Milk: It Really Does Do A Body Good

Grayson has had a big day today and it's only mid-afternoon. This morning we got up and strolled over to the Dustbowl Arts Market on Campus Corner. The weather was perfect and the handmade jewelry and craft booths were amazing. Kudos to our friend Katie for organizing such a great festival!

After a quick nap, it was time for lunch and Gray's first taste of whole milk. He gulped it down out of his sippy cup and couldn't seem to get enough. It must have been just the fuel he needed, because he then decided to take his first steps!

Over the last few days he's been gaining confidence with standing independently and it finally "clicked" on how to go from standing to walking. For your viewing pleasure, we took a few short videos of his new ability. As you'll hear, the excitement of walking brought out a few shrieks, but we didn't seem to care since they were the first of the day and for good reason.

I guess I'll have to start thinking about dressing him in shoes when we go out in public in case he wants to practice his new skill. Now, if I could just get him to keep them on his feet...

One more cousin!

The last of the babies has finally arrived. Charlotte Reese was born to my cousin Windy and her husband Wayne on Aug. 27 at 7:56 p.m. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 14 oz. and 20.5 inches.

Charlotte completes the bevy of babies we've been expecting this summer and I'm so thrilled we have another girl in the family!

Knock on Wood

As I write this post, I realize I'm probably jinxing myself but it seems like Grayson's shrieking may actually be improving. That doesn't mean we don't go a day without hearing it, but he is doing a lot better at using his "words" instead of high pitched vocalizations.

I really think the intense shrieking is his way of expressing himself when he can't find words. Every day I can see the wheels in his head turning as he thinks about and practices new sounds.

Michael and I have been trying a combination of ignoring the shrieks, completely leaving the room/situation, or saying "use your words" then inserting whatever word makes sense at the time. Depending on the situation, our reaction typically gets noticed and the shrieking ceases.

Car rides have become much better and on this evening's commute, Gray contentedly played and babbled with no need for shrill noisemaking.

Tonight at dinner Grayson began shrieking while I was feeding him so I spun his highchair around to face the wall. He immediately stopped and calmed down so I turned him back around and we continued. Once he was done eating, he spent about 15 more minutes munching on puffs and babbling at the table while Michael and I ate -- not one shriek.

I'm sure we'll have good days and bad days in terms of the shrieking, but I must say today was a good day.

Recess

This past weekend, Grayson enjoyed playing at a park near my parent's house. He LOVED the bucket swings, but took a little time to warm up to the seesaw animals. I don't think he quite knew what to do on them yet.

Video Diaries

A few video updates from this week:

When Grayson is learning to master a new trick, we cheer and clap once he's achieved it. His latest trick is to clap for himself once he succeeds. Guess he understands clapping = good.

This week when Michael went out to mow the backyard, I couldn't get Grayson away from the window. Luckily, the video camera was close by so I could capture his non-stop repetition of dada.

Gray's New Smile

Here are a few new pictures of Grayson's pearly whites. He only has four teeth on top, so there is a big gap between his two front teeth. Of course, I think it's the most adorable thing ever. Ask me again in 10 years when we're writing a check to the orthodontist.

A little shadow

A few weeks back we visited my parents in Mississippi for a mini family reunion. My Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill came along with their daughter Suzanne and her son Luke. You've seen Luke before on this blog (usually in pool-related posts), but I couldn't pass up showing you some pictures of Grayson and Luke together.

Grayson thought Luke was pretty cool and he spent most of his waking moments trying to be just like him. Luke loves to color, but Gray didn't quite understand colored pencils just yet. Instead, he was happy stealing them out of Luke's pencil bag and chewing on the ends. Luke was not amused.


A few days into our trip, we realized that both of the boys have the same pajamas. Here's Luke and his little shadow sporting their alligator PJs.