Grayer is SEVEN Months!

Okay, well, we are WAY behind on this post...as in, Grayer is closer to being 8 months old than 7, but you know what? We have just been too dang busy to take pictures! Since the last monthly update, we sold our house and moved into an apartment while we wait to close & do renovations on our new house. Basically, Grayer's 7th month was the busiest of his life (and maybe all of our lives!).

***As usual, Grayer would not smile for our monthly update. He was much more interested in grabbing the camera and eating the 7-month sticker. Obviously.

Here's what Grayer has been up to...

Weighs: At his last weigh-in, he was 17 lbs and 11oz. Getting bigger every day! I can't remember what his length was, but the doctor said he was in about the 50% percentile for weight and height. He is not as big as Wells was at this age, but he is still a little chunk - which we love :)

Sleeps: ...I don't even want to talk about it. This boy is killing me with all of the nightly wake-ups! At night, if he has not just nursed (which almost always puts him to sleep if it's bedtime), I will rock him until he gets drowsy...and by "rock" I mean "walk around holding him and patting his butt." Don't even think about sitting down, or he will lose his little mind and be wide awake. So, anyway, I walk him around until he is somewhat sleepy and then lay him in his crib, slightly awake. That way he falls asleep on his own (he likes to rub his muslin blankie on his face when I lay him down). So, you would think that since he knows how to put himself to sleep, he would do this when he wakes up at night, too. Wrong. In the last few weeks, it has not been out of the ordinary for him to wake up every 2 hours. I wish I was kidding. I'm not really sure what to do at this point except hope and pray that it gets better soon...because 7+ months of multiple night wakings every.single.night makes a mama tired. Also, as a sidenote, his crib is in our room while we are in the apartment. I love him, but I may do a really dramatic happy dance when we move in November and he goes back to being in his own room! #sorrynotsorrykid

Eats: Grayer is still nursing and eating like a champ. He has gotten enthusiastic downright crazy over food this month. He gets so excited when he sees anything edible! He will stare you down if you are eating, and he gets SO mad if you do not give him some of whatever you are eating. He is eating a steady 2 meals a day - one in the morning or early afternoon and one in the evening. Plus, he eats bits of whatever we are eating throughout the day. He is doing really well eating table food (which he likes way more than baby food). I bought him a training sippy cup, but it didn't go well...mostly because the spout is super hard to get anything out of (yes, I tried it). So, we will either buy a new one or just use one of Wells' if he can get the hang of those. For the most part, he nurses and doesn't really take a bottle throughout the day (just sips of water when eating meals), so this hasn't been something we've been working on very much. We'll probably start working on it a little more here in the near future.

Wears: Grayer can still fit in 6-month clothes but wears his 9-month clothes, too. Before we moved to the apartment, I went ahead and got out 12-month clothes. He is wearing a 12-month onesie today, and it actually fits him pretty well. He is still in a size 3 diaper.

Plays: Grayer was sitting up last month but has really mastered it this month, sitting up for long periods of time playing with toys. I got out Wells' old activity center a number of weeks ago, and Grayer likes to play and bounce in it. If he is in the mood, he goes to town bouncing! Like, I half expect him to fly out he gets so crazy! He also has really started liking the doorway jumper this month. He likes to play peekaboo and cackles so hard if you tickle him. He really is a smiley baby, but if he is in a mood, he will make you work really really hard to get him to smile or laugh. He still loves watching Wells do anything. If Wells is around, Grayer is happy. He gets bored really easily if there is not a lot of chaos or activity going on (he is obviously used to the crazy state that our house and toddler are always in!). Grayer really likes standing a lot. He won't try to crawl, although he is turning himself over onto his belly a lot these days. He is a wiggle worm to the highest degree - he is always in a different position (ie: usually upside down at the other end of the crib!) when he wakes up from a nap or in the morning. One cute thing Grayer does is kicking his arms and legs like a little maniac when he is excited about something - it is so adorable. Also, let it be known that Grayer is a HUGE mama's boy. If I walk by him and don't pick him up, he can't handle it. If someone else is holding him and he sees or hears me, all bets are off and he no longer wants the current holdee :)

Milestones: No milestones to report this month - maybe next month, which is literally two weeks away at this point (ahem), we can add crawling to this category.

To sum up our little guy at 7 (and a half!) months - he LIVES to eat, he is NOT crazy about sleeping, and he LOVES his mama! That is Grayer William Hankin in a nutshell :)