news from chicago: 6 Months!

Oh my goodness time is going FAST! Happy Happy Happy 6 months James!!!!!!! We cannot believe how much our little man is growing! James is just adorable - he's so smart, so funny, so huggable and kissable and is just the cutest little thing ever. We love him so much it's ridiculous! Little James has a BIG personality. James is just such a funny guy, he's Mr. Smiley to everyone in the building, Mr. Flirt with all the ladies, is our little studious observer, our banger of toys and spoons, Mr. Inquisitive with all things new and old, and now our little yeller. James loves loves loves the sound of his voice - and the louder he can make it, the more fun he has with it.

We just got back home from our 6th month appointment and little man is sleeping. Today's appointment was a little different than our normal visit - It wasn't raining! It was overcast and cold though. Oh yes, and today I had to hold James down and restrain him while the nurse gave him his shots. I don't ever want to do that again. Ever. All I could do was hold down his little arms and put my face next to his and tell him everything was ok and give him kisses on his little tear-stained cheeks. Heartbreaking.

Enough of the sad - let's talk about our stats! James is a big and healthy boy. He is 26 inches long (50th percentile), his head circumference is 45cm (90th percentile) and he weighs 20 pounds 4 ounces (95th percentile). What can I say, I'm a great cook! :o) Dr. Hirsh told me that I'm doing a great job, which is always nice to hear - love that positive feedback - and that James is right where he needs to be developmentally, which is also awesome to hear! Dr. Hirsh did a 6 month sit test with James and James hit that out of the park! James however still has not rolled over by himself, but Dr. Hirsh said that the reason behind this is his weight. It's more difficult for a 20lb baby to roll over than it is for a lighter baby to roll over. But, we're just going to keep practicing! When James woke up from his first nap, he was all smiles again! James is such a brave little guy!

The rest of the day was a little hard on Baby James. He was very fussy today - probably the most fussy he's been in his entire little life. Poor little guy. He was in a lot of pain. When Dad got home from work, Dad held James for a little bit and then James took a nap. When he woke up and after James took his bottle, we had a little surprise for James - a cupcake! We sang Happy Birthday and Mom and Dad blew out the candle, gave James a little bit of frosting off of Mom's fingers and then Mom and Dad split the cupcake. It was delicious.

This month we've enjoyed getting kisses from James! He holds one side of your face and then 'kisses' your other cheek. It's really just the most adorable thing ever. Speaking of mouths, Dad calls James our little shark because he 'tests' everything with his mouth just like a shark tests everything with its teeth. If James sees it, he wants it in his little hands and then immediately into his mouth. If said item cannot go into his mouth - frustration a plenty. But, since he's 6 months old, a little distraction from another toy and were back to happy. James is also very very curious and grabby. He wants to touch and hold everything that Mom or Dad is holding. This is true for cups we're holding, water bottles, phones - anything. It's really cute.

When we hold him up standing, he can hold his weight very well and even takes little marching steps. We've also been practicing sitting-up - James is pretty good for a few seconds and then tips over.

James is also 'tall' enough to play in his exersaucer that his Great Aunts Annie and Margi, Godmother Devon and Cousin Courtney gave him. He LOVES it. He is so excited when we put him in it, he doesn't know what to do with himself. The little seat spins around and he will spin himself from station to station and back again looking like he's seeing these things for the first time. There's a little area with a sound station and you can press a lion, a cow, a cat, a dog and a duck and it makes the noise of the animal and then if you keep hitting it, says it's name in English, then Spanish and then plays a song. Every time James hits the animal sound, he looks up at us smiling like he just discovered a brand-new universe. Awesome.

The cutest thing we've started doing this month is that we wait by the elevators for Daddy to come home. Doug usually gets home at the same time give or take 5 minutes, so James and I wait and listen for the elevator to come to our floor. When he hears the chimes, James gets really excited and wiggly and then when the doors open and he sees Doug, James just smiles so big and squeals. It's awesome. One of our neighbors even said to me, "your boys just love each other so much - they just light up around each other." That made me the happiest wife and mom to hear that. :o)