9 Months

Is my baby boy really 9 months old?  The same amount of time it took me to carry him before he was born?!  I could never imagine how much I would love him each month but it just keeps getting better.  Aside from growing, there was not a whole lot of developmental changes, but here are some things we noticed about him this month:

• Weight: 20lbs, 13oz (50% percentile)
• Height: 28 1/2 inches (60% percentile)
• Gray started to crawl on his knees while we were down at the beach a few weeks ago.  He would army crawl periodically but now he has transitioned to a straight knee crawl and hasn't stopped.  That kid is all over the place now.  :)
• He has started making more combined sounds and loves to hear himself talk.  He can echo back some of the things we say (just sounds, not actual words), but definitely loves making noises.
• He smacks his lips and sort of does a fish face thing with his mouth.  It's funny to watch him play quietly on his own and just smack his lips the whole time.  
• Gray can climb up the stairs (with our assistance, of course).  We have the baby gate up, but every now and then when we go upstairs to do something, we let him climb the stairs.  
• He finished his first week of parent and tot swim lessons and absolutely loves it!  We knew he loved the water, but he giggles with excitement when you put him on his belly to "swim" out to a toy.  He will even kick his legs and splash his arms towards the toy.
• We just battled his first double ear infection.  Last week he was sort of fussy and we ruled it out as teething.  After a call from the daycare for a fever I took him to the doctor and discovered I'm a horrible parent by letting my child suffer through a double ear infection. After a day of meds, he was back to sleeping through the night.
• He is wearing size 3 diapers.
• He is wearing 9-12 month clothes.
• Still just one tooth.

He obviously continues to be the highlight of our life.  Just last night Shane and I were talking about what an amazing kid Gray is.  It's only simple things, but he already seems so smart.  We have been using the word "no" and he is starting to figure out his boundaries.  It's hard to keep a straight face when we say "no" and he laughs at us while shooting us that heart melting grin, but we stick to our guns and fight back the laughs.  We especially love watching him go for something he knows he can't touch, pause, then look back at us to smile as if he is testing us.  I believe he gets this mentality from his father.  :)

Here are some photos from this past month that I have been hanging on to.

Hanging out at home

Fish face!

At the pool for a swim!

Gray has taken over my bath tub...but he's super cute in it!

We find his schnoolie in his mouth like this all the time now.

An easy way to corral a baby

Grammie bought him a ball that he loves to chase around.

Play date with Emmas and Magpies!

First time at Bone Daddys!

Photo with Uncle Bobby before he moved to Odessa.
We will miss you Uncle Bobby!

Aspen kisses!  Gray absolutely loves Aspen now.

See how much he loves an Aspen kiss?!

Swim lessons with daddy

Shane took Gray on a walk and he fell asleep.

Gray waiting for the doctor.  I think the nurse just told
him he had to get a shot.

I told him it was only one.  :)

Here is a really short video of Gray in his swim lesson:

Galveston

We just got back from our first family vacation on Monday!  We rented a house outside of Galveston with my brother's family for 4 nights.  Shane and I love the beach so we were hoping Gray would share that love with us as he grows up.  After having him out in the sand and surf, we pretty much verified he's going to be a beach bum just like us.  :)

On our way down Thursday, we stopped at my friend Ellen's house to visit with them for a couple of hours.  She had a son, Ben, in August who is only a few months older than Gray.  She also has another son, Ty, who just turned 5 earlier this year.  We had not seen one another since early last summer when we were both pregnant so it was nice to catch up and watch our boys interact.  They even came down the next day to spend a couple of hours at the beach with us.  After we left their house we headed down to the beach house to meet my brother and his family.  The rest of the weekend was spent going to the beach, swimming in the community pool and just hanging out at the house.  Shane and I took Gray to Moody Gardens one morning to the aquarium.  We were not sure what he would see or if he would notice anything but we caught him checking out the fish, sea lions, penguins and sharks as they swam by him.  We really had a great time as a family and spending time with my brother, sister-in-law and nephews.

Southbound 45! 

Gray's new friend, Ben.  Future roommates at A&M!  :)

Gray, Me, Ellen & Ben

First time on the beach with his feet in the water

Loving some beach time with daddy

This kid loves the water!

Our set up (James Family, Bybee Family, Owens Family)

Ellen & Ben

I helped Andrew, Ty & Aaron build a sandcastle

Uncle Jay Jay, the baby whisperer

View from our balcony

Our house

Gray watching the sea lions

I feel like he looks so unsure of the fish in this picture.
It cracks me up!

Watching the penguins with mommy

It was Kristin's birthday so we had alittle party for her one night.

Aunt Kissy loves her Grayson

Bybee Family photo

James Family photo

Cousins

My little beach bum

I can't wait for us to take another family vacation!  I admit I was alittle anxious before we left.  Primarily due to the amount of things we had to take with us.  I was also concerned that Gray wouldn't be comfortable outside his usual environment.  As always, Gray proved me wrong.  He traveled really well and did such a great job in the car.  He didn't seem to get too upset being strapped in his car seat for hours at a time.  He watched a few episodes of Blue's Clues or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on my iPad and played with his taggy blanket and other toys I would hand him.  He slept well at night and had fun interacting with Aaron and Andrew everyday.  Each day he continues to amaze us.

He's still out of daycare this week (getting plenty of one-on-one time with daddy) but starts back next week in a new room.  He's moving up to the room with the crawlers and walkers.  We are going to miss the teachers in his other room but they will still get to see him everyday through the door.  He also starts swim lessons next week and Shane's family is coming to visit for a few days.  I should have plenty to post about in the next couple of weeks!

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.