Six months

I'm not really sure how we are at this milestone yet, but here we are, celebrating half a year of this kid being on the outside with us.

What a half a year it's been. I mean, look! How did he go from this to this in just 6 measly months? Insane.

Stats: we are 3 weeks behind in appointments due to Carter being sick at 2 and 4 months, so I don't know his actual stats yet. My unofficial weighing says he's about 18lbs, and my arms would argue more. He's wearing mostly 6-month clothing with 9-month sleepers (I started to feel bad that he couldn't stretch his legs straight very comfortably in the 6-month size).  

Bubbers (a frequent nickname, along with Chunkers, Bubs, and Monkey) is now a stomach sleeper! One night a few weeks ago we found him sleeping on his stomach, and every night since he starts on his side and ends up fairly quickly on his belly. I'd venture to say he is getting more solid sleep this way, although it did coincide with some teething troubles at first. He was waking multiple times a night, inconsolable unless he nursed. Lucky for me, he is back to his once-a-night wake up and feeding. It's pretty glorious. I can't even fathom what a full night's uninterrupted sleep is like anymore.

This last month, Carter became very interested in watching us eat and drink. Every spoonful or sip is watched with a curious eye. Three weeks ago I put a piece of watermelon to his lips...he was an immediate fan and grabbed my arm to pull it back to his mouth. He started smacking his lips and making a chewing motion regularly as we ate, so we thought we'd give solids a try. He had his first taste (of sweet potato) two weeks ago. He totally knew what was going on and had his mouth wide open as the spoon barely left the bowl. His reaction was really nonexistent, but he smacked it around in his mouth and swallowed, then opening for more, so I'd say he enjoyed it. Since then he's also had green beans, pear, oatmeal, and avocado, and whines when we can't get the next spoonful in his mouth fast enough. Except for avocado - he wasn't a fan, and gagged on it almost every bite. I'm not sure how he is really our son, hating the most delicious fruit ever, and I hope that changes.

Likes: chewing, Garanimal rattles, smiling, flailing his arms and legs, jumping, blowing raspberries, iPhones, being "tossed" in the air by Daddy, people watching, tags, and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.

Dislikes: avocado, getting stuck on his belly too long, teething, being burped, napping, car rides longer than 10 minutes, and not being able to get to where he wants to be on his own.  

Carter wants to be mobile so badly. I've noticed him watching the big kids at daycare and trying to lunge out of my arms to go run with them. He fusses when he's on the floor and sees something he wants but doesn't want to inchworm his way over there, especially considering his version of crawling includes rubbing his face on the carpet in the process. He doesn't sit in our arms for very long without squirming, and he is constantly scoping out the room for something interesting to look at, to chew, or to engage. We need to start babyproofing stat, because the minute he realizes he can move quickly up on all fours, there'll be no stopping him.

We're also working on sitting, and he has made a lot of progress. By no means is he alone in needing to strengthen his abs. :)

We had Carter baptized last week, and he was smothered in all sorts of love from family and friends. It was a beautiful occasion, and he was such a trooper. I tried to nap him as much as I could that morning, and we didn't do an outfit change until we were at church for fear of a major blowout as he was known to do. (We didn't realize that that was the start of a poop strike - that could have saved me some anxiety!) He wasn't his smiley self, mostly due to all the people, the new surroundings, and little sleep. But he didn't cry, was content being passed from person to person, and gave me quite a workout during the service. My sister, one of his godmothers, obviously could not be present, so we FaceTimed her. The pastor got such a kick out of it - little did we know that the video part failed as we got started and she missed the pastor waving at her. But there was sound, so she could listen. Our boy is lucky to have these two women in his life.

Oh my monkey, you are such a blessing. Thank you for making us parents!