Half a Year!

Timmy turned 6 months old yesterday. We had his check-up today.

Length: 27.5" (90th percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs (off the chart)
Head Circumference: 18.5" (off the chart)

Timmy, You. Are. SIX. Months. Old! You have been alive half of a year. Two fiscal quarters. 5% of a decade. And that means I have been a mom and your daddy has been a dad for six months. Let me tell you, we absolutely love being your parents.

It has been a crazy six months; you have gone from a sleepy newborn to a jibber-jabbering, giggly and playful toddler-sized baby boy. I transitioned from law student to Bar studier. Your daddy has been settling into a work routine after having to work a lot of weekends when you were younger. No matter how busy we are, time with you HAS to be a part of every day. Even when you are the reason that we are sleep deprived and groggy, playing with you in the morning is what makes us want to wake up.

This month has been full of new and exciting things for you.

You tried and loved eating from a spoon. Then you didn't. Then you did. You drank from a sippy cup. Then you didn't. Then you did. Keeping us guessing seems to be a favorite activity of yours. Currently you drink pretty well from your sippy cup (milk and water) and you eat about half of the time we try to feed you solid food. You like rice and whole wheat cereal but could go without the oatmeal. You didn't seem to like bananas (or maybe you just didn't want to eat anything when we tried them), but you liked avocados and pears. We'll try sweet potatoes next. I like making your food and can't wait until you can eat non-pureed stuff. I think you are excited for that too.

Your new babysitter started almost a month ago. You really like playing with her every day. She plays games with you, reads books to you and takes you on walks. She even brought you a new toy to play with, a fancy ball, that you are learning how to roll around. I hope you are always happy when you stay with other people and that you don't get too clingy to daddy and me.

We stopped swaddling you in your crib. To replace the swaddle, we gave you the bunny-blanket that Grandma got you. You love snuggling with it, hugging it, and sometimes eating its ears or arms. It is very cute to watch you hug it close and close your eyes, drifting off to sleep while sighing loudly. We go into your room about 15 minutes after you fall asleep to make sure the blanket isn't covering your face, but most of the time we hang out a little longer just so we can watch you sleep.

You're sitting up much better now and hardly ever fall over. When you first sat up, you couldn't hold anything or do much because you needed your arms for balance. But now you can hold stuff (usually bringing it up to your mouth), you can reach for things and you can turn around and look at the cats walking by.

You grew out of your infant car seat and we just got your new one. This car seat goes up to 65 pounds, so hopefully it will last you until you turn two! ;) This one seems much more comfy and it has a sexy crocodile pattern, so I think you're satisfied with it.



Rolling never really happened for you. I think you just don't understand why anyone wants to roll on their belly. You usually tolerate tummy time and you will do push ups, spin around in a circle, or "swim" kicking your legs and arms wildly. You are a great swimmer on your belly! And you make a mean bridge when you're on your back. I think pilates would be second nature for you! You seem to like standing even more than sitting, but you can't do it on your own yet. When we try to sit you down, you refuse to bend your knees.

You absolutely adore singing and book reading. If you are ever cranky (never! not you...), singing "wheels on the bus" or reading "Is your Mama a Lllama" will cheer you right up. You kind of attack the book now, ripping it from our hands and turning the pages at your own pace (much faster than we can read it).

You are getting good at manipulating stuff with your hands. You constantly pull toys toward you during tummy time, and if they're out of reach you crawl to them you bring them to you by pulling the blanket. You turn the plastic pages and move the balls on the exersaucer. You love holding your pacifier by the tab in the back, and putting it in and out of your mouth, holding it up and twirling it around to get a good look from all sides, then shoving it in your mouth. We got you a teething pacifier, and you love biting on one end, then flipping it around, biting it on the other, and incessantly switching back and forth. If you ever go in your baby einstein baby gym, you pull all the toys off the hooks. You have a little ring stacking toy and you like pulling off the different animal rings. But oddly enough, you never put them back on. You love touching the cats and grabbing their tail whenever the elusive opportunity may strike. (so far only once). I sure hope they are patient with you!

You are finally growing a little mohawk of hair...it looks to be light brown, but in the pictures the lighting always makes it appear red. I think your teeth will be coming in soon too. We can see the bottom two teeth below your gums, but the bottom left incisor has made your gum a bit white bump. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just all your teeth at once so you don't have to be grumpy ever again! Let's work on that.

You like talking a lot more. The sounds are more like words now, although still no identifiable word. I was hoping you would say "dada" for father's day, but it was more like de-duh-du blah bla. You also laugh like crazy at nothing in particular. We took this video tonight...Notice how your face lights up everytime I say "Mama." I like that:



You are so loveable. When I give you a kiss, you open your mouth up wide and slobber on me. When I say your name and smile, you give me a big cheesy grin back. When your daddy comes home from work, your face lights up to see him. Even though I can't play with you all day right now, I love hearing your laughs while I study in the other room. July 31st will be the first day of many blissful days spending all of my time with you and enjoying lots of time with your daddy too.



Love, Mommy and Daddy