Happy Six Month Birthday, Jackson!

(Please excuse the look of the blog! I am in the middle of remodeling!)

Happy Six Month Birthday, Jackson!

Jax, you are half a year old. Wait. You are half a year old?! Oh my goodness, my mommy heart can hardly stand it! I want to snatch you up and make you stop growing, but when I start to get really sad thinking about all the time of your babyhood that has passed, I try to remember to thank the Lord for the wonderful time that we have had. We have had the joy and privilege of loving you and taking care of you for six months now, and I pray that we will have many, many more months! Our Lord is so good, and He has made each stage of watching you grow more fun than the last. I am certain that we will continue to have more and more fun in the months and years ahead!

Weight: 18 lbs. 10 ounces

Height: 27.25 inches

Diapers: Size 3 during the day, Size 4 overnight

Clothes: 6-9, 9, and 6-12 month jammies, pants, and onesies

You are continuing to grow and develop daily. You are still doing an army crawl and pulling yourself across the floor, but you have made a few movements forward on your knees and hands. I’m sure that soon you will have your belly off the floor all the time when you crawl! You actually crawled all the way to the kitchen a few weeks ago and were so enthralled with the smooth floor. Up until this point you had only been on the carpet, so when you felt the smooth surface under you hands you kept staring at it and patting it just to hear the noise your hands made. Looks like Daddy is going to have to get our gate up over the stairs soon! You also sit up so much better now. You are still a little wobbly, but you have really started to straighten your back out and sit up tall all by yourself.

You have finally, sort-of, kind-of, maybe started to like purees this month! You are kind of like your daddy in that you just eat food because you like to or are hungry, not like your mommy who (ahem) loves food. You do seem to like all the fruits we’ve given you, but as far as vegetables go, you really aren’t too crazy about them. The orange ones (carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, and mixed veggies) you like OK, but the green ones…forget about it! You make the most horrible faces—especially with peas! I have found that if I alternate bites of fruits and a veggie you will eat more veggies, or if I mix the two on a spoon. Silly boy. We also started to give you Gerber Puffs and Yogurt Melts this month. We are working on you picking up the food with your index finger and thumb and putting it into your mouth, but all you do so far is grab the puffs in your fist and hold on tight! You put your own paci in your mouth, so I think you could put the food in too, but you haven’t quite figured it out yet. You absolutely love the Yogurt Melts though! They help keep you happy when we have to sit somewhere quietly (like church or in a restaurant). Because I will want to remember someday, here is your eating schedule at six months:

7:30 a.m. – 6 ounce bottle

8:30 a.m. – Breakfast (fruit mixed with oatmeal/yogurt mixed with oatmeal)

Snack

11:30 a.m. – 6 ounce bottle

12:00 p.m. – Lunch (Fruit & Veggie)

3:30 p.m. – 6 ounce bottle

Snack

5:30/6:00 p.m. – Supper (Fruit & Veggie/Meat Dinner & Fruit)

7:30 p.m. – 7 or 8 ounce bottle

You are taking 3 naps each day, and I keep wondering when you will drop the third nap, but you still need it. You are definitely a baby who loves his sleep (praise the Lord!) You take your first nap around 9:30 or 10:00 a.m. and usually sleep for about 2 hours. You take your second nap around 12:30 or 1:00 p.m. and sleep for another two hours. Then you take a short third nap around 4:30 or 5:00 pm. This one is usually about 30-45 minutes and is in the car if we have to go into town.

Right around 5 and a half months you started sleeping 10-12 hours a night. Yay!!! I have loved getting a full night of sleep and you have loved it as well! Each night around 7 p.m. you start getting pretty cranky and ready to go to bed, so we start our bedtime routine. You get a bath, lotion and jammies, then your final bottle of the day. Then we read a book, a chapter of the bible, pray together, and put you in your bed. In your bed you get zipped up in your Aden & Anais sleep sack, get your pacifier, and one of your A&A blankets. Then we turn on your glow seahorse and kiss you goodnight. Ever since we did sleep training with you at four months, you have been putting yourself right to sleep! Some nights you roll around and talk to yourself for a little while, but you hardly ever fuss or cry, and soon you are fast asleep. You have been sleeping until 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. and it has been such a blessing. You wake up happy and rested every morning, and we love going in to get you!

You got your second bottom tooth this month, and you look so cute when you smile! You have been pretty fussy some days and come crawling and grabbing at my lap for me to hold you (which I love!), and your drooling is out of control, so I think you are working on the top teeth too. I have given you Orajel a few times, but someone gifted us with the natural kind, so it tastes like black licorice. You hate the taste and make an awful face…unfortunately it’s also a very funny face, so we tend to laugh. Poor Jackson.

Mommy accidentally let you get your first real head bonk this month...sorry, sweet baby! We had just taken your six month photos for this post and I was letting you practice sitting up in the floor in your room. You got excited and waved your arms which set you off balance and you toppled over into your dresser. Your head hit the corner right on, and you immediately started screaming! I snatched you up and felt so terrible that I was crying too. Thankfully you let me put ice on it and give you snuggles, and of course, a paci always helps too!

Nursing our boo boo

Your favorite toys are your Jumperoo, the laptop and iPad (too bad you don’t really get to “play” with those!), and any toys with lights and music. You have also taken an extreme liking to ripping paper, especially magazines. You laugh harder than ever when someone helps you tear the paper, and it is hilarious! You laugh so hard you almost can’t breathe, and I have had to put all the magazines up and away from you because you will destroy them if you get the chance! You also love sticking out your tongue and blowing raspberries ALL THE TIME (thanks, GiGi.) When you get mad and cry you also blow raspberries then and tend to get spit everywhere. What are we going to do with you, Jackson?

I want you to know that we pray for you each and every day, Jax. We pray that you will grow healthy and that we will meet all of your needs. We also especially pray that you will grow up surround by individuals who are examples of the Lord Jesus and His love daily, and that you will make the decision to trust in Him as your Savior. Every time you smile, laugh, cuddle, and “talk” we fall in love with you more and more. You will always be loved, and we will always support you and take care of you—no matter what.

We love your silly side and your mad side. :-)