that he made at daycare.
I thought it was funny...that face cracks me up!

Below are a couple of videos showing Gray on the move and standing up.

Brooke

On a different tangent, my "little" cousin, Brooke, graduated from high school a couple of weeks ago.  She asked me to take some senior pictures for her so she could send out graduation announcements.  The only time we could connect was a hot and sunny afternoon.  I had to battle with the sun alittle but I was able to capture some good pictures of her before she heads off to college.  I love this girl so much and have been part of her life since she was born.  I am so proud to see what a beautiful woman she has become.

Start of Summer

This year seems to be flying by for us.  Shane's already out of school, I'm up to my ears in pool stuff and little man is almost 8 months old!  I don't want to post too many things about his latest accomplishments (there are alot) because I want to save them for his 8 month update in a couple of weeks.  For now I will just give a recap of the last couple of weeks.

We had an all-cousin slumber party on June 8 while my brother and sister-in-law went out with some friends for the night.  Aaron and Andrew really seem to love Grayson and as you can tell in the photos, Grayson seems to love them, too!  I was pretty worn out from working a swim meet all day so the boys just hung out and watched a couple of movies that night and I went to bed early.  Saturday morning Uncle Nay-Nay (aka Shane) got up and made pancakes for everyone.  I can't wait for when Grayson is alittle older and he can really play with them!

Aaron, Grayson and Andrew

Uncle Nay Nay figuring out what 3 boys would be like. 

This weekend Shane and I headed down to the lake to get away for a couple of days.  We had not been down there since the end of December so we figured now was as good a time as any.  Thursday we drove down and just spent some time around the house.  On Friday we drove over to Crockett to spend the day with my friend Nikki and her family.  Her parents have a house there and her dad is home from Russia (he lives there 9 months out of the year) so she flew in from Miami to see him.  It also gave us an opportunity to meet Payton and introduce Grayson to his possible future wife.  :)  We hung out at their house all afternoon talking and playing with our babies.  It was so good to see all of them and makes me wish she lived closer.  Saturday we spent more time relaxing around the house.  Shane borrowed a neighbors kayak and went out on the lake for alittle while.  We put a baby pool on my parents deck so Gray could splash around and he went on his first tractor ride with Grandpa!  My dad has a photo with each of the grandsons on the tractor so now it was Grayson's turn.  I packed his nicest overalls for this occasion.  It was cool that evening so we took the golf cart out to look for some deer and meet/visit with some of my parents neighbors.  It was a great weekend and I am glad we were able to get away. 

My little gentleman trying to hold Payton's hand.  :)

Our babies are just 4 months apart.

Cuddling with little Payton.  She's just as chill as Grayson.

Taking a nap on daddy's knee

The lake is exhausting.

Pool Time!

Mean muggin' his momma

This photo captures his laugh exactly.  

Chillin in his tea cup adirondack chair.

Driving the tractor with Grandpa!  He loved the knob on the
steering wheel.

Driving the golf cart.  Eyes on the road, Grayson!

I also want to take a second to acknowledge one of the greatest father's on the planet!  Shane is such a great dad and Grayson is super lucky to have him as a dad.  I always knew Shane would be great with kids as I watched him interact with my nephews, but I never truly knew how he would fit into that "father" role until I saw him with Gray.  I wanted to get him something special for father's day.  The week after Buckley passed I emailed a girl that did a portrait of my friend Courtney's boxer to see if she would draw one of Buckley.  She agreed so I sent her a bunch of pictures of him and she began working on the drawing.  A few weeks later she called me to tell me it was ready so I met up with her to get it.  As soon as she showed it to me, I cried.  She captured Buckley perfectly.  His eyes, his smile and his personality were all portrayed in this simple pencil drawing.  I had it matted and framed then gave it to Shane late last week (I couldn't wait because I was so excited to show it to him).  We have it hung up in our bedroom to always remind us of our little Buckley!

Buckley's Portrait

The final product

Not only was it father's day yesterday, but it was also our 7 year anniversary!  Neither one of us could really think of anything we wanted/needed so we are planning to spend the day together on Friday.  Maybe lunch, a movie, shopping...who knows.  Just spending time together is all we really need to celebrate.  Love you, Shane!!

Look Who's on the Move

Grayson is officially on the move!  He has been showing signs that he was ready to crawl for about a week and this weekend he made it happen.  It's not completely coordinated/crawling on the knees, but he is capable of moving and no longer staying in one spot.  Here is a short video of how he is managing to get around.

He has also said his first word!  I know it isn't directed towards me, but "ma-ma" is coming out of his mouth! It is probably the word he says most often next to "ba-ba".  I love hearing him say "ma-ma" more than anything though.  :)