A seat at the table

I might say this every week, but I can’t help it: Baby Graham is growing up way too fast. His newest development—joining us at the dinner table. No, we’re not feeding our 3-and-a-half-month-old food yet. (Although, my foodie self is so very excited for that adventure!) Our little man is thoroughly enjoying the new view from his big boy high chair. I can’t believe it! Just a few months ago, this tiny person was still growing in my belly, and now he is sitting up here intently watching us stuff our Korean beef lettuce wraps.
My husband was surprised when I asked him to go ahead and assemble the highchair that had been waiting in our hallway closet since the last baby shower. “Isn’t it too early for that?” After he put it together, we let it sit untouched next to the breakfast table for a couple of days before trying it out. Even though I had been propping Graham up into a sitting position for a while now, putting him in a high chair seemed like a big transition—he would no longer be my newborn lying next to us in his Mamaroo at dinner, but instead a growing boy sitting up in his own chair!

For the past few weeks, I’ve been helping Graham practice sitting several times a day. Along with “tummy time,” I help pull him to a sitting position on the floor or on his jungle play mat. He seems to love it when I prop him up on the couch, so he can sit up “by himself” next to Matthew. You can tell by his smile and alert face that he is excited by the new point of view he gets from sitting.
He seems to love his new “perch” at the table. Now that he has developed good head and neck control, the backing and sides of the chair are enough to keep him in a sitting position comfortably. He’s really been working at hand-eye coordination lately, too. It’s so cute watching Graham try his best to awkwardly pick up his toys and try to stuff them in his mouth. Now that he’s in the highchair, we place a few of his toys on the highchair tray, and he is able to keep himself occupied long enough for my husband and I to enjoy our dinner together. (Woohoo!) These days he’s really into Sophie the giraffe and his colorful rattles.
During the first couple of dinners with Graham at the table, he seemed content to gnaw on poor Sophie’s head the whole time. Tonight was different—we noticed that Graham wouldn’t take his eyes off of Matthew for almost the whole meal. Maybe it was the bright green of the romaine or the orange hue of the matchstick carrots that caught his eye, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of Matthew eating. The look on his face and the little drop of drool on his lips seemed to say, “Hey guys, give me a little bite!” Having him up here with us at mealtime is going to make waiting the recommended six months until real food difficult! I’m just so excited to see how he reacts to new flavors and textures—but that will be a whole different adventure …