Connor James: 6 Months

Dear Connor::

It doesn't even possible that you are half a year. You are now closer to turning one than the day you were born! These last six months have flown by. You have changed so much in the last few months. You have definitely done a lot of growing this last month.

We have had a lot of big moments in the last month. One of those things was that you started rolling from your back to your tummy. You started about a week or so after we celebrated 5 months. The funny part about you is that you struggle with getting back to your back now. But it seems you always just want to be on your tummy. You roll yourself over almost immediately after I put you down. You have started scooting around now and even trying to move yourself forward. You haven't figured out how to get your knees under you yet but you are ready. You try to pull yourself forward. You try to wiggle yourself forward. You are ready to go. You watch your big sis and it seems that you can't wait to follow everywhere she goes. I'm sure it won't be long before you are crawling and on the move.

Along with the rolling over, you have also started sitting unassisted. You aren't that great at it yet but you are getting the hang of it. You started by leaning forward and putting your hands on the ground to yourself up. But by the end of this month you are getting better at balancing yourself upright. You are still a shaky, so you need someone near by but you are close. You are figuring out how to not lean forward - thanks to a couple of face-plants. You usually end up falling back but you are getting stronger at pulling yourself back up again. And of course occasionally you get excited about something and you fall over sideways.

The other big thing going on in your little life is that you got your first tooth! Just one day you woke up and there it was. I knew you had been working on it but it seemed like it popped up fast. You have this adorable little tooth on the bottom. You are actually already working on a second tooth right next to the first one. We can see the very top of it so we are waiting for the day that it's just there like the first one. You have definitely been drooling like crazy and chewing on everything you can get your hands on. The unfortunate part of this is that you have been a bit cranky - not that I blame you since cutting teeth isn't exactly pleasant. But the toothless grin is officially gone. And as it turns out, the big smile with teeth is just as adorable as the one with no teeth at all.

On top of the teething, you have been going through a Wonder Week. When it rains it pours I guess. You have definitely been a bit more on the cranky side but we are getting through it. It's all part of learning more things and developing more skills. You are definitely more aware of the world and taking in everything you can. You especially watch your sister. You love to watch her and take in everything she's doing all the time. You might be cranky at me but the minute you see you, it's all smiles. You absolutely adore her (and her you).

You are into books these days. Every time I pull out a book to read, you lean forward to touch all the pages and stare at the pictures. You are also starting to develop an interest in certain toys. You really love the ones you can chew on, but musical toys are always a winner for you. You love music. If you are having a meltdown, I turn on music and it calms you down. One of your new favorite activities is throwing everything off your highchair tray. It seems that I put you down and almost immediately you start tossing things off to the floor.

We started you on cereal last month but this month we got into vegetables and now have tried some fruits. You are much more excited about the vegetables than the cereals which you seemed disappointed with. You are more okay with the cereal than you used to, but you seem to like the veggies more. You are still taking multiple bottles 8 ounces to 6 ounces a day, but you have some cereal in the morning and veggies in the evening. You have liked pretty much everything but the peas you weren't so fond of. You also seemed unsure about banana, but all the orange vegetables you took easily. And bonus, you are getting better at keeping it all in your mouth. The biggest problem we have is keeping your hands and any toys on your tray out of your mouth while you are eating.

Sleeping have been great still. You have been trying to drop your evening nap however, which we don't really agree on. You are going down for naps about 2 hours or so after getting up and you are pretty much ready each time. The first nap of the day is usually only about 45 minutes to one hour. It's the afternoon nap that's the long one usually about 3-4 hours long. When I can convince you to take an evening nap, it's usually only about 45 minutes as well. With the Wonder Week I think you still need it, but you hate going down for it and it's the hardest one to get you down for. Otherwise you are easy to put down. For bed, we feed you a bottle, read, sing, then lay you down and that's it. No crying - that's all. It's amazing. Naps are pretty similar. Sometimes you whine a little more during the day but usually the whiny lasts for about a minute but you stop and go to sleep. You are seriously an easy kid.

I can't get enough of you. I love the constant smiles. I love the excitement when I get you up from sleeping. I love how laid-back you are. You are just an awesome kid. I can't believe how much you have already gone and changed. And every day I don't think you can get cuter or more awesome, but everyday you do. I love you so much, goon.

Love, Mama