6 Months Old!

Our sweet Zachary is 6 months old today! This having two kids thing is fun, tiring, time consuming, and exciting! Zachary fits in so well with our family that it really is hard to remember life without him. Oh except for the full nights of sleep and having a little time to myself. ;) Baby Z is such a happy child. He smiles at just about everyone and everything. If you make one funny little noise to him he is almost certain to laugh. Oh his laugh! It is such a wonderful sound that comes totally from his belly! My Granny remarks so often that it's impossible to look at him and not smile. I have to agree. He is also such a stinkin' cute little guy. Derek and I do make some cute babies, if I do say so myself. ;) Zachary is doing all kinds of fun things these days. He rolls over all the time, usually only to his left, and then he hates to roll himself back over. He started this at about 4 and a half months old. (I hate that I've been too busy to write monthly posts for him.) He sleeps on his belly and has been doing so since about April 1. His laughter has to be one of my absolute favorite things about him, but his sweet little voice is a close second. He talks so much and is quite loud! There is no denying who his father is...ha! He loves his brother. When he's not interacting with someone he looks around for Joshua a lot of the time. He loves to just watch what Joshua is doing. Big brother seems to like the attention, too! Joshua is an entertainer, and to have his own personal little audience thrills him to death. He is constantly smothered with kisses and "lovin'" from Joshua. I find myself saying all the time, "Joshua get out of his face" or "Joshua that's enough". He loves to be held, especially by his momma, and I LOVE to hold my boy! I so wish I had more hands because I would never put him down. I wear him a lot in the sling or our front carrier so that I can still do hands on things with Joshua while giving Zachary the snuggling he loves so much. He goes to bed very easily by about 7:30 at night and then gets up around 7:00. He still doesn't want to sleep through the night. Most nights he still likes to get up and see me once. Some of those times he wants to eat and some of those times he just wants some snuggles. It's a habit I have helped to create and one that I need to help break. We're working on it. I don't like letting him cry it out. He is no longer nursing, but I am still pumping most of his milk. I never intended to wean him at such an early age. I miss it sometimes, but it's been easier not feeding him All.Day.Long. He is eating one solid meal a day. I usually feed it to him while we eat dinner, so that he gets to join in at the table with us. He started with rice cereal on April 15. We're taking it slow. He's only had butternut squash and sweet potatoes besides the cereal. He loves them both! I am making all of his food on my (new!) food processor. I hadn't planned on starting him on solids so soon, but he kept showing signs that he was ready. The first time he tried rice cereal he opened his mouth like a pro and gobbled it right up. We're getting ready to try carrots. Hopefully he'll like those just as much. He can put weight on his legs and is getting stronger in his exersaucer. He is really getting into playing more with his toys, and of course, sticking them in his mouth. He can usually be found with his hands or a toy in his mouth. Zachary has finally found his feet! He doesn't play with them much until it's time for a diaper change. He loves to hold his cute little chubby toes while I'm changing his diaper. Oh his chub! I so love his chubby legs and arms. That boy loves to eat and it shows. We don't go to the doctor until next Thursday, so we'll have some 6 month stats then.

Zachary Graham, your momma and daddy love you so very much! We thank Jesus daily for you. You are seriously such a sweet and beautiful little boy! Watching you learn new things and discover the world around you is so much fun! I couldn't have imagined a more perfect addition to our family! Happy half birthday baby boy!