8 Months Old

Our sweet little boy is now 8 months old. He is officially a wild man! His favorite things are squealing, rolling, playing outside, and petting Maggie. He is still not crawling, but I think we are only days away. We are enjoying these last few days of limited mobility! The video I have included is of Graham laughing at a garbage bag. Sorry the camera is so shaky, but I was trying to hold the video camera and shake the garbage bag. Enjoy!

Hilton Head

We were able to go back to Hilton Head for another week of vacation last week. This trip was with my side of the family. My aunt and cousin from Florida, my aunt and two cousins from Anderson, my parents, and of course Dustin/Graham/myself were there. It was a wonderful and relaxing week. Graham liked having all those people to give him attention!
Graham did well and loved the pool water. He did not like the beach sand, but enjoyed the ocean tide pools. He is not crawling yet but is very close. He is definitely mobile though, he has learned how to roll across the room! We have found him under the coffee table, playing with the blinds on the door, and pulling board games off a shelf. We are continuing to introduce new foods to him. He is still eating mostly jars of baby food. The only "real" food he has had is a sweet potato, banana, and sweet potato puffs.

7 Months Old

Graham turned 7 months old last Wednesday. I love this age! I know I have said that about each stage so far, but this is definitely my favorite. He is able to sit on his own and entertain himself. He has also started reaching up for us to pick him up. It just melts my heart when he reaches for me to get him. He is gotten quite a personality. He smiles and laughs out loud. He also lets you know when he is not happy with something. He has a full temper tantrum when his sweet potatoes are gone!

We went for another physical therapy evaluation for Graham's head today. He did not get as good of a report as the past two visits, but we are not discouraged. His therapist said that a helmet was still a possibility, but not a definite. The left side of his neck seems to be stronger than his right side. The therapist said this is common to regress some when teething or going through a growth spurt. At this point, we are going to do some home neck exercises and think about the helmet. Luckily, his long patch of hair on the top of his head helps hide the asymmetry!

Food, Sitting, and Teeth

Graham is now eating several types of food and sitting up on his own. He eats rice cereal, green beans (without gagging), carrots, and sweet potatoes. We are going to start bananas on Friday. He LOVES his sweet potatoes. We cannot get the spoon to his mouth quick enough!
Graham has been sitting with support, but has now learned to sit all by himself. He still falls to the side, and the back, when he is looking or reaching for something. Maggie makes Graham so excited, but she always makes him fall over when he is watching her.
Graham also has two teeth! Both broke through over night last week. We have been waiting for them to pop through. He has been putting everything in his mouth and constantly drooling for awhile now.

Rivers is Here!

Graham is so excited to have his buddy Rivers in the world! Rivers Andrew Koch was born last Tuesday, July 14. He weighed 8 lbs and 6 oz. We have been lucky enough to visit several times. Laurie looks wonderful and is enjoying being a mommy. We look forward to play dates very soon!

Friends, Family, and Fun

We have had another busy week. Graham went for his six month check-up at the doctor, we had out of town friends here for the weekend, and Graham started eating baby food. Graham got a great report from his pediatrician. He weighs 21 pounds 3 ounces (94%) and is 28 1/2 inches long (96%). Developmentally Graham is right on track: he has good head control, babbles and coos, follows objects, transfers objects, smiles, laughs, grasps objects, sits with support, and rolls both ways. We had a house full of friends this weekend. Kate, Brent, and Banks got here from Nashville late Friday night. Suzanne, Matt, and Casey arrived from New York early Saturday afternoon. Our girl weekends have changed greatly. We have gone from just Laurie, Kate, Suzanne, and me to now including husbands and kids! We were hoping Rivers would be here to meet everyone, but much to Laurie's dismay he is still in her tummy! We introduced baby food to Graham this week. We tried green beans first, but they were not very well received. I have attached the video to show Graham's response. He made a horrible face with each bite and actually gagged at one point! We are now trying carrots. They are going better...Graham is still not opening his mouth in excitement but he is not gagging either. Enjoy the pictures and video!

Summer Fun

We have been on the move since our last post. Graham and I went to Montreat to visit with Kate and Banks a week ago. It is so fun to see the boys together. I realized my calm non-mobile baby days are going to come to an end before I am ready! Banks is 10 weeks older than Graham and I can tell we have a lot to look forward to.
We also celebrated July 4th yesterday with two cookouts and pool time. Graham loves the pool and will stay in as long as we will let him! He slept great last night!
We go to the doctor tomorrow for Graham's 6 month check up and I will post his stats then. I am anxious to see how tall he is and how much he weighs.