SIX Months!

 Just where does the time go??  It is SO true what they say… the days are long, but the years are short!  Carter is now 6 months old!!  Half of a year under his belt and half way to ONE year!  Somehow I blinked and now have a rolly polly little boy who does not like to sit still!  He has a constant smile on his face and not much ever causes that to change!  From day one, he has had such a laid back personality and seems to face life with a smile.  That sure is good news for this mama!  If he doesn't get to eat right away, he's usually just fine.  If he's sleepy, he might get a quick nap and then is ready to go when we need to leave.  I feel terrible that he doesn't always get the most attention right away, but I figure that it is growing him into a very self sufficient little guy who is pretty flexible.  His favorite things are watching his siblings and of course being held!  He laughs the MOST while watching Caroline and Cooper on the swings.  It is pretty funny to watch such a little guy hysterically laughing at pretty much nothing.  It happens every.single.time!  Caroline and Cooper just love him and we couldn't imagine a better fit for our family!

So far he still seems to be the lightest child in our family and we can't quite tell who he looks like.  His hair is very fine and fuzzy and sticks straight up no matter how much you comb it.  His eyes are very blue and look like they will stay that way!  We were very surprised by his stats!  Everyone always asks how old he is and then proceeds with "Wow, a big guy!"  He is pretty round, but I was very surprised with how he ranked:

weight:  16 lb. 2 oz  (22nd percentile)

length:  25 inches  (2nd percentile)

head circumference:  42 centimeters  (3rd percentile)

You read that right… 2nd and 3rd percentile for length and head measurement!  I guess putting a 22nd percentile weight with that will make you look like a big baby??  :)  All of his measurements are almost exactly what Caroline was!  It really is crazy how different each kid can be.

Nights are still hit or miss.  Some nights he does great and sleeps ALL night and others aren't so great and I am up several times to either feed him or just put his pacifier back in.  It is hard because he is moving so much and gets so frustrated on his stomach.  I'm really ready for that day where we have a CONSISTENT sleeper!  Between all three kids, someone is bound to get up every single night and we certainly are TIRED!

We started baby food on Monday and so far he has eaten butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  This boy does not discriminate!  He is hungry for everything and has even had no problem drinking cold milk.  I'm a little hesitant to start giving him food and my reasons are pretty selfish.  1.) It's a whole lot more work on my part and 2.) he still spits up ALL THE TIME!  After eating the baby food, his spit up has been ORANGE and I'm really not ready for my carpets and clothes to be spotted!  Oh well, I guess there's always time in the future for things to be replaced!

Although Carter can roll really well and get to where he wants to, he is pretty insistent and determined to figure out this whole crawling thing!  Instead of rolling, he spends his days on his knees rocking back and forth and nose diving into the ground!  As soon as he learns how to move those knees, he will be off and there will be no stopping him!  I'm not sure I'm ready for that, but I am ready for him to be a little more content on the ground.  He is not really sitting on his own yet.  If you place him sitting, he can stay for a little bit, but is pretty wobbly.  I'm sure that is coming as well.

Such a HAPPY HAPPY BOY!!!