Grady: 1/2 year!

It is true, we have survived 6 months of parenthood and we have an adorable, stubborn, bashful, sweet little boy to prove it.  It scares me how fast this little guy's life is flying before my eyes.  Six months has gone by just way too fast.  This was the first milestone that I found myself a little sad.  Maybe it is because work is super busy or maybe it is because Grady has hit a point in his development that he changes every day or maybe it is because he doesn't like being rocked to sleep any more. . . .  or maybe it is just because kids grow up too fast.  Or maybe it is a little of all of the above.  All I know is that I want to squeeze my little boy harder every day and remember these sweet wonderful little baby days. Parenthood is a ride and I am grateful every day to be on the ride with my Grady boy (and of course his daddy too). 

Grady tid bits at 6 months!

• We weighed him a few days before he turned 6 months and was 15.5 pounds.
• Still bald and beautiful and 100% tooth free. 
• I love his big pouty lower lip and blue eyes.
• After a little hiatus of not liking food and batting any and every spoon that came in his direction, he is back to liking foods (phew).  Pears are his absolute favorite, but he has also sampled and likes butternut squash, sweet potatoes, bananas, carrots, and peaches.
• I know all babies are messy, but this one likes to "help" feed himself by grabbing the spoon and guiding it towards his mouth/nose/ear. This means that we always double his portions because more than half ends up on his face, bib, and in Bella's tummy. 
• He may take the prize for the worst hairpulling baby ever. 
• He still likes to show off his best rolling skills in the crib at night and not during the day.  He can roll, but just chooses not to do it much. 
• He finally has a hang of the jumparoo thing and will Jump, Jump, Jump in that thing for what seems like forever.
• He is into everything within his reach.  Restaurant dining is not so easy any more as napkins, straws, lettuce, or whatever else he can get his hands on end up on my lap or on the floor.
• In addition to his loud squawk, squeals and razzing noises, he now fills our house with this most awkward grunting sounds.
• I always wondered when we would stop "having" to rock him to sleep every night.  The time has come where he finishes a bottle, coos and goos after we rub our nose to his, and then he wants to be put in his crib awake to settle in and go to sleep on his own.  While it makes the bedtime ritual much less time consuming, I do miss watching him slowly drift off to his dreams. 
• Bathtime is still a favorite pastime. He also loves being "thrown" in the air and "walking" holding on to our hands.
• If he drops a toy now and cannot get to it, he will let you know.   If he is in his car seat and wants out, he will let you know.  On our drive home from McCall this weekend, Chris remedied the situation by rolling down his window at 50 miles per hour and 27 degrees and shocking Grady into submission.
• He has little patience and shows determination to have things done his way.  And I thought that my and Chris's stubbornness had more to do with birth order than genetics, I guess I was wrong on that.
• He is either a little shy or a little coy.  If I hold him and Chris says "hiiiiiiii Grrrrrady" he turns his head and buries his little face into my neck in the cutest way.  He turns back to Chris and repeats the process another five times. He also does it when saying hi to the little boy in the mirror.
• He has fleeting moments of sitting on his own.  It started on soft surfaces that he could sink his little buns into and has slowly moved to sitting on the floor.  He is by no means a master at it, but it is so fun to back away from him and see him sitting there on his own.  Such a big growing boy.

First time he sat long enough for me to get my camera.

Please ignore the annoying parent voices & noises, just cannot let these moments go undocumented because of our annoying voices (Grandma, you sound sweet as can be! - thanks for the video).