1/2 Year

I can hardly believe that little Charlie is half a year old today:( He is such a sweet and lovable little boy and he truly brings nothing but joy to our lives. We, and mama in particular, love him to pieces. We couldn't have asked for a better fit. In addition to my sap, here's some info about Charlie at 6 months:
* Still not crawling correctly, but he has the lunge from all fours down, and he can move across the floor.
* He sits up on his own, but not usually for long b/c his preferred position is on his belly. He also just figured out how to go from all fours back into a sit by himself.
* He started solids about 2 weeks ago and you would think he has been starving. He has inhaled everything I have given him (applesauce, banana, carrots, avocado, pear and oatmeal) and often cries when I am done feeding him b/c if it was up to Charlie he would never stop eating.
* He takes 2 - 3 naps a day and they vary in length. We usually get one long one, and he is super easy to put to bed - we just lay him in his crib and that's that.
* He slept through the night once, but has yet to since. He goes to bed about 7:30 and sleeps until about 7:30. I dream feed him before I go to bed around 10, and then he wakes up once a night to nurse. He is so fast and easy when he does wake up, that it doesn't bother me at all.
* He has gotten much more opinionated and will tell you, loudly, when he is bored with something, or when he wants something out of his reach, or when he wants to be picked up.
* Everything goes in his mouth.
* He has a huge, open mouthed smile and smiles all the time. He also has a great belly laugh.
* He loves to watch Alec and Brody, and Alec is probably the most successful at getting him to smile and laugh.
* He is super happy and he loves to be held, although he doesn't care who holds him. He is also such a people pleaser. I have been taking him to the gym with me for a few months and you would think he's famous there. They all LOVE him! Literally every time we go in people swarm him and there are always 3-4 people telling me how much he smiles or laughs at them. One girl told me that she thinks he likes her face b/c literally every time she looks at him he laughs.
* He had his 6 month appt yesterday. He weighed 19lbs 6 oz and was 27.25 inches tall. Only the 85%, which is crazy to us b/c he seems so huge. He did get two vaccines and a flu shot and he has been a little out of it since; just really sleepy and much more fussy than we are used to. Hopefully he will be back to himself by tomorrow.
* He is still a spitter, but he goes through phases, and sometimes has entire days when he doesn't spit up all (which is really amazing for my kids.)
* He is a trooper and has done great with all our adventures this summer. He loves to be in the jogging stroller, the baby hawk and the bike carrier, he did wonderfully at the pool, and he has been an easy and adaptable traveler. We are off to Kat's wedding in FL next week and then up to Savannah after that, so hopefully his easy going travel behavior continues.
Happy half year Charlie, aka Ruchie, Ruchie Pip, Pip, Beefcake Johnson, Beefcake Jones, Beefcake. Thanks for being such a perfect baby. We LOVE you!!




Some of his bizarre crawling antics







Another firework display after a minor league baseball game we went to - he loved every minute of it.