Eight Months

My blogging really needs a boost if I follow through with my intention to make a book out of this. 2013 won't take up nearly as much space as 2011. This does bother me when I stop to think about it, but just like what happened two seconds ago when Reese came and hugged my neck and said, "Mom, I love you," I don't stop to think about my blog too often. I took a video this morning of Reese showing Graham all of his toys and saying, "maybe this is your favorite." Or "I love you so much, Brother." I definitely have enough stories, moments, pictures, and thoughts to blog about, but they just don't get recorded on here. Maybe if I write these thoughts enough I'll actually start blogging more. I'll work on it.
Anyways, Graham is EIGHT months old, and this definitely warrants a blog post. And in this update, I'll fill you (and my future blog book) in on what's been going on the past several weeks.

Graham at eight months:

*He has my heart. I mean, seriously, this little guy makes me melt. He cuddles, he grins, he babbles, he plays, he sits, he laughs. When he's tired, he rubs his head into my shoulder or chest. When he sees someone he loves he smiles really big. When he hears others around him, he shows off his favorite consonant sounds "da" or "ba". When plopped on the floor, he plays with whatever toy he wants instead of what I place in his hands. When I plop him down, he doesn't fall over. Most of the time. And when Sister laughs, he laughs. When I tickle him, he laughs. He's the best.

*Graham is a good sleeper, too. I'm not sure if we are moving to a slightly different schedule because he's been waking up later in the mornings the past few days, but here is our day yesterday just as a sample day...
7:45 Wake/Nurse
8:15 Breakfast
9:30 Nap
11:45 I had to wake him up from his nap. And then I nursed him.
12:45 Lunch
1:45 Nap
3:00 Wake
3:30 Bottle
4:45 Nap
5:45 I woke him from this nap.
6:00 Dinner
6:40 Nurse/Bed
He sometimes gets a third nap if we are home and one of his other naps wasn't too solid. Yesterday, his afternoon nap was short, so I knew he would need another sleep before bed time.
Up until two days ago, he napped at 9 and 1, so I'm not sure what's going on with this later schedule. We will see what happens, and I will be sure to have something set soon. I don't do too well without a somewhat predictable routine.

*Graham takes a bottle!!! I left for two nights and three days last weekend, so Graham had to learn. Now he's a champ. But he only takes latex bottles. A friend gave me this tip, and it was the best advice I had ever received. Now we just need to work on the sippy cup. He still just gnaws on it instead of actually drinking from it.

*Speaking of a weekend away, Brooke and I drove to Nashville last Friday to celebrate our friend Lauren. She's getting married at the beach at the end of June, and all of my closest friends from college will be there. We. Can't. Wait. The weekend was super fun, and we got to meet a lot of the other girls who will be in the wedding. Counting down the days for the beach wedding, and then we are staying the next week for vacation! Ahhh!!!

We have been going to Pressroom for lunch most Saturdays the past few months. It unintentionally has become a pretty awesome tradition. Reese loves her grilled cheese, fruit, coloring, and getting to talk to everyone. I crave the roast chicken salad. Graham loves looking around and devouring his own lunch. And Wes seems to try something new each week. It's all good. So good.

Rogers prom was a few weeks ago, and I had the thought that Reese would like to see some of the girls dressed up for pictures. I was spot on.

Former student and a personal fave, Meagan. Graduating this year and headed to become a Razorback!

Some of my cell group girls. GORGEOUS.

Reese's favorite babysitter, Maris.

Getting charmed by the boys, and charming them, too. Love these kids.

Looking at the tulips with Leigh Leigh.

Acting shy with Brenna.

Before school one day. So squeezable.

Another Pressroom Saturday.

She rarely falls asleep at school, but this week, she was so out that I had to wake her up when I got there. Lights on, people talking, etc. couldn't wake her.

Bible Study. Our study of Genesis this year has been beyond incredible, and these ladies and their kids are pretty great, too.

We skipped the gym one day and walked outside instead. Good choice.

Sarah's 3rd Birthday Party! Princesses everywhere!

ANOTHER Pressroom Saturday.

At Bible study last week, the children joined us to sing our hymns. Reese pretended to be shy, but it was such a neat treat. 

And Bible study wears this guy out. Every week.

Impromptu lunch date with Daddy earlier this week. Reese picked out her own very Bohemian outfit. 

This little friendship has begun. Reese is always going over to sit by Graham, show him a few things, tell him she loves him, hug him...but if he gets too close to whatever she has in her hands, it's over.

Date night at Crystal Bridges. Attention! Seriously. If you haven't seen the Norman Rockwell exhibit, it closes May 27th, and you NEED to see it. So so fascinating.

Another skip the gym day. Lunch and walks with Stella, Brooke, and Charlie.

