We blinked…and half a year went by.

You continue to be the happiest baby — constantly laughing and smiling and jabbering around the house, and even in new places with new faces, you flirt and smile. You’re starting to express your excitement more by flailing your arms around and you sit for longer periods of time unsupported and have figured out to put your arms out to catch yourself when you get off-balance.

Perhaps related to more sitting up, your spitting up has slowed down significantly — something we’re all thankful for! You study everything — and scowl as you take it in. Daytime nursing has become quite the exercise, since you need a break about every 30 seconds to look at something behind you, beside you, or just take a quick scan around the room to be sure you aren’t missing something exciting.

Speaking of nursing, we tried to start some weaning a couple weeks ago and it backfired. Big time.  It’s strange — my original “goal” was to nurse for six months and I was a bit nostalgic about being done with this phase of motherhood, but then once I decided I was ready, I am now VERY ready and of course you are not! 🙂 You went on a bottle strike and as a result were so hungry and crabby that we went back to square one. After a couple of weeks of slowly doing a half-and-half bottle with formula each day, you’re back on track to where we were a month ago when we first introduced it, but no further progress. We’ll try again in another couple weeks or so, and I’ll go slower than I did the first time around. We may hit seven or eight months after all! Ultimately, it’s up to you…but I’ll encourage where I can. It will be interesting to see how introducing more solids this month (besides cereal, which you aren’t particularly crazy about) helps move this process along.

Sleep is slowly getting better. You’ve definitely been behind the curve for sleeping long stretches until just recently. In the last week or so, you go to bed at 7, wake anywhere between 1 and 2:30, then sleep again until anywhere from 5:30 to 7, if we’re lucky, and if it’s the earlier end of that spectrum, you go back down for another hour most mornings. You need the pacifier less and less to go down, and you are a total side sleeper. You LOVE to have the corner of a blanket pulled up against your face to fall asleep, so we just tuck the other end through the crib rail and under the mattress so you don’t tangle yourself…you do a LOT of rolling around in the course of a night!

You had a week or so where we kept the teething tablets and tylenol close at all times, but what we thought was teething-related crankiness seems to have subsided for now, but no pearly whites have popped through yet. You love to chomp on teething toys and have started manning a sippy cup of water all on your own.

You were baptized this month and it made for a very special weekend. We love the pastor who led a wonderful service, and it was the first occasion where all four grandparents got together since you’ve arrived. You are definitely the apple of everyone’s eye, being the first grandchild on BOTH sides!

You went on your first vacation! A direct flight from Des Moines to Punta Gorda (2.5 hours) and you did GREAT both ways! You were easy to entertain on the way down and slept most of the flight back. The long weekend included your first dip in the pool (you LOVED it, and went crazy splashing – not afraid of the water or having it in your face) and your toes took their first dip in the ocean.

In so many ways, six months seems to symbolize the transition to “older baby” — from first foods to the green light for wearing sunscreen, your world is expanding in so many directions. You are chunking up and this week at your six-month checkup, you clocked in at 16 pounds 3 ounces and 26.75 inches tall. Your hair is growing and while it’s so fair that it doesn’t show up in photos, up close, it’s getting thicker and appears to curl a good bit in the humidity.

You LOVE music and singing songs (If You’re Happy and You Know It elicits an instant grin!), you are starting to give “kisses” when we repeatedly smooch your cheeks, you love studying the kids at Book Babies time at the library, and most notably, you having started to say “da da da”, although we aren’t sure you know what it means yet. 🙂

Your dad and I are high-fiving each other on surviving the first six months of parenthood, but we are constantly aware of just how easy you truly are on us. You are such a happy, sweet, soul and we can’t wait to see what the second half of your first year has in store for all of us.

Five months…

Month five was a big one for you — you change DAILY it seems, and I find myself constantly thinking, “when did you stop being my tiny, dependent, newborn?!”.

You easily grasp things you want and pull EVERYthing to your mouth for a taste. I’ve changed my jewelry style, cut my hair, and Dad and I both have to be extra careful when eating or drinking while holding you ha – you grab at anything within your reach!

You continue to talk, grunt, laugh — and you do it all loudly. You made sure to sigh dramatically and jabber through the whole reading by the pastor at your baptism, (although that’s a story for your six-month post, next month!).

