6 Months

6 months... wow. July 18th my son turned 6months and celebrated his half birthday!

At his 6 mo. check up he weighed in 17lbs 4 oz and was over 26 in long. He's going to be a big boy and tall like his daddy. Each time I pick him up I can feel the muscles in my arms straining at the added weight- he gives me a full workout. Despite him only being 6 mo. I still can't believe that he's sitting up on his own, keeping his balance, scooting across the floor, and rolling around. We started pricing and researching gates with full understanding that it would be better to buy them BEFORE he starts moving. If his current state is any indication as to what we've got ahead of us we're going to have to keep a close eye on this one.

He has been eating solids for about 1.5 months already; however, he now eats them with a vengeance. He frequently opens his mouth like a little birdy ready for the next bite before you even get the spoon back in the jar. We've discovered that he thoroughly enjoys oatmeal, like his mommy, and will eat just about anything you put in his mouth- thankfully!

Diaper changes have become more difficult as he's reaching, grabbing, and chattering up a storm. He loves to play with diapers, since they crinkle, and if you're not careful he'll snatch one right out of your hands followed by an evil laugh. His vocabulary includes YEA, HMM, DADA, and something that sounds like OK. Sarah taught him how to shake his head no so when you ask a question he loves to answer with a head shake. Granted he may not understand what he's actually saying and doing but I still think it melts Brandon's heart each time he hears dada. Our little monkey is a daddy's boy to the core. NO ONE and I mean no one can make him laugh the way Brandon does. He'll smile at me but he lights up for his dad.

One thing that has remained constant is his love of music and lights. He'll groove and bob his head to music and his face lights up at his toys that blink and flash at him. The best purchase we've made when it comes to toys, a Vtech baby laptop that we got at Once Upon a Child for $1.

Teething is our current lesson. Each day his drool increases and it is an impossible fight trying to keep his hands out of the back of his mouth as he tries to knaw on his fingers. We've learned, just this week, that teething toys are trial and error and what works for some infants does nothing for ours. For our little monkey a Raz Berry teether soothes him the best; outside of his fingers of course!

Lessons this month:
- Just because someone swears by something doesn't mean your child will LOVE it too!
- Tylenol on a daily basis is NOT okay so if you don't provide it to the daycare they can't give it to him. ;)
- Teething can get the best of even the easiest going children
- Children are expensive and keeping them contained to a particular area, baby gates, can cost as much as the child- seriously considering just throwing him in the backyard with the dog. :)
- 6 mo old children CAN eat you out of house and home!