Little one, you are six months old! We can't believe it, honestly. How does half a year flash by so quickly? Every day you learn some new thing that keeps us on our toes. You are such a little busy body! In six months you have gone from a tiny helpless chilled-out little newborn, to a smiley, fun, ACTIVE, strong willed, curious, opinionated, intelligent baby! You are sitting, army-crawling, almost pulling up, very talkative and full of laughs. Your cheeks are as chubby as ever and your hair has gone from very dark to strawberry blonde! Your eyes are still very bright and blue. Momma was so sure you were going to be a dark-haired dark-eyed little boy like your Daddy, but I guess my recessive blond hair and blue eyes genes won out!
Serious baby...
... just kidding!
He's a goofball.
Escaping...
(Don't worry, I was right there)
Do we really have to do this again, mom?
Silly face.
One more smile!
This sticker business again? Really, mom?
I'm so done.
How big you are:
At your 6 month appointment on 08/13/2012 you weighed 20lbs 2oz (83rd percentile)! You were 27 inches long (60th percentile), and your head was 44.5cm (63rd percentile). You are a big healthy boy! Your roly-poly-ness makes me so happy! You are solid and strong.
The pediatrician was very impressed with you once again... You're a picture of health and you've hit all your milestones early. While you were sitting on the exam table, you shredded up all the paper that they use to cover it and kept trying to climb up the wall to reach the mirror. Dr. Hamner had a hard time keeping you still for your check up. When she tried to put the stick in your mouth to hold down your tongue you grabbed it out of her hand and would only open your mouth if you were holding it too. She thought it was hilarious when I told her that you will only feed yourself, and you won't let anyone else put a spoon or food in your mouth.
You're in 6 and 6-9 month clothes, and some 9-12 and 12 month clothes too. When you're in disposable diapers you wear size 3, and in cloth diapers you're on the mid-rise snap setting.
What you love:
Water - in any shape or form. If momma is drinking out of a cup or a water bottle, you have to have some too. If you hear the tap in the kitchen sink or the bathtub running, you get so excited and try to wriggle out of my arms to get to the running water. We just set you in the bathtub and leave the water running and don't bother putting the plug in... you like to feel the water running and watch it go down the drain. You try to grab it with your little hands - it's so fun watching you figure out the world around you.
Being outside - when we were in Oregon this month the weather was beautiful and we spent much of the week outside. We went hiking in the mountains, through forests, to waterfalls, we went to the beach, and to lakes. You LOVED it... you kept looking around in wonderment at the trees and the grass, and the ocean, and the mountains - everything was so fascinating. It was sad to come back to HOT Texas and not be able to go outside anymore. We are looking forward to cooler weather in the fall to be able to go for walks and play in the grass etc.
Your daddy - you get SO EXCITED when Daddy walks in from work. Even if you have been grumpy for Momma, life is all better when Daddy gets home - you become Mr. Smiles and Laughs.
Your momma - you have become quite attached to me in the past month. You do love your momma, and it makes me so happy! If you are tired or sad, you will turn to me and lift your arms to be picked up and cuddled. You give little hugs now - it's adorable and makes momma and daddy feel so special. You snuggle into me when you are unsure of your surroundings and hold on tight. If I try to put you down when you don't want to be put down, you will CLING to me with all your might... grabbing my shirt, necklace, hair, anything so that I won't put you down!
Anything that momma and daddy are doing/eating/drinking - You think you are such a big boy and you want anything that we have, whether it be a book, the computer, the Xbox controller, our phones, our snacks/meals, drinks etc.
Strings/ribbons - if I want to keep you occupied for a few minutes I will hand you a ribbon or a string. For some reason you are completely fascinated with them! Obviously, they are a strangulation hazard, so I watch you.
Pulling all your toys out of their boxes - we have two canvas boxes that your toys are kept in, and you love to pull them all out one by one. You will inspect it, and then go in for the next one! This is also a great way to keep you entertained.
What you don't like:
Being overtired... You get fussy if you've been awake longer than 3 hours at a time. Fortunately it's an easy fix... A little singing and rocking works every time. Or if you're hungry as well, you fall asleep nursing.
When you realize you've been left alone in a room - you like to be able to see momma or daddy. Sometimes hearing us works too... If I go to put some laundry in or something, I just sing or talk to you.
Having your diaper/clothes changed - you refuse to keep still for it, and if I take longer than a few seconds you protest loudly!
What you've been up to this month:
Sitting like a pro - you started sitting unsupported around 4 and 1/2 months, but you were still quite wobbly. Over the past 6 weeks you've perfected the art, and now it seems like you've always been able to sit up!
