Aiden :: 6 Months

Aiden,

Today is your 1/2 birthday! I can't believe you are already half way through your first year...the last 6 months have just flown by. But they have been full of joy and love and smiles and baby rolls. Lots and lots of baby rolls :)  You have grown SO fast, we can hardly believe it. You are our big boy, and we wouldn't have it any other way. You are also still our happy boy, and I often tell people that you are pretty much the happiest baby on the planet. When I see you smile, I think of the quote from the movie Elf "Smiling's my favorite." But really, you are just grace from Jesus. You fit right into the chaos of our family, and you just roll with the punches. Always with a smile on your face. We love you so much, and we are excited to see how much you grow and develop over the next 6 months!

Love, 

Mama

AIDEN MICHAEL

Stats :: 21.5 pounds, 29 inches

Clothing/Diaper Size :: you are wearing size 12 month clothes {yep! you wore your 9 month clothes for a grand total of 2 weeks. 2 weeks!} and size 3 diapers

Loves :: smiling, your activity center, bouncing, peekaboo with daddy

Dislikes :: being hungry, not being able to see what's going on 

Eat :: you have definitely entered into the distracted stage of eating and just can't sit still for a full feed. you just have to know what's going on in the room. or in the other room. or in all the rooms. you will be drinking your milk, and all I have to do is look at you and you will start smiling...and then make a mess with milk pouring out of your mouth haha. you are starting to hold your own bottle, though you definitely still prefer for me to hold it for you. we did go ahead and start some baby-led weaning with you. you have tried avocado, banana, sweet potato, and pears. I forgot how messy this stage is, but you're only eating "solids" after breakfast so far to practice, so we can at least contain the mess a little right now. usually, you will just mash your food in your hand and then suck on your hand to try to taste it haha. you don't seem overly interested in actually eating the food, but hopefully you will start getting the hang of it soon.

Sleep :: you are still sleeping like a champ at night. you're sleeping about 8pm to 7am, though the past few nights, you have started waking up a little earlier. your naps are kind of all over the place. you get one in the morning, one in the afternoon, and usually a catnap, but they vary in time and length. but you seem to be happy, so I'm not going to worry too much about it right now...when we go get you out of your crib, we can hear your little legs kicking before we turn on the light, and you are often already smiling before you open your eyes. 

Play/Development :: your legs are kicking NONSTOP. laying on the floor- legs kicking. held in our arms- legs kicking. sitting in your highchair- legs kicking. playing in your activity center- legs kicking. you just want to go so many places in a hurry! you are definitely finding tummy time more tolerable, and you are finally rolling tummy to back. when you are on your back, you act like you want to roll over to your tummy, but only manage to make it to your side. you will even arch your back, reaching far up and almost make it over, but you're not quite there yet. and to be honest, I don't think you seem particularly interested yet. so we need to get you a bit more motivated! we have been working on sitting up, and you are making some good progress! you definitely still need help and support, but you will sit on your own for at least a few seconds before toppling over :)  you have started using a high-pitched scream to get our attention...and you're not always unhappy. not my favorite noise of yours, but your cute little raspberries make up for it. still no teeth, but definitely lots of drool :)

Unique to You :: sweet boy, you are just so sweet and so happy. you want to know what's happening at all times, and you hate being left out. you get so excited when you hear your brother and sister, and you strain to try and see them when you know they are near. you have also discovered Sasha and think she is super fun! you have started sticking out your tongue, and you even make it part of your smile sometimes haha. sometimes we think you look like Eli...and other times we think you look like Maddie. and random people tell us you look exactly like both of them just about equally. so we can't definitively say you look like one or the other, but you seem to be a sweet mix of them both. you have a reddish tint to your hair {just like they did when they were little}, so we will see if it stays or not. and your eyes are still a piercing blue color, which means that they will probably stay {yay!}