Loves and Hates

GRAHAM LOVES...
* Us - He is always happy to see us, and smiles when we smile at him. He is starting to get upset these days when we leave him with people he's less familiar with.
* Being Tickled - He has the best giggles when we tickle his neck or sides.
* Stuffed Musical Elephant (thanks Charlene!!) - He snuggles with this guy everytime we put him to bed. It's an amazing example of classical conditioning because he always rubs his sleepy eyes as soon as we pick up the elephant.
* Cords, Outlets, Plastic - All things that are dangerous for babies!
* Pulling Himself Up - He pulls up on anything he can find.
* Being Cheered For - This comes in handy with the previous item on the "loves" list. When Graham falls, we can usually keep him from crying by cheering for him.
* Books - Well, mainly he likes to help us turn the pages, so we're now sticking with board books. He especially likes "Where's Spot?" because he gets to lift the flaps.
* Cartoons - When he first wakes up in the morning, we sit on the sofa and watch cartoons for about 10 minutes while his oatmeal milk warms up. I hate to foster this habit so young, but it seems to be relaxing and interesting to him.

GRAHAM HATES...
* Diaper and Outfit Changes - It is a battle! Too bad the weather's getting colder and he has to wear more clothes.
* Naps - Most of the time he cries pretty hard for afternoon naps. Recently, he started chewing the crib rail during these tantrums, so we had to get overnight shipping on a railguard. Crazy boy.
* Green Beans - It's the only baby food that he still will not eat.
* Passifier - He hasn't liked a passifier for months. It actually makes him madder if he's upset. But...he loves to chew the passifier pod.
* Having his Face & Hands Wiped After Eating

7 Month Pictures

Graham was scheduled for a 6-month picture session, but we postponed it because of his cast. When the new date rolled around, we thought the stage was set for perfect picture-taking. Graham's outfit was altered, the weather was beautiful, and he had taken naps. What could go wrong? I'll tell you. Graham did not want to smile. Not only did he not want to smile, he wanted to stick out his tonge, suck on his lip, and make faces of total confusion at the camera. Then there was a crying meltdown. Luckily, the photographer captured a few neutral to moderately happy moments during the afternoon.

Graham's been doing a lot of new things lately. He pulls himself up onto his knees when he can find anything to hold onto. Sometimes he manages to tuck his feet and stand on his own too, and he's especially appreciative if we offer him a hand. He loves the blinds on the back door and can entertain himself for a while chewing on those. Although I probably shouldn't allow it, I just decided to clean the blinds and let him play. They seem well-attached, and we are desperate for entertainment! He is also advancing his talking with lots of "ba, ba, ba's." He talks with passion, like "ba, ba, ba" is a very important thing for us to know. As far as his eating goes, he's doing much better with vegetables. Here's how we think Graham would rank them: #1-Sweet Potatoes, #2-Squash, #3-Carrots, #4, Peas, and a distant #5-Green Beans. He also now has two new teeth on the top. Last weekend he had a major case of "The Irrits" (what we call it when he's irritable), and then we discovered the little teeth popping through. Thank goodness there was a reason!