Walker, 6 Months Old

Happy half-birthday, Walker!

Weight: 16 pounds, 7.2 ounces (25-50th percentile)

Height: 27-1/4 inches (75th percentile)

Head circ.: 46 cm (95th percentile)

Sweet Walker is just that - a sweet boy. Sensitive, observant, cuddly (when tired), loves his family, adores his sister, and just would smile and laugh at you all day if you had the time to do that with him. He still loves to "talk" to people and have them respond back to him.

• He's still not a great sleeper. He's still up at least one time a night to eat, and sometimes he'll get a pacifier plug or a roll onto his back. However, he is on a great day schedule of napping. He takes a good morning nap (about 2 hours after he wakes up for the day) and then a good afternoon nap - and sometimes a little one in between. He seems to sleep most peacefully at night (and for the longest period of time) when he takes only short naps during the day. I'm going to work on keeping his naps shorter so that he'll sleep better at night. This is a big step for me. I'm gonna miss his long naps during the day! They make him happy and he and Lainey usually take their afternoon nap at the same time so I get a small break. :)

• Walker wants to stand all the time. He doesn't really love sitting in his Bebe Pod, his high chair, his car seat, someone's lap, the bath seat...he resists being placed anywhere that he's required to sit on his bottom. Sometimes he will sit for a few minutes (like in the pictures in this post), but then other times he becomes a surfboard and screams and cries. Can't wait for the stroller battle to begin... :)
• He loves his baby food! How fun this is for me since Lainey didn't like it one bit. He'll eat anything (so far) but his favorites are apples and sweet potatoes and his least favorite is pears and peas. I feed him baby food with us at our mealtimes so that he can eat with us and also, it helps me remember to feed him his solid foods! He's eating solids twice a day - at lunchtime and dinnertime.
• He's getting a little birthmark on his back. It's small and tan and raised.

• To say that he doesn't like wearing a bib (to eat baby food) is a bit of an understatement. Either he needs to accept the bibs we have or we need to get some new ones. So far, I think he's winning this battle and I'm sure I'll give in and try a different kind at some point.
• His newest nickname is "Walkie-doo." And Lainey has now nicknamed me "Mommy-doo."
• He is still wearing clothes in the 3-6 month range. So sweet. Lainey grew out of her clothes SO fast; I like that it's taking him awhile to grow out of his clothes. We can enjoy his clothes for at least a little while! :)
• He gives us big laughs when we tickle him and he is the absolute happiest just after he wakes up from sleeping. The boy likes to be well-rested! He also seems to like his sleep sack about as much as Lainey does. He gets all excited to put it on and starts making funny noises to show how eager he is!
• He's just been diagnosed with his third ear infection. This one is a double ear infection (like the previous two). Lovely!
• We have a sensitive boy on our hands. He had a really hard time sleeping in Colorado. He's not a fan of the pack 'n' play. He likes his own crib! I hope this changes as he gets a little bit older.
• He's in a grabby, grabby, grabby stage. He's grabbing noses, ears, earrings, hair, necklaces, toys/things off of the table and counter...and most of the time he tries to put the objects into his mouth! But even his little mouth is sensitive so if something doesn't feel right in there, he cries. :(
• Blowing raspberries is a favorite pastime of his.
• "Buh" and "Emmiee" are two new sounds that he's making.
• He has the sweetest, most precious baby smell. I wish I could bottle it up. I love to kiss his cheek and would do so all day long. When he falls asleep on my shoulder, I just turn towards his sweet little face and just kiss his cheek several times. I can't help myself. Many times it feels cool. If I'm the one putting him to bed, I usually rock him for a bit after I feed him and he will - if he's very tired - fall asleep on my shoulder. It's so very, very sweet and peaceful.
• The little boy can scoot like an inchworm when on his tummy. He'll use his head to move himself forward. He's gotten pretty good at spinning around on his tummy and his back, and he's rolled a few more times from his tummy to his back. He still prefers to roll the other way, but I do know that he can now roll both ways. I've also found him a few times in his crib in a position that I know required him to roll from his back to his tummy and then onto his back again. Walker, you can't fool us anymore. We know you can roll from your tummy to your back! :)

I think that Walker looks like a little bit like his sister in this picture. Their eyes look the same when they smile (see picture below). Maybe it's just this picture, but I think he might be starting to look more like Lainey...at least in some ways? I am not sure. Either way, he's a cutie pie and I think we'll hang on to him for a while!

Cute little Walker, we love you so much. You are a darling baby boy with so much energy and your cute little personality is starting to emerge. Thank you for making our family complete!