59 weeks, 1 day.

Graham had a big day of going out to lunch with Daddy and playing with Auntie Spice. Also, he learned his first animal sound today--a monkey! Hoohoohaha!

59 weeks.

Update video showing Graham's walking skills.

Graham recently dropped his before-nap nurses, so is down to 4 nurses per day. He doesn't seem all that interested in those, either, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's on his way to weaning.

58 weeks, 6 days.

Happy birthday, Auntie Spice! Can't wait to see you this weekend!

Graham and Sam did a lot of parallel, and a little interactive (hide-and-seek!), play this afternoon. Earlier today, Graham stacked 2 blocks! It's amazing how much his play is changing.

Our lil' tiger says "Grrrrrrrrrrr!" (translation: thanks for the awesome onesie, Aunt Sarah & Uncle Tim!)

58 weeks, 5 days.

I gave Graham a snack trap for the first time today. He was beyond excited. He couldn't figure out how to get the grapes, but he clutched the container through 2 strollers rides and music class and kept bringing me the snack trap to give him grapes. Graham doesn't have a sippy cup like most of his friends (he shares my cup) and I think he was thrilled to have something of his very own to carry around.

58 weeks, 4 days.

Graham helped carry home the asparagus for tonight's dinner.

New vocabulary:
- "mmmmba" = banana
- "oon" = balloon
- "hi" = hi
- possibly "ba" for ball...not sure about that one yet.

We suspect Graham may be a lefty based on his eating habits. Do lefties hold a fork/spoon in their left hands? I guess we'll just let Graham figure that one out on his own.

58 weeks, 2 days.

After a little slide time at the park, Graham hung out with Howie, who taught him how to use a cellphone. In exchange, Graham gave (soon-to-be-a-dad) Howie some tips on the father-son relationship.

58 weeks, 1 day.

We ordered Graham his first item off the menu at a restaurant today: a cheeseburger from the Brooklyn outpost of Shake Shack. Yum yum.

58 weeks.

More cozy coupe time with Elliot and Violet. Graham also had a lot of fun toddling up to the big kids playing in the yard and introducing himself by letting out a loud stream of chatter. Graham seems to be a very social tot, with no signs yet of his mother's shy streak.

57 weeks, 6 days.

Graham had a packed day of eating sand, bouncing on an inflatable horse and wandering around the playground looking like a cool kid. Thanks for the great sweater, Uncle David & Aunt Meghan! Graham's friend Owen (from the sandbox) was very jealous.

57 weeks, 4 days.

Graham playing hide-and-seek under the dining table.

Poor Graham seems to be suffering from some pretty bad teething pain. He's very crabby, has a runny nose, steady stream of drool, and is running a low fever. It's rough getting 3 new molars.

57 weeks, 3 days.

Graham takes his first spin in a cozy coupe. He loved it!

57 weeks, 1 day.

Happy St. Patrick's day from our little ginger. Thanks for the shirt, Nana!

57 weeks.

Bath time! Graham still loves his bath. He likes to pat the water, chase after his toys, and eat the soap. Guess washing his mouth out with it won't be an effective punishment.

56 weeks, 5 days.

Mama's little cross-dresser. Graham had a bit of an accident today and needed to borrow clothes from a friend...unfortunately, we were at Annika's house. She did not exactly have a lot of gender-neutral clothing to choose from.

56 weeks, 4 days.

Baby Graham playing in the shadow of the big city.

56 weeks, 3 days.

Graham took his first swing in a hammock at playgroup today. Hurrah for spring!

56 weeks, 2 days (aka 13 months).

Graham had Daddy's favorite lunch today--peanut butter and jelly with a banana. Our new meal strategy is working really well and seems to have improved both Graham's food consumption and my stress level around meal time. We picked up a couple smock-style bids to try to counter Graham's unbelievably messy eating style. From what I hear, though, as long as he doesn't get peanut butter on his forehead, at least he's a more accurate eater than his daddy.

After lunch, Graham went to the park (still with a balloon from an earlier party tied to his overalls) and sat in the big boy chair, which he loves.

56 weeks.

Tuckered out. It's hard work spending your afternoon touring the neighborhood parks.

55 weeks, 6 days

Graham took a 3 hour morning nap, leaving us free to spend a beautiful long nearly-spring afternoon in the park. Apparently, Beyonce and baby Blue Ivy were there too--two budding musical geniuses nearly meeting up for a jam session.

55 weeks, 5 days.

Graham paying rapt attention at music class.

Graham is starting to use some words! He's been obsessed with the light in our dining room and now says "light" while pointing to the light. He also says "na" for "no" and "dat!" for something like "read this to me immediately!" or "pick me up immediately!" or other demands. He also says "mama" and "dada," but inconsistently appropriately. He chatters pretty much constantly, so we are trying to pay closer attention and pick the words out of the jargon.

55 weeks, 3 days.

Snack time at the Miller daycare.

55 weeks, 2 days.

In the last week or so, Graham has gone from being a great eater to eating nearly nothing, despite a lot of short-order cook work on my part. After reading up on the issue, it seems this is a common issue at his age and so we are trying a new strategy: following the Child of Mine theory, our new approach is that as parents, we are responsible for the what, where and when of Graham's meals and he is responsible for the whether and how much. In other words, we will provide him with delicious nutritious meals at regular intervals and trust that he knows what he needs and will choose to eat those things from what's offered to him. No more trying multiple courses or trying to convince him to eat. Wish us luck!

55 weeks, 1 day.

Despite having caught my cold, Graham rallied to try his first ice cream at our neighborhood old-timey soda fountain. He took a couple bites but didn't seem particularly enchanted by the ice cream, probably because he isn't feeling well.