Six Months

My baby boy turned SIX MONTHS old last week (6.18.12)! :) Time has flown by, and this momma is already thinking about that big first birthday party.

We had his "official" six month pictures taken at JCPenney last week, so I won't get my hands on them for another week or so. We bought the copyrights to them, and you can bet they'll be on this lil' blog when I get them.

Stats: At his well-child check he weight 16 pounds, 10 ounces (34%) and was 27 1/4 inches long (77%). WHOA! I knew the kiddo was growing, but I just didn't realize it was that much. He grew 3 inches in two months! He went from the 10th-percentile to the 77th-percentile. It kinda makes me giggle that he's become so "tall," because if you know Alan and I, you know he doesn't stand a chance in the world at being a giant!

Sizes: He is wearing size 3 diapers, and mostly 6-9 month clothes. Because of that length, he really can't wear anything smaller (especially in his jammies!).  The few pairs of shoes that he sports are size 2. He has the classic fat baby foot, so a lot of shoes are too tight on his chubby feet.

Food: He still eats five bottles per day (ranging from 4-6 ounces), as well as three meals per day. He is doing so well with his 'big boy' foods! His doctor said we could start introducing real table foods into his diet as we see fit. He's tried applesauce, which he LOVES! He's also tried guacamole (LOVES), chocolate icing, and ice cream! He's also started snacking with those little dissolvable baby puff things. We are still working with the sippy cup, but he gets to attempt it with lunch. It's quite a sweet sight!

Routine: He eats every three hours during the day, and routinely takes two naps (morning and afternoon). We don't live too rigidly by a schedule, though. His wake-up time usually varies by a whole hour in the mornings, so the rest of our day gets planned around that. He really is an easy baby, though! He is so sweet and adaptable to change, makes life easy on us. I am definitely counting my blessings with him. He is sleeping better at night too!! (But, he is starting to show signs of teething those front two little bottom teeth! He was up three times last night which has become highly unusual, but he was easily soothed back to sleep in a matter of minutes.)

During my time at work, he spends his time at home with Daddy. I am sooooo blessed to be able to have this situation for our family! I have loved watching Alan master his Daddy-skills, and I have loved watching the bond form between these two sweet boys in my life. Alan works his 2-3 24-hour shifts per week and spends the rest of the time at home with our little guy. I usually work 3 days a week. It seems to be working well for us! It, of course, came with some adjustments, but we are definitely finding our groove with this new schedule.

Developmental Milestones: As I mentioned before, Cale started rolling over. Since he's become more mobile, he's become a belly sleeper. I attribute his better sleeping habits to this, because he loooooves sleeping on his belly. He is such a happy, smiling boy! He has really started cutting loose and laughing too, and it's the sweetest sound to my ears! :) His hand-eye coordination continues to improve daily. It's amazing how much pride I feel when he accomplishes all these small milestones. I love watching him independently interact with the world around him. He is so studious of his surroundings.

We went to Denton last weekend to celebrate cousin Tyce's SECOND birthday! :) Cale was a great little traveler. Most of the pictures in this post are from that trip. It was so much fun to watch those two interact with each other. I know they are forming a friendship that will last a lifetime! I love that he has a boy for an older cousin---he will learn so much from him!

Being his mother is one of the biggest blessings in my life (next to salvation and marriage, of course!). He has definitely given our little family new life, and I love being able to grow and learn in these stages together! :)