6 months, day 4 - Meack attack!

We're off to Sweden today! An 8.5 hour plane ride and then we'll be in sunny Stockholm. Did you know there are bassinets on international flights? We've reserved one for Augie, I hope he fits.

This video was taken a couple days ago. Enjoy. Email subscribers click here.

6 months, day 3 - Swimming

We took Augie to the pool today for his first dip in the water. Actually, I took him yesterday, but the water was cold and he didn't like getting his feet dipped at all. The kiddie pool was a bit warmer today, so we tried again. Getting in was a bit tough, but once he got used to the water, he loved it. He kicked around, and then kept trying to lap the water up in his mouth (we didn't let him, don't want a chlorinated baby).

We were both so proud of him for being so brave - despite his initial discomfort, he didn't get upset, and he seemed to have a great time.

6 months, day 2 - Look Ma, I can move!

We had our 6-month well baby visit with the pediatrician this morning. Augie weighs in at 18 lbs 8.5 oz and 27.75 inches long, more or less matching the growth rate he's set the last few months. The pediatrician said he's in great shape, very healthy, ready for solids - and she confirmed something we've been suspecting for months now: that Augie will probably crawl and walk early. S*&t.

I guess he was listening to her, because this afternoon he discovered independent locomotion. He's been rolling both ways for a few weeks now, but I don't think he realized that rolling is a form of moving. Several times I put him down in the middle of the room, he looked at the dresser at the side of the room, and he rolled until he got there (and then tried to reach the handles to open the drawers!). But even more scary, he's figured out how to move forward and backward on hands and knees (aka "crawling"). He's not adept yet, but he totally gets that he can move around and reach those toys that are just out of reach.

And now that he's discovered this trick, he doesn't want to stop. It took us two hours to get him to sleep tonight - every time we put him down, he started practicing his new gymnastics.

Here's a peek at what he's learning. He had more success later in the afternoon, when I wasn't taping:

6 months!

Augie hit the 6-month mark today, which is astonishing only in that we've been able to keep him alive this long. And not just alive - this kid is happy! I think what makes him happiest is dancing with his parents.

Here's the development update: Augie is sitting without help for minutes at a time; he's rolling every which way; he's trying to crawl, and sometimes has success going backwards; he seems to wake up working on his aspirated consonants; he has two teeth; and he laughs and smiles most of the day. Recently he's taken to eating grass; grabbing our faces; and napping for up to two hours. (For those wondering, the nights are still difficult: he goes anywhere from 2 - 5 hours between feeds overnight, but usually closer to 2-3 hours. I still take solace in him being rather large for his age (he's growing out of 9 month clothes), which almost justifies the frequency of nighttime feeds. But at least we aren't alone - 2-3 feeds per night is normal for his age.)

For those of you who don't know, on Friday we leave for Sweden. We will be there until 12 July, when we will head to England until 22 July. Then we'll be back to swelter in what remains of the New Jersey summer. Augie will be better traveled at 8 months old than most adults I know; and he won't even remember it!

Special thanks to everyone who's been able to leave comments - I love it. I know it doesn't always work (and I can't figure out how to make it easier), and I'm sorry if you are trying to comment and cannot. You can always send kudos and quips to my email.

5 months, 4 weeks, day 2 - Mama & baby

Here's some mama and baby love for you: a happy shot and a sappy shot.

Sappy:

One of us is wide awake and ready to play; one of us is sound asleep and praying for mercy:

5 months, 4 weeks, day 1 - A little treat

I haven't posted a video in a long time, so here's an extra treat for you today. Email subscribers, click here to view the video on the blog. Do note that not much happens in the video - it's just Augie, sitting up, looking around, taking in all the sights on a beautiful spring afternoon.

5 months, 4 weeks, day 1 - Oranges!

While not yet officially on solid foods, Augie is undeniably interested in them, so James gave him a big hunk of orange to gnaw on this afternoon. Our 6-month pediatrician visit is on Wednesday, and we expect the doctor will tell us we can start solid foods now. We probably won't start with rice cereal - we might do something simple like mashed avocados or bananas or roasted chili peppers.

And the observant among you will have noticed that he's sitting up in these photos (with Mama close behind); Augie has more or less mastered sitting up! We still keep a pillow behind him for falls, but he went nearly 10 minutes this evening sitting on his own before plonking over. He seems to relish his new view, and especially the two-handed toy maneuvers he can now accomplish. Not to mention the two-handed citrus maneuvers.

5 months, 3 weeks, day 7 - Watching football with Baba

Augie sat down with Baba to watch the Champions League final today; he was disappointed that Borussia Dortmund lost, but thought it was a good match overall. He's quite excited to see what Pep Guardiola will do with Bayern next season.

And yes, once again, those are legwarmers on his arms.

5 months, 3 weeks, day 6 - Adventures in stellar parenting

I'll let these speak for themselves.

5 months, 3 weeks, day 5 -

Fun pictures from recent days.

Getting ready for his summer travels (we'll be in the UK in July):

Good times in the stroller:

 Hmmm, what shall I eat? Thanks for the totseat Auntie Tina!

Another example of "reading" in our house:

5 months, 3 weeks, day 4 - Sleeper series, part 3

Before we get to today's pictures, you have to check this out: super-funny baby memes (though don't ask my opinion of the overuse of the word "meme" to mean any picture with any words attached, because I'll go into pretty much the same rant I go into if you ask me about the proliferation of viewer/user comments on news websites (well, comments on pretty much anything on the internet, except my blog)).

You may remember that I've done two sleeper posts before, here and here. I like them so much I'm going to keep doing them. It's possible that pictures of a sleeping baby are only interesting to the sleeping baby's mother; but then, this is the blog of a sleeping baby's mother, so there.

 Do you think he has a favorite sleeping position?:

And my personal favorite, taken yesterday:

5 months, 3 weeks, day 3 - Eating grass

Yesterday morning I took Augie outside to play in the grass. And by "play", I mean "eat."

And check out the skills on this one - eating one stacking cup while balancing the other on his right foot!

5 months, 3 weeks, day 2 - Morning faces

Augie at the end of his morning nap:

While Augie is a happy chap in general, in the morning he's especially so. He wakes up and just seems so excited to see us. In fact, I usually can't feed him when he wakes up, because he's just so darned excited to be awake and have his parents with him. These photos were taken today after his morning nap, which was unusually long (two hours!). (I rotated them so you wouldn't get a crook in your neck turning your head to look at them).

5 months, 3 weeks, day 1 - The dude

A small collection of recent photos:

The onesie is an Uncle Charlie original

Stopping to eat the flowers

5 months, 2 weeks, day 7 - Mama time

I've complained to James that we don't have many pictures of me and baby, but we have tons of Baba and baby. So he's begun taking more, and here are a few from the last few days.

Morning cuddles:

Reading Goodnight Moon before bed

Augie letting Mama sleep in