And after we exercise, we like to eat cupcakes with more friends. (Graham had puffs.)

The OFFICIAL 8 Month Pictures.

We have a big weekend ahead, and I WILL blog about it. 

The temperatures finally seem to be stable, park dates have resumed, and the smell of sunscreen is in the air. 

AdventureLand

Oh, dear. Reese had her first school music program this morning, and you can bet your life savings that Mom and Dad were there with cameras and good seats (thanks, Leah!). It was one of those programs that you really just expect to see your kid sit or stand and hope they don't distract the rest of the class the entire time he/she is on stage. Reese loves to sing, and that is a major understatement. She didn't sing on stage today. She walked up with her class and just furrowed her brow looking for Mom and Dad. (Don't worry. She found us.) Wes and I were stationed with cameras in hand, and about 50 seconds into "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands," she found us. And she told the entire audience Mom and Dad were there. After getting her bells for the second song, she quieted down and pretty much just looked at us the rest of the time on stage. A few hand motions were on cue, but that's about it. The fun thing is that she did what every other kid did. I'm pretty sure the voices we heard singing were those of the teachers.
Without further ado, here are some pictures of Reese's first school music program. We are proud parents indeed. Oh, and I blurred the faces of the other kids for privacy reasons and because, honestly, I don't think I want Reese to pop up on someone else's blog without me knowing. I got tired of blurring after four pictures. Mom, I have about 10 more including 2 videos that I will show you in person. And I'll even show you these with clear faces.

Graham at Seven Months

When Graham was about a month old, I went pouring through monthly blog posts from Reese's first year, destined to find the month where I said things were fabulous. Life is wonderful, and this stage of baby is awesome. When I stumbled onto the seven month post, there it was. 12 hours of sleep at night.  SOLID naps. Happy baby. Predictable. And here we are two years later at the seven month post. For my two children, seven months is a dream stage.

This past month has brought on some major changes around here. Before we go much further, here is Reese in her big girl bed. Before she actually slept in it, we borrowed a bed rail and set it up for her. She's doing GREAT, and Wes and I both have enjoyed the extra snuggles we get with her now. I know the day is coming, but she doesn't get out of bed until one of us goes in to get her.

And before I list all of the changes for Graham, here is a very belated run through of Easter pictures. We had a great weekend in Conway celebrating our RISEN Savior.

Okay, so here we are. Graham is SEVEN months old. And he is one cute little boy. Those eyes. that grin. The giggle. And he cuddles. A LOT. Oh, be still my heart.

Although he still isn't a champ at sitting on his own, we are getting there. He just gets distracted and appears to be way more interested in his toys than trying to figure out how to sit by himself. He still rolls from front to back using an interesting head move. Whatever, dude. You just do your thing.

I realized that his schedule was not as set as I like, and a lot of that is because of our outings with Sister. However, using a pen and paper, I scribbled a rough outline of a new schedule that would cut out a feeding and possibly adapt better to our routine outings with Reese. We didn't get to this schedule til a bit later with her, but Graham was ready. And it's awesome. And he's done GREAT with it.

7 Wake/Nurse

7:30 Breakfast 

8:45 Nap

11 Wake/Nurse

11:30 Lunch 

1:00 Nap

3:30 Wake/Nurse

5:30 Dinner

6:30 Bath/Nurse/Bed

(times may vary up to 30 minutes or more)

Graham is loving food, and I've just recently reclaimed my love for making it. I bought reusable pouches in hopes to cut back on the ridiculous amount of money Earth's Best, Ella's Kitchen, Plum, and Happy Baby have each received from me. So, I've steamed and pureed organic fruits and veggies, used my own food in pouches for both Graham AND Reese, and now we just need to get him to take a bottle or sippy cup. Another story, another day.

The weather around here is crazy. I think everyone says his or her state's weather is the craziest, so I don't think Arkansas is too unique. However, yesterday we were in shorts and tank tops, and today we are in coats. I can tell Graham LOVES being outside, so I'm hoping and expecting to take lots more walks, break out the bare feet, and get some new sunscreen soon. Except it looks like Reese has already been to the beach after being outside for two walks and one park date this week. Frost skin.

To wrap up this extra long update, I'll share a bit more about what Graham is doing at seven months. He finds and puts in his own pacis while in his crib. He is getting more and more interested in (and definitely more in love with) Reese. Just in the last day or two, he has appeared to "talk" a bit more. He snuggles, y'all. He will just lay his head down on me and get cuddly if he's tired. (If he was my first born, I wouldn't get anything done. I think I'd just nap with him and hold him all the time.) He buries his head in my shoulder, and I. LOVE. IT. 

That's all I can think of right now. It's waaay past my bedtime, and I got up at 4:40 this morning. Eyes are droopy, body is tired, and brain isn't thinking too well. Night night.