Seven Months

It’s been kind of a big month. Nothing groundbreaking, I don’t suppose, but it feels like Baby Grady is just working really hard on doing his baby thing these days. He’s a very busy little guy. Allow me to enumerate the things he is currently working terribly hard at:

1. Sprouting teeth: He has three new ones for a total of five. I assume he’ll have six soon, because they seem to advance mostly in pairs. But in the meantime, yes, we call him Five-Tooth Fred.
2. Rolling over both ways: Okay, this doesn’t seem to be that hard for him, but he does it constantly. Sometimes barrel-rolling is his mode of transport. (No more leaving him in the middle of the bed for a minute...) It’s worth noting that his technique for getting from belly to back seems a bit unconventional. It’s mostly about legs and the arms are only minimally involved.
3. Crawling: He’s not doing it yet, but he spends a lot of time on all fours rocking back and forth. He’s started to pick up a hand or drag a leg slightly forward. Sometimes he’ll pick up both hands at once and throw them forward, landing on his belly. Then he gets back on all fours, in his slightly advanced position. It’s a slow way to get around and he is devoting a lot of time and effort and frustration to improving upon it.
4. Using his hands: This isn’t new, but he continues to focus on improving his dexterity. Once he figured out how to grab his food efficiently and insert it into his mouth, he determined that there is no reason he needs to wait for the slow-as-molasses-in-January milk lady to getitoutalready. He simply grabs hold with his fists and latches on like a remora.

On that note (the remora), thanks to his increased proto-mobility, it’s very Wild Kingdom around here. Changing his diaper or clothes is like wrestling with an eel. Nursing, particularly with all those new teeth, is like suckling a feral badger. (As opposed to a domesticated badger, which, surprisingly, have very good manners at the breast.)

Oh, wait, this is sort of a major development. (And I am the queen of the elegant segue. You didn’t even know we were switching topics and now here we are.) Baby Grady can now handle some degree of being out and about in a social sense without weeping. It’s a pretty big deal. He attends parties and even went out to the pub. I nearly wept with happiness at the pub success, I’m not gonna lie. I’m pretty sure it was my first forced family funtime adventure that did not end in a meltdown. 


Partying at Auntie V's Baby Shower (photo by Victoria):

Chilling at the pub:

How much Baby Grady weighs: 21 lbs., 2 oz. 
How tall Baby Grady is: 28.5 inches

Size of Baby Grady’s clothes: 6-12 month; 9 month; 12 month (I still stuff him into 6-month onesies for meals and daycare and the like and he looks like a little sausage and I should probably stop doing that.)
Baby Grady’s shoe size: 4, I think... he’s still never worn shoes

Baby Grady’s eye color: brown with hints of blue
Baby Grady’s hair color: blond

Baby Grady’s favorites: the crabby pool, steak, clementines, Rizzle the Dizz, the roof deck at Triple Rock, checking on our plants
Baby Grady’s least favorites: teething, the way the baby keeps ending up on his tummy, the Tilden Steam Trains