Happy 1/2 Birthday!




Today Mr Baby turned six months old and weighs in at 19 pounds, 10 ounces. Happy 1/2 Birthday that we celebrate with apple crisp, wild rice, steamed veggies and fresh scallops.

He started with "tastes" of solid food last month and this month I'm going to embark on some more solid meals. We joked last night that he is a natural "drinker" which in this family of alcoholics may not necessarily be a good thing :) but he does seem to understand how to hold his little glass with two hands and bring it up to his mouth to drink. He loves to drink from his glass and actually this was one of the first things that he pulled himself up for-- to reach his beautiful shiny glass on top of his table.

He has been sitting securely all month and just in the last few days has started to pop forward in an effort to reach something just out of his range. He seems to fall forward and catch himself but then can't get back up so he fusses. I'm wondering when he'll be strong enough to pop up on all fours. Strangely he loves to pull up on us and on his bar but he only stands for a minute or two and then crumples. I'm trying not to encourage this behavior because he really should crawl first before pulling up.

He is incredibly reliable with the potty. His signal is to fuss and thrust his bottom up and down (if nursing or being held) or else he has a particular sound/word that he calls out if I'm in another room and can't see his cues. When we are home, it is pretty often that I'll get that signal and then put him on the potty. Within minutes you'll hear something go into his little potty and then he laughs.

When I say that this little fellow is sunny I wish so much it could accompany a little video. He laughs about everything. He laughs when we catch each other's eye across the room. He laughs while feeding. He laughs if someone talks to him sweetly, makes a funny sound or if he sees the cat walk by. He laughs after he uses his potty. He laughs like we are sharing a big funny joke all the time. He laughs so often and so much that he has hiccups almost perpetually. This is the biggest contrast between the two boys by far. Will was very serious and non-expressive as a baby. He really hardly ever fussed, hollared, or laughed about anything. He didn't even cry during vaccinations or when he fell down, etc. Then we have his brother Jasper who is extremely expressive, quite loud, and anything but serious.

Banana Hour


I never used this little mesh feeder for Will but have recently unearthed it for Jasper. He loves the discovery of food inside of a toy. What a delight!

Trick or Treat





Will was so excited the night before Halloween that he stayed up very late in and out of bed for all sorts of reasons until finally he fell asleep. We had a very busy Trick or Treat day with a visit to the Meridian Park for a Halloween Fair, Wallingford Center (cute schoolhouse with our favorite cupcake shop, toy store, yarn shop, fabric store, Pharmaca, etc) for "Green" Halloween Trick or Treasures, and finally to the zoo to watch the animals gorge on pumpkins.


Will always goes treating with the neighborhood kids and the whole lot of them raced from house to house collecting treats and admiring decorations. It was fun to see the explosion of energy on the outset and then as treat bags got heavy and the moon rose higher they got slower and slower until it was clear that we should head home for bed.


Please don't give me a slacker award for Will's costume. He chose it and made it himself. For whatever reason, ghosts are a curiousity right now! But next year we'll be prepared to keep the eyes clear. This costume was hot and hard to see out of! And dear little Jasper will perhaps someday be disappointed with all the frills and bows on his first Halloween!

Evidence of a Good Man


My hope is to raise two boys who will help with housework...whether this boy of mine can multitask is another story but he does love to clean.

More Potty Time


Six months marks a turning point for many babies with toileting. I think it is because of the stable sitting which allows for parents to be more patient (since you don't have to hold them over a bowl!) and I also think that babies at six months are more clear communicators and even more aware of the routines of their day. Jasper hasn't been different from Will in this respect. As he approaches six months we are seeing that he is much more "productive" with the potty time. It seems like every time we put him on there he produces something!


But the "product" really isn't as much the goal at this age as the communcation aspect of toilet learning. And Jasper is a very loud and clear communicator. For awhile now he has had a word/sound for "change my diaper" or "Hurry, I'm going to have a bowel movement!". Because the arthritis in my wrists doesn't allow for me to hold this chunkamunk over his potty bowl, I've been just laying him down across a flat prefold diaper. He poops and then I wipe his bottom and whisk away the diaper. Now that he can steadily sit, I'm able to just sit him up on his potty and let things rip!


Halloween Party for Littles


Jasper is grabbing for the green breast again...




Peapod?




We tried to squeeze him into the peapod costume from Will's first Halloween (given by Molly) but the "peas" (aka large green breasts) became problematic.