Dear Nicholas,
I'm a little late posting this (that seems to be a theme lately), but that's just because the past few weeks have been so busy and active, and we've been having so much fun. I can hardly believe that six months have passed since you entered the world, and that you're now closer to your first birthday than to your birth. How our life has changed... we can't imagine it without you now.
Your sixth month was action packed. The first thing you might notice is that Babar isn't in the photo above. That's because I couldn't keep you still as long as he was sitting next to you... so tempting and chewable. I have plenty of funny outtakes from this little photo shoot, but the picture above without Babar was the only one I could get with you looking forward and smiling. The rest of them look something like this:
You are on the move now. You mastered rolling over both directions last month, and this month you added speed. You can cross a room in a matter of seconds when I turn my back. You are trying so hard to crawl, but haven't quite figured out to use your legs on the carpet. When you're in your crib, however, you manage to plow forward by pressing your head down on to the mattress and then pushing with your feet. We haven't seen this trick anywhere outside of your crib, and we're guessing that's because this doesn't feel quite as pleasant on the floor.
This month also marked the beginning of a new era: teeth. I noticed your first bottom tooth poking through your gums on June 28th, and then the next day I noticed the very tip of your second bottom tooth poking through. You have been drooling nonstop since you were about six weeks old and you will gnaw on just about anything you can get your hands on (and you've got quick little hands!), so we were expecting a tooth any day. The drooling and gnawing haven't slowed down any since then, and you've had several very fussy spells throughout the month, so we've been on the lookout for your center top teeth, but nothing has show up yet. Needless to say, nursing you has become... interesting... but we're working on this.
During your sixth month, you also starting sitting up for short periods of time unassisted. At first you would topple over within a matter of 10 seconds or so, but now you can sit for several minutes at a time playing with a toy before we shout "Tiiiiiimberrrr!" and you hit the floor.
This month you also took your second plane trip. We enjoyed a 10 day vacation back to the Northwest to see family and friends. Our first stop was Seattle, where we attended the wedding of Daddy's good friend, Kalani. You joined us for the rehearsal dinner, where you met all of Daddy's friends, and then we enjoyed a night out for the wedding while you stayed home with Dzia Dzia and Grandmama.
A beautiful evening at the Elliott Bay Seattle Yacht Club
The day after the wedding, your grandparents threw an open house for you to meet all of Daddy's family friends. You had a great time being passed from guest to guest as you met everyone. You are a party animal and, at this stage, you're thrilled to meet every new face you encounter.
The very next day, you officially turned six months old. We celebrated with a trip to the zoo, where you saw the "real Sophies," the elephants, the monkeys, and some other animals before crashing in your stroller.
In front of the "real Sohpies" with your Sophie
I think it's safe to say you had a pretty good time!
Later in the week, we headed south to Cannon Beach and Portland, but we'll recap that next month. When we got home, you had your six month doctor visit and-- no surprises here-- you have grown quite a bit. You're now weighing in at 18 pounds, 7 ounces (75th percentile) and measuring 27 inches (75th percentile). The big jump in growth since your four month appointment was your head, which now measures 46.5 cm, putting you in the 97th percentile and nearly off the growth chart. Since you jumped from the 75th to the 97th percentile in head circumference since your four month visit, they wanted to take a closer look to make sure nothing was awry. I knew in my gut that you were fine, but I was still a little nervous when they sent us to Dell Children's Hospital for a cranial ultrasound. Happily, my gut was right and you just have a really, really big head. You can thank me and Grandpa for that.
Some of that growth is probably due to the fact that you are starting to really pick up on solid foods. We haven't yet revisited carrots, but you've liked just about everything else we've given you, including apples, bananas, pears, avocado, sweet potato, squash, and peas. Well, maybe you could live without the peas, but you'll eat them. You are still nursing 6-7 times a day, but you've outgrown your aversion to formula and will now take a bottle of formula a several times a week.
Unfortunately, while you are doing great at just about everything else, your sleep habits have taken a nose dive. Naps are a constant battle, and you are now waking up 2-3 times a night. You've had quite a bit of travel over the past two months, and I know teething doesn't help, so this isn't totally shocking. But, we hope to get you on a better schedule soon.
When you do sleep, you look pretty adorable. I took this picture specifically to capture the little roll around your wrist, which I love and want to remember forever.
Goose, I say it each month, but you have made our lives so much richer and more fulfilling. We wake up every morning excited to greet you and watch your funny antics. You've now reached the stage where you are fully engaged with your environment and the people around you, and it's so much fun to watch you explore and discover the world each day. Last weekend, we delivered a meal to a friend who just had a baby, and as she stood holding her four week old, I could hardly remember what you looked like at that stage. That made me sad, but I know there is so much fun stuff to look forward to, so I am just trying to enjoy each day as it comes. They're all lovelier with you by our side.
Much love,
Mommy
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