Six Amazing Months!

Can you believe Josiah turned 6 months old on Labor Day? Half of his babyhood is over! He spent the day in his Daddy’s care, which is a treat in itself, while I worked my tail off refinishing the wooden high chair I got for Josiah. Jacob, Grandma, and I celebrated with chocolate melt cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream – Yum! Josiah had sweet potatoes. A bit cruel, I know, but we figured we deserved a treat for surviving this long…and for Josiah surviving this long.

Here’s what he’s been up to during the past month:

He has had great physical accomplishments as he now gets around quite well on the floor. This really started when I watched him look at the cat resting peacefully a few feet away from him and before I knew it he had rolled over twice, pivoted around and grabbed the hair on the side of her head! Thankfully we have a very understanding cat who just laid there until I could untangle him and she peacefully walked away. He’s gotten a few handfuls of fuzz since then. He is beginning to tuck his knees under him and push forward, so it won’t be long before he is truly mobile, so watch out cats!

Josiah is also doing a great job learning to sit up by himself. As long as he is focused intently on a toy in front of him without too much excitement, he’s able to stay upright. But he has taken a few nose plants in the process.

His personality has really started to show in the past 2 weeks. He is very quick to jump up and down (with support, of course), smile, and laugh at himself or whoever is entertaining him when we are at home, but he seems to be content to observe other people before interacting when we are in public. He’s not scared or bothered by other people, he just likes to watch them. Hopefully if he remains this way he can use it to his advantage and learn from people along the way just by watching.

To my delight, Josiah started cuddling this month. He curls up on my shoulder, wraps his arms around my neck, and loves to sit back to look in my face and rub his wet (with saliva) hands all over it.

He’s still my great little sleeper with 3 good naps a day and a full night’s sleep. Generally, he is very easy to put down, for which I’m so thankful. I dread the day he drops a nap, so I’m not taking it for granted now.

And here’s the biggie…he started solid foods this month! We began with rice cereal, then sweet potatoes, and soon we will try apples. We have had some minor GI issues with rice cereal, so we are beginning to play with his diet to figure that out. He is a very good eater as long as you don’t dally while feeding him. Just keep it coming so he doesn’t get sidetracked! If you keep his attention, he opens wide and swallows quickly. If not, it tends to all run back out.

Today Josiah went to the doctor for a checkup and more vaccines. She commented, as she always does, on his placid demeanor. I told her I felt so lucky to have such an easy baby that I’m scared to have a second! It was a long visit in which we discussed everything from my and Josiah’s diet, to teeth, to vaccines, and more I can’t even remember. That’s why we like Dr. Worthington. He is a little guy weighing in at 15 lb 1 oz (10th percentile), head circumference 44.2 cm (55th percentile), and height 25.5 inches (20th percentile). We have had some concerns about his weight, but the doctor says “no worries” since all of his growth parameters are following the same curve, indicating a genetic tendency rather than a caloric issue. Go figure, considering his parents, right? He is just now getting to the point that he can’t wear his 3 month clothes. And as for his vaccines…he barely cried. He’s small but mighty!

Ok, here are some pictures and video after all that talk.

He's a happy boy!

His favorite color is red, so he loves to look at the Cheez-It box everyday when his dad comes home and has them for a snack.

I love to see his still-toothless smile.

Getting messy eating sweet potatoes with Daddy.

Jacob has had me record many of Josiah's feedings so that he doesn't miss anything. This is my best attempt at consolidating it all to one clip. Josiah never really made any dirty faces, so it was rather boring (to everyone but us, of course).