You still do well with strangers for the most part. As long as Mom or Dad are within sight or even earshot, you easily go to others to be held and will crack smiles at just about everyone.

You have finally kicked a – not kidding – MONTHlong cold. It was miserable for you and us — you’d cough yourself awake at night, gag and gasp to breathe, and you started to recognize the snot sucker and would flail every which way when I tried to use it on you. Other than that however, everyone remarks on how totally happy you are, despite being sick. When I finally took you to the pediatrician to rule out anything more than a cold, she laughed through the whole appointment at all your silly antics and chattering! Nothing seems to get you down.

I notice new little things about you daily as you learn about the world around you. Just in the past couple weeks, I notice if I’m holding you and you’re looking back over my shoulder, the minute I take a step or two forward, you turn around to see where we’re headed. You don’t simply glance in the direction of noises anymore – you crane your view around obstacles until you can find the source of the sound. You more than suck on toys now – you chomp on them. Teeth are coming soon, for sure, as evidenced by your drool-soaked clothes!

Speaking of teething, now that we’re through the cold, we thought your sleeping would improve. Not. so. much. I’m sure your teeth are the culprit, and while I don’t expect a nursing baby to go all night quite yet without waking, I also am ready to trade in the routine of bed at 7, up at 10, 12:30, 2:30, and up for the day at 5:30 or 6 (!!!). Dad can help more now that we’ve introduced a little formula here and there, but it still makes for one tired mama! I’m curious to see, as we transition to all-formula in the next month or so, if this improves at all!

Some of your firsts this past month included your first music class (you loved it, even if you were just a spectator!), your first days outside at home (we finally have a yard and there isn’t dust blowing around all the time), and your first trips to the downtown farmers market. Also, contrary to the above photo, you’ve mastered napping in your crib. You have been sleeping in it at night for a while now, but this daytime crib thing took you a bit longer to get the hang of!

Trying To Sit <– Click to watch

While I’m already nostalgic for some of the newborn moments, these latest weeks have been really, really fun as your personality continues to develop and we get to know you even better. Five months hugs and kisses to you, sweet boy!

Dad’s Whistling <– Click to watch

Baby man is four months!

You get to be more and more fun with each passing day! You “play” more as well as interact, you hold your head up more, and watching you discover things is so much fun. You aren’t quite a “supported sitter” yet haha – you slowly slumped over into this position while I tried to get a shot of you sitting on the chair. This expression kills me. 🙂

This past month began with you and I on our own a few days while Dad went to the practice round of the Masters in Georgia. Let’s just say I have a whole new level of respect for single parents! He came back (phew!) and the two of you – okay, just Dad – watched the actual tournament.

You continue to ADORE the ceiling fans in the house…

You love the Boppy lounger, which we borrowed from your buddy, Brooks…

…and among other firsts this month, you had your first baby tub bath – hilarious and you LOVED it! We also spent a rainy afternoon at home watching you kick a balloon tied to your ankle. You are so crazy and active! You love to chew on things — mostly, your Sophie the giraffe!

You still love being worn if you’re sleepy or fussy. Above, you played photography assistant while I did some session editing. 🙂  I have a feeling we’ll do more babywearing again when you can hold your own head up a bit more steadily — we still have to position you facing in until then, which makes you mad if you’re wide awake. You like to see what’s going on and be where the action is. You whimper if you can’t see or at least hear us when you’re playing and you constantly are craning your neck to take everything in. You are always certain you’re missing out on SOMEthing!

You had your first cold, your first rollover, your first rice cereal, and your first nights in with your first “official” babysitter while Mom and Dad took a couple breaks. You jabber CONSTANTLY and continue to be a SUPER happy, laid-back baby…except at bedtime! Your dad and I did a little experiment one night as we handed you back and forth between us. Each time you came to me, you got perfectly calm and when you went to Dad, you screamed bloody murder. You crazy baby. You know your bedtime routine as it’s been thus far (you and I sit in the rocker to nurse, in the dark, and you go in the crib soon after), so anyone else stepping into this routine is not kosher with you!  We’re working on it and know it’s just a phase, and it DOES balance out…Dad is apparently WAY funnier than Mom — he’s the only one who can get the really big laughs out of you!

You continue to steal our hearts every day! Happy four months to you!