Six Months!

I know every parent says it, but I too can't believe my baby is already SIX MONTHS OLD!

Why does time seem to go faster and faster the older you get? 

First off, Shad is sitting up!  He can even lean forward to grab a toy and then pull himself back upright.  He's definitely a strong boy!  Although he hasn't quite figured out how to lay down from a sitting position, so if he gets tired of sitting before he falls over he fusses until we lay him down.  It's kinda funny.

He has good balance, both when sitting and when standing on Jeff's hand, which he loves!

He enjoys being on his belly much more now!  Now that I think about it, I don't think he really fusses at all anymore to get off his tummy.  (Since he still hasn't figured out the coordination and that he can roll back to his back, even though he can easily do it.)  He actually rolls over and falls asleep on his stomach a lot now too.

Now that he can roll over and wriggle around a bit, we often find him in a totally different position and location in his crib than where we left him.  Some of them we can't help but laugh at:

He also pushes up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth!  Crawling isn't too far off!  He can even balance on one hand for a few seconds!  He does slowly scoot backward when his knees slide out from under him, causing him to slowly scoot around the room, but he doesn't know yet that he's able to do so.

It's no secret that he's very blonde, you can barely see his hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes.  But his hair has started getting a lot thicker and his eyelashes are starting to get darker! 

He is understanding more and more. I've been thinking about doing baby sign language with him, but I've only been consistent with one sign: food/hungry.  And just this past month, when we do that sign without saying anything, he gets excited like he does when he sees his bottle.  Smart boy!

Besides getting excited when my hair is down and wanting to play with it, he has also played with Jeff's and his own at times when he's tired.  Jeff did this too when he was a baby.  Momma C always knew Jeff was tired when he started twirling the hair on the back of her head.  Jeff's niece Nea also does this.  I love it, I hope it's something Shad starts doing more consistently!

Sometimes he'll imitate sounds we make, like a popping/smacking sound with our lips.  It's my new favorite.  It's so adorable!

He's still eating baby food sometimes, but freaks out anytime we put anything new in his mouth.  He pulls a face still with a spoon or any table food with any kind of texture, but if we put pureed baby food in a bottle with a spliced nipple, he'll suck it all out.  (Especially sweet potatoes and carrots.)  So we've been doing that more often than spoon feeding, since it's easy and fast and much less messy.  We're still working on the spoon though, there's only one way to get better at it.  ;)  

Most of his feedings are still breastmilk, with one or two tablespoons of rice cereal mixed in for more substance.  This system has been working for us for now, so that's all that matters.  :) 

He's starting to figure out how to put his pacifier back in!  He has been able to get it in his mouth a few times, but he also ends up trying to put the other end in his mouth half the time.  He's getting better and better at it though, especially when he has the clip/leash to help him find it.  Now he just needs to figure out how to do it at night so we don't have to get up... ;)

We've switched to a different brand of pacifier, partly cause that was what we had on hand.  These ones are bigger and therefore stay in his mouth better, which is nice.

Some kind of cold has been running through our house this past week.  Jeff thought it was fall allergies since he got it first, but then it developed into a slight cough and Shad and I started showing similar symptoms.  Luckily it didn't last very long.  A day or two later though Shad cut his first tooth!  So we're wondering if it really was a cold.  I'm thinking it was just his tooth and coincidence that Jeff and I had stuffy noses too.  I just didn't realize that teething can cause so much excess snot that we'd have to get up during the night and suction his nose so he could breathe!  

Napping propped up so he could breathe:

He sat in the high chair for the first time, and loved chewing on a cucumber!  (And I love how his feet are crossed.  He does that a lot in the stroller too!)

He is making more noises and talking more and more.  



I know there are times he is just trying so hard to say something.  I wish I could see what goes through his little head!

Few favorites this month:

Cuddling on the porch swing

More sucking on his bottom lip

He loves this big juice jug, and will hold it between his feet and use his hands to play with it

He still absolutely loves baths!  Whether showers or baths, he gets so excited and never gets tired of playing in the water

Dad definitely thinks Shad is rad... (And he likes making up songs with lyrics that rhyme with Shad, since it is so easy to rhyme with!)

 

Playing after Jeff gets home from work

All dressed up with Dad

And all dressed up with Mom

He gets excited about Jeff's basketball and pats and bats at it or the soccer balls when in front of him.  We're teaching him young!  ;)

I think Shad's giggling is our favorite.  We have an unspoken daily goal of getting him to laugh.  And sometimes it's the most random things that trigger his giggles!  

We love our little Shad so much.  He is still very strong, alert, and curious about the world around him.  We love watching him as he watches his surroundings, wondering what is going through his little head as he makes connections about this new world.  I still love going into his room in the morning and seeing his happy face peeking over the crib bumper as he pulls down on it.  He lights up whenever Jeff gets home from work, and he loves the ensuing play time every evening.  We love that he is reacting more and and more to us and the world around him.  Thank you little man for the love and happiness you bring into our home and daily lives!