6 months.

I'm a week late on this post, but better late than never...

Henry must have had an awakening a few weeks ago because he is a totally different baby at 6 months. He is smiley and happy, much more relaxed, he is consistently going to bed between 7-8 and only getting up once (sometimes 2x) a night to eat, then typically sleeps through the night till about 5:30-6:30am. He puts himself to sleep most nights (i.e. we don't have to rock him as much), and the nanny tells me that this week he has gone to sleep for naps some of the time by himself instead of being rocked! I honestly think he just took a look in the mirror one morning and thought, hmm. I'm older now, it's time I owned up to it. It's bizarre, and I totally appreciate it and I just love Henry to pieces no matter what he does, but I can enjoy life a little more when I'm not so sleep deprived. (I always feel selfish when I talk about my sleep. Mom guilt!)

So aside from sleeping and generally just being super easygoing and sweet, here's what Henry is up to at 6 months:

Milestones:

Smiling all the time now, at us, and even at other people who smile at him. It's pretty cute to watch passerby's smile at him and see Henry respond by smiling and kicking his feet. 

Jumping. This kid cannot get enough. We put him in his little jumper in the mornings while we're getting his bottles ready, and then again at night when we come home for about 5-10 minutes each time. I am confident in saying he would prefer to be in that jumper for at least 10 times that much per day. He jumps all day long and the best part is he only really jumps on one foot. His right foot just kind of punches the floor with his toes while his left does all the work. I die. When he's standing on our laps, he's jumping. When we stand him on the ground, he's jumping. He lives to jump. 

Goes dadadada all the time. A little bababa, but his preferred consonant is the D. Mark is convinced he is calling out to him, but we can't find any conclusive evidence on this. Sadly. :)
He just started smiling with all his gums and doing lip trills. Love this.

He likes his rattles and anything that makes noise. We have this little saxophone toy that makes music and he always reaches out to it. He gets frustrated pretty easily if he can't reach something he wants. We're working with him day and night on rolling over (so he can get the things!), but he is so uninterested it's comical. 

He will sit for a few seconds on his own, but still topples over. Hasn't quite mastered it yet - maybe in a few weeks!

Personality:

The boy wants independence! You can just see it in his movements and his expression. But even though he wants his independence, he is fiercely attached to his mom and dad. And nanny, too. When I come home from work every day and pick him up, he grabs onto the nape of my neck (tight!) and buries his head in my neck like a little hug. I love it! He laughs at us and climbs on dada every morning. He loves to move his hands around on our arms and legs and "massage". So naturally I will put him in the crook of my legs and he will give me an awesome leg massage. :)

Feeding:
He only tried a taste of a pickle and teethed a little on a bagel, but no solid food at 6 months. (We did give him a taste of banana and avocado the other day, and throw up both times. Oh Henry.) 

Stats:

He's right around 18 pounds and wearing 6-12 month clothes for the past month or so. Big belly, huge cheeks, and fat feet. We love every little inch of him!

This month, we're looking forward to exploring solid foods, getting a high chair, and starting to run together with a jogging stroller! It's going to be an exciting month.