So, we're working on our video capability here at the DailyGraham. No sound, unfortunately, but you'll get the gist of Graham's zany, joyful attempts to use a spoon.

I came home yesterday from work to find my Graham and his auntie Filipa totally in love with eachother. I mean, they had been good friends before, but look at this picture....

We recently ordered some prints of digital photos, with the thought of one day actually putting them on the walls of our new house. The pictures capture especially cute moments in my late pregnancy and Graham's early life, so Jen and I had a fun few minutes flipping through and noting all the ways G has changed ("Look! It's that week he was skinny!"). What struck me most, however, was a picture of myself.



My friends, I had given birth to a 9 1/2lb baby minutes before this photo was taken, but I look BETTER then than I do now: more rested, clearer complected, and younger. This fact leads me to the following conclusion- Giving birth is easier than actually raising a baby. The grey hairs, wrinkles and tired, saggy eyes I sport daily are a direct result, not of being pregnant or giving birth, but of being a mom. The two labors are not even comparable. I am also smarter, happier, and more loving (and loved) now, as well, so I'll take the trade. But don't let anyone tell you that childbirth is the hard part.

Sitting Goose

G is getting better at sitting up all the time. In fact, he's starting to dislike being flat on his back. He either struggles to sit up (which he can't do) or rolls over and starts scootching backwards (which he can do, although ineffectively). It's a frustrating time for a kid.

Also: suddenly he feels like a little boy in my arms, instead of an infant. Maybe growing new muscles from all that activity?

What we do on the weekends

Puree stuff for Graham to eat (Well, I do it; Jen hasn't come near a blending-device since "The Incident").

Here, he tries peas.



Give G a place to worm around. Since he can only move backwards, and that only really inefficiently, we've taken to letting him monkey around on us.



Look out the window. Birds and dogs and kids live next door.



Just, you know, relax.



Also: we grow teeth. There's a second tooth (barely) visible now, right next to the first. I'll miss his gummy smile!

BREAKING NEWS....

We have a tooth, people. Bottom right incisor. We had just thought that Graham had been possessed by something ultimately evil- still a little slow on the uptake here.

Why We Live Here

It's expensive. The taxes are high. Our bike got stolen from the back yard. We're teachers who will maybe never afford a house. Our condo cost a ridiculous amount of money. All true. But, today, I have a really good reason to live here.

Hooray for Massachusetts: still the only state that has it right.

New Toys!

I had always been sort of anti-toy, especially for babies. Wouldn't a pot/pan and a spoon do just as well? Who were all these silly people that *buy* toys for their infants? They were not silly, my readers, but smart, smart parents who know that the right toy can entertain a newly impatient 6 month old. G has outgrown some of the infant stuff he's used for a while (basic rattles, etc.), so we went to the store to buy something that could do more. Trying to avoid battery powered, LOUD toys is tough; they seem to be de rigeur for the pre-walking set, so we had to look for a while. Finally we found a souped up version of the stacking rings everybody had as a kid. They are plush, rattle a little, and you can drop little balls down the middle of the tube. He loves it.

You know it's summer when...



You garden (or hang out while your moms do)




You taste your first strawberry (and your first turnip!)

Self-Portrait, with Menagerie

I took this one the other day on a long walk with Molly and G, my two comrades-at-arms. We're becoming familiar figures around our neighborhood, as we take long rambles every morning. It's not a great picture, I know, but it captures a lot of the personality of life around here.

Note: I noticed the other day that nearly every picture we take includes Graham and a mama-torso. I just wanted to reassure everyone that we still have heads around here.

As expected, the verdict is...Big

G had his 6 month check up yesterday. A gentleman does not reveal his weight publicly, but let's just say that if you lined up 100 babies NONE of them would be longer, heavier, or bigger headed than Mr. Graham (statistically, that is..).

The pediatrician was happy, however, because G shows none of the signs of the laziness she says she sees in big babies. In fact, she was impressed by his new skills, especially his cup-holding. We bought a cup a few weeks ago, after Jen's co-worker's son went on a milk strike when the bottles disappeared. Also: we've seen some kids who appear to be 5 at the market, still toting bottles. Why not head that nightmare off at the pass, we thought? It was a good call, because he loves it; loves water, in fact, which has made me remember that it does actually taste pretty good. Sometimes even better than Diet Coke or white wine.

Ps. Truth be told, G likes to chew and play with the cup as much as actally drink from it. But he can bring it to his mouth with both arms, and I guess that's the trick to look for.

Happy 6 months, Graham





It's such a thrill to have this little guy in our lives. We love to sing to him...I do a lot of Gershwin (complete with goofy dance moves). Anyway, we're feeling so chipper around here today, I thought I'd share the lyrics to one of the songs that best captures the Graham mood, as I'll call it, because, really, look at what I've got.

Lucky me. Lucky us.



Days can be sunny,
With never a sigh ;
Don't need what money can buy.
Birds in the tree sing
Their dayful of song,
Why shouldn't we sing along ?
I'm chipper all the day,
Happy with my lot.
How do I get that way ?
Look at what I've got :

I got rhythm
I got music
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more ?
I got daisies
In green pastures,
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more ?

Ol'Man Trouble,
I don't mind him.
You won't find him
'Round my door.
I got starlight,
I got sweet dreams,
I got my man,
Who could ask for anything more ?
Who could ask for anything more ?

Providence Picnic

We visited good friends in Providence ,Sunday, for a picnic in their enormous, beautiful yard. Yard lust comes with the territory of city-living, I'm afraid, and we got a good dose of it yesterday. Graham loved just hanging out on a blanket, but he loved watching the resident 3 year old, Fischer, much more. Already, big kids are the coolest thing.

In other news:

G seems to be mastering the pincer-grasp (using the index finger and thumb to grab things), which is a big 6 month milestone. Also: now that he can sit up, it's ALL he wants to do. Lastly, he slept through the night again for the first time since February. Once.

He Sits

It takes work, people, and doesn't last all that long, but he sits. Hooray for Graham!

Ps. Notice that he is *always* smiling. He's the smilingist kid around.