Chugging along

Hello all. Since our last post we crossed the 6 month barrier (on April 13). I can't think of any major developments to report, just steady progress. The most notable things I can think of are 1) he has really improved on his sitting up skills and 2) he is getting more and more adept with his hands. He can now sit, if you set him up, more or less indefinitely. For example, he was up for a good 15 minutes today when we were playing outside. As for the hands, he rotates objects around to look at them from all angles and passes them back and forth between his hands. He's getting strong enough that he bears watching most of the time, lest he pick up a plate from the table or pull a beer-I mean soda-bottle out of your hands.

He's gotten a little more "dramatic," for lack of a better word, as well. More laughter when he is happy and bigger fits when he's not. I think he's just got bigger thoughts and feelings in that little brain of his and he's got to express them bigger. I also wonder if he isn't starting to get more aware of who people are and who he doesn't know. Don't get me wrong, he's still a charming little extrovert, but he seems to lose it a bit more easily when mom and dad get out of sight.

The photos show him getting ready to get shipped to Timbuktu, hanging with Grandpop Trainer, and sitting in the yard today in a Zags hat, looking an awful lot like his Grandma Trainer (in my opinion anyway). Those Grady genes are strong. There's also a video of him goofing around in his jumper toy.

Rosetta stone

No pictures to update right now (Chris should be adding a more dense post soon).

I'm just really excited about this new blog I found:

Secrets of Baby Behavior
(http://www.secretsofbabybehavior.com/)

Perhaps it will prove useful in the months to come.

Also, happy due date Devin!

Swing Coach

I hope he was laughing with me and not at me.

Bubbling Over

Since last time, J has added a few more culinary delights to his repertoire, including green beans and bananas. We've got some carrots in the hole, ready to go. Zucchini, too, if Melissa can figure out how to cook it...

Aunt Danielle and Uncle Adam (Gianola) came out for a visit last weekend, and among other things we got to go down to DC for the Cherry Blossom Festival. A nice time was had by all. We had really nice weather and got some nice outdoor pictures. The one on the left was a big hit with the grandmas, so I thought I'd post it here. When we were indoors, Julian put on a nice little dance for them in his bouncy jumpy thingy (first video).

Early this week Julian discovered he could "blow bubbles" with his lips and tongue. He got excited when we reacted and started doing it back to him, and we managed to get a video of it. Pretty darned cute!


I also have that same video on YouTube if you want a larger view.

Appeased by peas

Julian continues to increase his culinary repertoire. He has now expanded from rice cereal to sweet potatoes, apples, and sweat peas. So far, he has happily eaten whatever we have given him. Some of it even ends up in his belly.








He's also become quite the ham for the camera. As you can see, when Melissa attempted to video him playing with his otter, he was as interested in the camera as he was the toy. He still doesn't like playing on his belly. He insists on rolling onto his back even though he has a perfectly good tummy to play on.


The second video shows off his sitting up skills. In case you're wondering, the off-camera sound you hear is the lightsaber app on my iPhone. He seemed to enjoy it almost as much as I do. The force is strong with this one.