What a week

I cannot begin without speaking of the horror which occurred to 27 innocent people and children on Friday.  As a family it has hit incredibly close to home, we have a first grader and in one year I will be a teacher in a classroom just like Sandy Hook, not to mention just the unimaginable pain that goes along with being lucky enough to love a child.  I am at loss for what to say, struggling to understand my feelings except that our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by the senselessness which occurred to such innocent teachers and children.  Tragedy is an understatement and I certainly will take every opportunity to hug my children a little tighter and appreciate every moment we have as a family!

Without taking away from loss of innocence, so much has happened in our lives this past week.  Beginning with our little man turning 5 months old today!  It is so hard to believe that Graham completed our family five months ago.  At times it is hard to remember what life was like before, while other times I cannot believe it has already been 5 months!

Graham has grown and changed so much in the past 153 days.  He now weighs 14 pounds 7 ounces and is 26 inches long.  Graham is skinny ( below the 25%) and tall (the 75%) and has a whopping head (98%).  Clearly he is going to be very smart:)  We just moved him to size 3 diapers and he is comfortably wearing 3 to 6 month clothes.

"What Mommy?  You think I look handsome"

We have started food with Graham and overall he loves it.  He started with oatmeal about a week in half ago then every three to four days have introduced something new.  We began with bananas which he loved, then went to sweet potatoes ( not such a fan).  Next Graham had pears and he loved them, crying because we weren't getting them in his mouth quickly enough.  Yesterday he had peas for the first time.  While he didn't spit them out, he certainly was not crying to speed up the spoon.  I make all of the food he has had, and I love doing it.  We steam the veggies then puree them in the food processor.  I add oatmeal and breast milk to each food.  The fruits have only needed to be pureed so far.  Our little man certainly is growing up so quickly.  While I want to keep introducing new foods, I also find myself trying to slow things down a bit because he is growing way too fast.

Not a huge fan this day

Graham has not rolled over yet but can get all the way onto his side and then gets so frustrated.  Selfishly I am just fine with laying him down and knowing he will stay in that same spot so I see no rush in helping him figure out the mobility thing just yet.  G has also found his toes.  He loves to try to get his toes into his mouth.  He can keep himself busy for a good amount of time trying to work that out!!  Graham has also taken a serious lovin' to his brother, and Reece loves nothing more than being able to get Graham to laugh.  I cannot soak it up enough. Gregg and I have talked so much about the day that they "found" each other.  It is priceless!!

Sleep is honestly all over the place.  He will occasionally sleep through the night (10 pm to 630 ish am), most nights he wakes up around 4 am to eat then falls back asleep until 730 or 8 am, but we have also had our far share of days where Graham is crying every 2 -3 hours.  I really am at a loss for why or what to do.  Although after his last check up, the doctor did tell me that he can go at least six hours without needing to eat.  So on the nights he wakes often, I send Gregg in to give him the binkie and then he falls right back asleep.  I guess truth be told we really struggle with a schedule.  Graham is clearly the second child because we often have to wake him to run Reece to one of his countless activities.  He is often sleeping in his carseat, or we omit his bedtime routine, so my Christmas break goal is to work on G's schedule.  He needs at least one nap a day in his crib and a consistent bedtime.  We will see if we can make that happen even if just five days a week.  I am also ready to get rid of the binkie.  We could have a dozen binkies but somehow can never find one of them and usually it is in the middle of a 5 month old meltdown or at 4 am in the morning.  I hate that thing but also realize that it soothes Graham especially at night.  So my plan is to not give it to him except at night time.  I also hope that this with help him learn to soothe himself without needing us to come in and put the binkie back in his mouth.  We will see....

Graham is such a happy little man.  He still loves being outside, and luckily the temperatures have not gotten too cold yet that we can bundle him up for a little vitamin D and fresh air.   Graham is really observant and loves to watch the lights, motion, and sounds, wherever he is.  It won't surprise anyone who knows us, but G is quite a chatter box.  He loves to be sung to and will coo, babble, smile, and laugh back.  His smile never gets old and certainly makes our day!!   We have also spent the past few days trying to soak in every moment of Graham's first Christmas.  

Our little helper...

Visting a life size gingerbread house

 This is a Christmas party which was at Graham's day care... it was so much fun

Finally I have to mention that while we have been reminded how quickly life can change, we have so much to celebrate.  Gregg just accepted a new job as the superintendent of Tam O'Shanter Country Club.   Not only is it a huge promotion for him professionally but also a game changer for our family.  I couldn't be more proud of him!  Then yesterday I received my semester grades and am humbled but so proud to now be on the honor roll.  It certainly makes all the hard work and time away from my boys a little more worth the sacrifice.  Clearly 2012 has been a great year for us as a family and the future looks incredibly bright!  Christmas has come a little early for us and we will be celebrating!!!