Six Month Snapshot

Rhys is 6 months old today, and I'm so happy because everything about our lives right now is really great. We have a 'routine' (in the loosest sense of the word), yet everyday is different because Rhys is learning and changing and discovering right before our eyes. Our nights are quiet and peaceful and restful. Warren & I still go out for brunch with friends, go to movies, read books, plan vacations and LAUGH. Oh, how we laugh... Rhys hasn't changed our lives, he has merely improved them beyond recognition. He simply makes everything better. If our lives were a DQ ice cream cake, Rhys would be the chocolate crunchy bits. He gives me a reason to get up in the morning, literally. I love lifting him out of his crib first thing, when he's still in his sleepy fog and a bit frantic for his breakfast, and taking him to the living room and nursing him on the couch with the morning news in the background. After our post-milk snuggle he'll play on his mat or in his chair while I have a coffee. Mornings are so nice with him these days.

Rhys, you are my heart.

Some notes I want to remember from the 6 month mark:

Rhys, you....

• Sleep on your side a lot now.
• Roll around a lot.
• Can pick up a soother and put it in your mouth on your own (most of the time).
• Have lost the 'training wheels' on your excersauser, so you can now sway from side to side and front to back to practice your balance while playing.
• Are very adaptable.
• Have been eating rice & oat cereal for a month now.
• Can drink small amounts of water from a cup (with an adult holding the cup of course). So far, you really like water.
• In the last week you have tried yams (not your fave at this point), carrots (diluted with wheat cereal you like them) and peas (also diluted).
• This now means your spit-up stains everything, and your BMs are a rainbow surprise.
• Have outgrown all your 3-6 month sleepers.
• Like to screech.
• Are really interested in the dogs, River & Porter, and often smile and shake with anticipation right before they lick your face.
• Enjoy bath time more & more and are fascinated by 'drips' coming down from a wet cloth.
• Become easily distracted while eating and during story time.
• Have just begun to sit on your own, unassisted, for maybe 10 seconds before toppling over.
• Still nurse first thing in the morning, and drink breastmilk from bottles the rest of the day, sometimes needing to be supplemented with formula. You don't seem to have a preference, you just like to eat.
• Sleep from 7pm to 7am most nights. Last night you slept from 6:45pm to 8:15am! It's a rare day that I am ready to get up before you are.
• Are a total clown.

Another note from last night...you slept on your tummy for the first time! Considering you slept so late, I think those parents who put their babies to sleep on their tummies are on to something! Here is a photo of the video monitor of you sleeping at the top of your crib, on your tummy (you started the night on your back, centered in the crib):

To top of this snapshot at the six month mark, my favorite. The Comparison Photos.

A couple days old:

Six Months Old:

So, Bubsy Brown. What's next? Whatever you have in store for us, Warren & I can't wait!