6 months

My how my baby is growing up. Today is his half birthday. Dave and I were commenting tonight that it's hard to believe that just a few months ago, Charlie didn't exist. And now I cannot imagine life without the joy he has put in it.

He "celebrated" turning 6 months by making two milestones: his first tooth and his first veggies. He was pretty fussy yesterday and had the telltale runny nose and drool, so I felt around his gums and felt the tooth, and today it broke through the gum. I can't wait to see his toothy grin. We also started him on veggies with some green beans. I'm being pretty lazy about the whole solid foods thing, so I feel like he was on cereal forever. We finally decided he (or I guess I should say "we") were ready for it, but the last thing I wanted to do was venture into Walmart around Christmas just for a couple jars of baby food. I look forward to trying to make some of his food, but for his first stuff, I'll trust the experts. He seemed a little surprised by it on his first bite, but ate as much as we offered him.

I think I say this every month, but he just keeps getting more and more fun each month. Is this the way it always is with kids? Or at least until they're teenagers? He seems so much more aware of the world around him, especially now that he's sitting up. And he's doing that so well. He rarely topples over. He's starting to really get into his toys, especially a small yellow ball that came with some stacking cups he got from Granny and Grandaddy for Christmas. He'll reach out for it and palm it, then promptly put his mouth around it.

His smile continues to make my day. He gives both Dave and I huge grins when he sees us enter a room. He is still so good natured and rarely fusses (notice I don't say "never", just rarely). I think he's starting to recognize other people, too, and also knows when someone is new. He still will give a smile to anyone, it just takes an extra second or two if it's a stranger. Sometimes I feel like he's starting to get clingy, but then he'll have a day (like today) when he is perfectly content playing alone in his room for good blocks of time.

We're starting to demonstrate Baby Sign Language to him. I know it will be a while before he responds with it, but might as well start showing the signs to him now. We're focusing on "Momma," "Daddy," "doggy," "milk" and "eat," along with anything else I happen to remember from the books when they come up. I'm looking forward to him being able to communicate with us before he can talk. We're hoping it will prevent at least some frustration in the months to come.

Charlie's still sooo big, weighing in at more than 21 pounds! I need to start lifting weights because he is getting heavy. I'm already getting back pain from carrying him!