6 Months

Happy 1/2 Birthday Matthew!  It's unbelievable how fast time goes once you have kids.  This has been a crazy month.  It's been full of new tricks, illness, and first holidays.  He makes me smile more than anyone and I absolutely love being his mommy.  Here are some things I want to remember about my sweet 6 month old baby boy.

~ We went to the doctor today in the middle of a thunderstorm - you loved watching the rain.  You now weigh 17 lbs 11 oz (53rd percentile) and you are 27 inches tall (70th percentile).  Your head measures 17 inches (33rd percentile).  Another great visit with a good report of a healthy boy!

~ You're in size 2 diapers, but they are getting snug quickly.  You are wearing mainly 6 month clothes.  You can still fit into a few 3-6 month things.

~ Your feeding schedule really hasn't changed much.  Your meals are every 4-4.5 hours with 8-9 oz of formula.  We still put rice cereal in your morning and late night bottle.  You are now able to hold your bottle fully on your own.  You're also still getting one serving of vegetables a day.  We've added zucchini and sweet potato to your list of new foods.  We will start fruit once we've finished with the sweet potato.  Just like with your bottle, you love helping us feed you with the spoon.  You've also found that the spoon makes for a great drum stick.

~ You are still holding on to the same cold/cough/congestion that you've had for the past several months.  You had a terrible stomach bug 2 weeks ago.  It lasted about 3 days and had us going through almost 2 full jugs of Pedialyte.  Mommy did not like having a sick little boy.

~ While you were sick we moved you back into our room during the night.  You're back in your crib now and doing great.  You've started sleeping on your stomach pretty much the whole night.  I love looking at the video monitor to see you snuggled up on your tummy :-)

~ You've pretty much mastered sitting up on your own.  I still like to have a hand on you or put you in between my legs or Boppy pillow for support.  It's to the point now where you would much rather be sitting up than lying down.  You try so hard to sit up on your own from the laying down position - and make some hilarious faces in the process.  

~ You're rolling EVERYWHERE!  You've figured out how to roll in one continuous direction instead of just back and forth.  I love seeing your brain really thinking about how you can roll to a place in order to get one of your toys.  While rolling, you do a break dancing type of move that is hilarious.  You'll roll from your back to your tummy and get your arm stuck underneath you.  In order to get it out, you'll raise your lower half (bum, legs, feet) and rotate until your arm is free - break dancing :-)

~ Books are a new favorite.  You've always loved it when we read to you, but you are now really focused on the pictures and textures.  Your absolute favorite book is the Dog book by Matthew Van Fleet.  You love touching each dog and feeling the textured fur.  You've also figured out how to stop the movable parts while mommy and daddy are reading.

~ Your daddy has started a new game with you that you seem to enjoy - catch!  While you're in your swing, daddy will throw your soccer ball rattle and once it lands on your tummy your grab it with a huge grin on your face. 

~ You have mastered putting your paci in on your own.  In fact, you like to show off that you've learned how to do this.  You take your paci in and out repeatedly and smile when you've put it in your mouth successfully.

~ While you still "talk" up a storm, you haven't said your first word yet.  I'll say "mama" and "dada" over and over to you.  It has become quit funny.  

~  Speaking of talking, you have learned to squeal and you do it A LOT!  Your daddy and I just laugh because every day you come up with a new sound.

~ Mommy's favorite thing that you love is faces.  You will grab the nose, mouth, cheek, eye of whoever is holding you.  I love it when I'm holding you and your little hands reach up to grab my face.  You did this one day when I picked you up from daycare and I nearly started crying from the cuteness.

~ Your favorite toys are the Johnny Jump Up, soccer ball rattle, entertainer, and your bath squirty toys.

Mommy loves you so very much Matthew!  What a true blessing you are.  I can't wait to see all of the fun things you will learn in the next 6 months.

M's first Valentine's Day

My little Valentine was, unfortunately, sick on his first Valentine's Day.  He developed some stomach bug on Wednesday night and it continued through Saturday.  Poor baby felt awful, was extra fussy, slept a ton, and went through a lot of clothes.  Thankfully, after much Pedialyte, he is on the mend!  He is definitely more himself today - all smiles and laughs!  

I was able to get a few pictures of Matthew playing on the floor in between bouts of sickness.  Even though we lost a lot of sleep and failed at many attempts to comfort him, he is worth every bit of it.  We said it kind of felt like being back in the newborn stage.  I am truly thankful that our only concern has been with his congestion and 2 stomach bugs.  I know of many families whose babies are going through a lot more than just a stomach bug.  Thank you God for a healthy baby!

 I used the Red Stamp app to create this picture.  I love that app!