Hayes' 1/2 birthday!

Today is Hayes' 1/2 birthday! He is 6 months old! I truly can't believe he is half of a year old. Time goes by so quickly when you have a child. There is just something so tangible to help you measure it. Before kids it was just Justin and me, and life pretty much looked the same from year to year! Now, each month that passes, our son gets bigger and bigger and does more and more facinating things. Now, we may be the only ones other than his grandparents who find them facinating, but that's beside the point. :-)

At 6 months, Hayes is sitting up on his own (after we put him in the position), eating all sorts of fruits & veggies (and loving them, finally), laughing, smiling. He is watching and studying everyone and everything. He loves singing, dancing, silliness, eating. His favorite songs are still "I'm in the Lords Army" and "Father Abraham." He laughs EVERY TIME we sing those songs. I made a prediction last week that he would be crawling by the time he's officially 6 months, and although I'm wrong, he DEFINITELY goes where ever he wants to go all on his own. He spends a lot of time on his blanket at home surrounded by toys and scooting around from toy to toy. He tucks both legs under his belly, gets up on his hands, rocks wildly back and forth and then lunges forward. Sometimes he elimiates the rocking and goes straight to the lunge, but that combination plus rolling always gets him to the right place. He kicks his legs all the time - in the tub, on the floor, in his carseat, on his changing table. Also, when he's on the changing table, he has started flipping over on his belly AFTER I take off his diaper. I need to practice either my retraint skills or my ability to secure a diaper on a baby on the go!

His daily routine looks a little like this:
6:30-7:00 - He wakes up (happy) and nurses. He plays in the Pack N Play or on my bedroom floor while I get ready for work.
8:30 - I drop him off at Mrs. Lynn's and he eats breakfast right away (oatmeal cereal and fruit). He plays until he's ready for his morning nap.
9:30ish - Goes down for a morning nap (He will nap for about one hour... sometimes longer).
11:00 - Lunch (8 oz. bottle and a veggie or fruit). He plays until he's ready for his afternooon nap.
1:00 - Goes down for an afternoon nap (usually about two hours).
3:00 - Snack (8 oz bottle). He plays until we pick him up.
4:00 - Pick-up by me, Justin or my mom.
6:00 - Dinner (one containter of veggies followed by one container of fruit).
7:30 - Bath, books, songs, prayers.
8:15 - He nurses again and goes to bed.

Sometimes I have to throw in another bottle in the evenings if he's REALLY hungry, or if I'm on the go, I will often substitute his dinner with a bottle... he doesn't seem to mind. He never EVER wakes up in the night any more... in fact, I can't even remember the last night he woke up in the night it was so long ago! We are SO blessed!

Looking forward to Monday when we take Hayes to the doctor to see how much he weighs and how long he is. According to the scales at home, he is right around 21 pounds... and holding (I hope). :-) Unfortunately for Hayes, he will have to get a few shots, but at least the vaccinations will ward off ugly diseases, so it's worth the momentary pain. That's what I keep telling him.

Other than that, we have a big week ahead! Tuesday is my 30th birthday, and we start Kindermusik classes that evening. On Wednesday morning we have an appointment for Hayes' pictures to be taken. So excited about all 3 big events! :-)

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Hayes! I love you!