Graham is Eight Months Old!!!

We kicked off Graham's eighth month with sleep training :(  To be honest, I don't mind too much getting up to feed him.  He is so sweet and snuggly, and I love that nursing soothes him so much.  But, i intellectually know he does not need to eat that much, or at all, at night!  Now, he's eating TWO tubs of food with 1/2 cup of cereal for dinner AND then nursing before bed!  He definitely does not need to eat at 9 or 10, so that is the first feeding we cut out.  Sometimes he will sleep all the way until 3, other times just until 1 or 2.  But, that is 6 hours which is "sleeping through the night," so I will feed him then.  He goes to bed between 6:30 and 7 and then is up around 6 or 6:30.  That is a bit frustrating, but I know there's not much to do about it now, and eventually he will sleep later!

Graham LOVES people!  He has the cutest reactions to people paying attention to him.  He especially loves attention from Jackson and Jackson's friends :)  He is really happy...except for the typical 4:30-bedtime time frame :(  It's not too bad though: dinner, bath, and bed. It goes pretty quickly!  He has turned into quite a good napper!  He's pretty flexible if we are out and about catnapping in the stroller or car, and he doesn't get too cranky or anything if they aren't very long.  If we are at home, he is still in the awake-for-an-hour-and-a-half-and-then-asleep-for-an-hour-and-a-half routine. 

Graham is still eating up anything we give him!  He has a tub of fruit mixed with some oatmeal in the morning and then two tubs with some oatmeal in the evening.

We had several babysitters this month and that was rather hit or miss :(  Graham seems to give anyone laying him down other than me a hard time.  I'm assuming that is related to wanting to nurse before bed instead of having a bottle.  We are continuing to leave him with other people, so hopefully we won't have horrible separation issues like we did with Jackson...

I'm writing this pretty late (this is a backdated post), so it's hard to believe I will be writing Graham's NINE MONTH update soon...

Super Bowl Weekend!

 We had SUCH a busy and fun weekend!!!  On Friday night the Bashores came over for dinner, and that is always a good time :)  I tried a new recipe: Pretzel Honey Mustard Chicken, and it was a hit!  We also had homemade macaroni and cheese and Rachel brought cookie dough over to make cookies for dessert.  The kids played so well and everyone made it until about 10!  Jackson did fall asleep while sitting on the island leaning on me.  I wish we had a picture of that!  

On Saturday, Josh finished up a crazy busy work week by working from home :(  I took Jackson to his first birthday party at a "place."  By that I mean not at someone's house.  We went to his good buddy, Cole's, party at Kids in Motion.  It really was fun, albeit a little tricky to navigate with an infant...  Jackson had a great time jumping on the inflatables, but I want to take him back some time when Josh can come with us.  They had some really neat (but scary) looking inflatables that had huge slides and obstacle courses!  I couldn't get up there and climb with him since I had Graham, but I think Josh and Jackson would have a blast!  It was so cute watching all the little kids lined up at the tables for cake and juice--Jackson had a BLAST!  

From the party, we rushed home so we could go on a double date with Susie and Joe!!!  We got one babysitter at our house, and she watched all three kids.  We had a glorious evening!  We tried out the new steakhouse that just opened down the road, The All American Steakhouse, and it was SO good!  The food was all really yummy, the service was great, and the atmosphere was cozy.  All good dates end at Dairy Queen, right?  A lovely evening!

To finish out the weekend: SUPER BOWL SUNDAY!

 

The Bashores and Yanceys both came over and we had such a good time!  We made Pizza Bites, Cheesy Bread, and Banana Pudding.  Rachel and Jake brought Oreo Truffles, Buckeyes and Fat Dip.  Susie and Joe brought wings and a huge platter of fruit and fruit dip.  LOTS of yummy food is really what I am in this event for :)  Graham went to sleep not long after kick-off, and then I was able to just relax and enjoy our friends, food and commercials :)  The big kids played so nicely together--we even sent them upstairs so it would be less chaotic downstairs, and they had everything all cleaned up by the end of the game!

Stripes!

Graham and I got dressed first, and I realized we were both wearing stripes, so I went searching for a striped shirt in Jackson's closet.  I was pleased to find one that matched mine, just with thinner stripes!  I never thought I'd get to match my kids since they are boys, so this was kind of fun :)

Go Griffins Go!

"Grandpa's Little Man"

Graham has outgrown another Grandpa outfit :( He has had more to wear than I thought in the beginning. I had such a hard time finding ONE outfit for Jackson in the beginning, but slowly more and more have come into the stores :) 

We had a little photo shoot with a Griffins pennant we "borrowed" from Mimi and Bampa's ;)

I took the picture below of Jackson right before my dad was being recognized for working at Roycemore for FORTY years!

Just for comparison, Graham is on the left just shy of eight months old.  Jackson is on the right at 5 1/2 months.  Makes me thankful for the date stamp on our camera...

Feeling Spiffy on a Beautiful Day!

 Yesterday we totally stayed home and I spent the morning cleaning.  When it was time to get dressed, Jackson chose this button down shirt!  I love that that's what he chose on this stay-at-home-usually-in-our-jammies-day!  Of course I dressed Graham in one of my favorite little shirts--a button down checked shirt with a little red bug on the pocket!

 SMOOCH!

 Mr. GJS

 Mr. JAS

 Once I was finished cleaning, and naps/quiet time were had, we took a walk to enjoy the BEAUTIFUL weather!  Graham sat in the stroller like a big boy for the first time--he LOVED it!

 Holding hands

 Our troop (you can see the top of Graham's head in the stroller)

 We came home and Jackson asked to shoot some baskets.  Sure!

 He had some great shots!

It was such a nice breath of fresh air to get some nice weather in the middle of our coldest days :)

Yes, This DID Happen!

 Jackson really never transferred from the car to his bed.  So, if he fell asleep in the car, I had to either leave him in the car to finish resting, or just accept that he had had that little nap.  I guess I just assumed Graham would be the same way.  But, when he fell asleep on the way home from the grocery store, I went ahead and tried putting him to bed.  It totally worked!  He woke up briefly, looked at me, and happily snuggled into his crib :)  I decided to not push my luck and just left his hat on ;)

Rub a Dub Dub, Happy Graham in the Tub

This face makes me want to just let him have a bath all day long!  Seriously, there hasn't been a mood yet that a bath couldn't turn around for Graham :)  I ordered him this awesome bath seat, and I really don't worry about him in the tub, especially when he takes a bath with Jackson, which is most nights. It's called the Dream Baby Bath Seat, and we all are in love!  I can't believe I didn't have one for Jackson!  It definitely suctions well to the bottom of our tub, and Graham happily splashes and reaches for toys. 

 Two bugs in a tub :)

 CHEESE!

 And, here is proof that Graham is happy to bathe wherever we are!  He was plenty happy in Mimi and Bampa's fancy pink, square tub :)

He sure does love sucking on the washcloths!

 

Both Graham and Jackson hated their baths right away, but now LOVE them!  Funny to think back that far...