One

Baby Grady is one today, and it's such a big deal that we've been celebrating all week, like a jubilee, really. (And why should the Queen have all the fun, that's what Baby Grady would like to know.) First we had a little birthday party with friends and family last weekend. Then, because he was born on Thanksgiving morning last year, we also considered Thursday to be something akin to his birthday, poetically speaking. And of course, today, the official day.

We've rationed out gifts and he's been eating cupcakes and pumpkin cheesecake all week. Of course, even with all this fuss and celebration, he has no idea anything is happening. He figures this is just how we do. Pumpkin cheesecake for breakfast and all. Which, sometimes, yes, that is how we do.

So, right, somehow we all survived the year and went from this:

To this:

Yeah, you got that right. From this:

To this:

Can you even believe that nonsense with my baby wearing sneakers and looking like such a little boy? Sneakers! On a baby! Such nerve, I swear.

This was, of course, Baby Grady's second Thanksgiving. Here he is on his first:

And on his second:

Yes, in case you were wondering, I could do this all day. From angry slug to playful toddler in just a year! Mind. Blown.

And now, because what else are we going to do... a whole slew of pictures of Baby Grady doing birthday things.

How much Baby Grady weighs: 24.5 pounds (he's growing again!)
How tall Baby Grady is: 30.5 inches

Size of Baby Grady's clothes: 12 month, 12-18 month, 18 month; he even still wears some 6-12 month pants, but they are capris now
Size of Baby Grady's shoes: 4.5 or 5

Baby Grady's hair color: blond
Baby Grady's eye color: brown

Number of teeth in Baby Grady's mouth: still just eight, but oh, the teething! So much teething, for no more teeth!

Baby Grady's favorites: cream cheese; Thanksgiving dinner, but especially stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake; the giant bumblebee bouncer at the playground; bathtime; Mr. Puppet and Rizzle the Dizz; unloading his bookshelf; Dr. Seuss's ABCs; his will.i.am video; watching big kids and trying to play with them; and, over the past couple of days, That Daddy Guy has, for the first time, been enjoying clear preferred status over Milk Lady

Baby Grady's least favorites: elevators; going to sleep; staying asleep; waking to find that he does not have a boob in his mouth; sandwiches that are made of things that are not cream cheese; teething; diaper changes; sometimes, getting into his carseat or the stroller; being spoon-fed when he wants to DOITHIMSELF

They grow up so darn fast...

Eight Months

It was a major motor milestone kind of month. Crawling! And it was a big deal. With the onset of crawling skills, Baby Grady has blossomed into the charming sort of baby that he always wanted to be, if he hadn't been so frustrated about being a baby. We always suspected that he was a baby who would handle life much better once he could move himself about and, well, do stuff. You know, and be less babyish?

We.were.right.

Grady will now spend a surprising amount of time just puttering about the kitchen and family room. Wait. Allow me to be more clear. There are now huge chunks of the day when Grady is not fussing, weeping, or screaming. While he's awake. And we are not actively soothing, shushing, or otherwise ineffectively comforting him. He's just... content. It's a revelation, really.

And oh, he is so busy. Just nonstop motion and exploring and tasting and grinning and laughing. Really fun stuff these days. Hence the out-takes from his Bruce de Bruce portrait. It's markedly more difficult to get a decent picture of the kid these days. He doesn't want to stay still ever. Even in his sleep, he'll roll onto his tummy (because who doesn't love sleeping on their tummy?) and then he will just instinctively pop up onto all-fours-crawling-position. And then he's pretty pissed because... People, I'm trying to sleep here, who put my baby in a crawl? Why is there not a boob in my mouth? AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH! But, generally speaking, he is orders-of-magnitude more happy now. Jasper would probably tell me my math is flawed, but it's true and also it involves logarithms.

This personality transformation occurred in spite of the fact that Baby Grady also spent his entire eighth month of life sick in one way or another. First it was Coxsackie Virus (otherwise known as Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease, which no, does not come from goats. or sheep.) Then it was a really bad cold, or a string of colds, that lasted more than three weeks, and is maybe even still hanging on a bit. (It is.) When it was bad, he slept propped on my arm for drainage, and when he would get too congested and have coughing fits, we would shut ourselves up in the bathroom, turn on the shower, and sway in the steam. At least a couple of times a day/night, the coughing fits would lead to voluminous vomiting. It was kind of a rough time, if I'm being honest. But Grady was such a trooper. He really cried and fussed far less than would have been reasonable under the circumstances. He just tried to nurse as much as possible, without suffocating. It was sad, and hard, and I hated it.

As a result of all the sickness and possibly also the crawling workouts (major calorie burning there), Baby Grady didn't grow this month. In fact, our non-clinical records reveal that he shrank. I assure you he is not wasting away, and his team of doctors (since we met a few new ones this month, I'll refer to them thusly) are not concerned. Apparently that baby had rotundity to spare.

How much Baby Grady weighs: 20 lbs., 12 oz. 
How tall Baby Grady is: 28.5 inches
Size of Baby Grady’s clothes: 6-12 month; 9 month; 12 month (Same as last month, due to the growth stoppage.)

Baby Grady’s eye color: brown
Baby Grady’s hair color: blond 


Number of times I have been told that my baby is the cutest, the most adorable, the most handsome baby, akin to a baby model really, and etc.: so many
Percentage of those times Baby Grady was being a flirtatious hambone: 100%
Number of times I have been told that my baby is so well-behaved: 2
Number of weddings Baby Grady has attended: 1; birthday parties: 3; baby showers: 1


Baby Grady’s favorites: crawling, hanging out on the lawn, baths with Daddy, the crabby pool, strawberries, peek-a-boo, "Call Me Maybe"
Baby Grady’s least favorites: coughing, sniffles, having his nose sucked out, getting his diaper changed (because it means he has to stop moving, NOOOOOOOO!)