Army crawling - you are getting fast, baby! Uh-oh! You are very determined to get to what you want - lamps, cords, window blinds... etc. You're also getting ready for "real" crawling... you go from sitting to on your hands and knees and you rock there for a minute before you give up and flop onto your belly and army-crawl to where you want to go.
You are ALMOST pulling up to standing. You are constantly trying, but your balance isn't quite there yet (as of 08/13/2012). You get up on your knees and try and try to get to your feet! You are a determined little fellow. Sometimes you get up on your feet for a second and promptly topple over.
Playing with your toys more precisely - you know how to manipulate them much better. For example, instead of waving your while arm to shake a rattle, now you can just shake it with your wrist. You're also grasping things more adeptly and starting to use a pincer grasp as well as picking things up with your whole hand. You can pick up smaller more intricate objects, and you notice smaller things too - you often grab at my hair and come away with a few strands. You turn your hands over and inspect the strands and play with them until I take them away!
You are becoming more interactive with your toys, too. You are figuring out what each of them do, and you can play happily and independently for up to 15 or 20 minutes (if you're in a good mood)!
You've grasped object permanence - you know that we're still there when you can't see us. That doesn't mean you like to be left alone in a room, though! You also understand that when I make a toy "disappear", it still exists, and you try to find it!
Talking - you are making more word-like sounds this month - ada, aboo, amama, hiiii, eh-yo. Occasionally you'll string syllables together... adadada... but you don't do that much yet. You're communicating more with your voice, rather than just crying. If you want something you will reach for it and forcefully say "uhhhhh" until you get it!
You took your first airplane ride/vacation with momma and daddy! We went up to Oregon the first week of August to visit/meet some of your uncles, your Great Grandma Driver, and other Driver and Congdon family members. You were so great with all the new people - you took everyone in wide-eyed at first, from the safety of momma's arms, and then you warmed right up and started smiling away as you were passed around. Your uncles Robert and Timo were your favorite!
We went up into the mountains, hiked to a waterfall, went up to Crater Lake (where you saw your first SNOW on the ground!), we went to the coast at Bandon and you saw the ocean for the first time. We spent lots of time outside - we swung in Grandma Driver's hammock, took pictures underneath the giant redwood trees, went to the county fair, played in the grass - and you loved every minute of it. You were such a good sport, even with all the schedule changes and long rides in the car.
You were great on the airplane ride, too. You nursed during take-off and landing and you didn't make a peep. You slept half of the ride there, and were awake and hyper/happy the second half. You wanted to sit in your "own" seat, so you kicked Daddy out of his! On the way back you slept for most of the 3.5 hours, and then bounced around for the last little bit. You were fascinated by the airports and all the people. You smiled at everyone, and people commented how good you were after each plane ride. Great little traveler!
You also went to the church nursery for the first time, and they said you were a little angel... but I already knew that!
Sleep and schedule - Funnily enough, when we traveled to Oregon, you started sleeping through the night. I was fully expecting your sleep to get worse, but I guess we just tuckered you out every day and you slept great. It was also much cooler and we slept with the windows open, so maybe the fresh air helped too. Before that you would wake once between 3am and 4am to eat, and sometimes more if you had gas pains. Fortunately, you seem to have had less trouble with gas pains at night this month. Your schedule has been about the same as last month, otherwise. Bed between 10-11pm and get up for the day between 9-10am. You usually take around three hour-long naps... around 1pm, 4pm, and 7pm. You eat every 3 hours or so during the day, and then some nights you sleep from 10-11pm until 6:30/7ish in the morning, when you eat and go right back to sleep until 9 or 10am. Sometimes you still wake up around 3 or 4 to eat (you wake up with gas pains and nursing is the only thing that helps you).
Food - I just let you pick and choose if you want to eat at the moment. I put food in front of you and if you go for it, you go for it. You're not terribly interested yet unless, of course, it's something that momma or daddy are eating. While we were traveling in Oregon, I took some Plum Organics fruit smoothie pouches and you LOVED sucking those down right out of the pouch, haha. Otherwise I just steam fresh veggies in chunks or give you fresh fruit. Your favorite thing this month was plums! I pull the plum apart and take the pit out, and let you have at it - you suck all the flesh off and dump the skin!
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Well that's a little bit of you at six months, munchkin! I love that I get to spend all my time with you, I wouldn't have it any other way - I get to see you grow and learn every minute. Even leaving you for a couple hours is rough... for me! You seem so grown up to me this month - sitting and being mobile and playing with your toys and getting into everything - such a little boy! I love every new stage, but maybe you could slow down a bit? It's going by far too quickly.
We love you Judah William - we still can hardly believe you are ours! It's the best feeling in the world :)
