Happy 6-Month Birthday, Andrew!

Andrew turned 6 months yesterday. Today he had his 6-month check-up, which went well with no concerns about his health or development. Andy is sitting up very well; each day he seems to be able to sit for a little longer. He is very close to crawling; he has moved both of his knees underneath him and moved an arm, but he couldn't quite figure out what to do with the other arm.

Today Andy weighed in at 19 lbs. 9.8 oz., which is around the 85th percentile, and measured 28 3/4", which is around the 99th percentile. He certainly feels like he is very tall for his age. Given that 12-month clothes fit him very well I have to believe that I have seen children about 6 months older who are walking who are barely as tall as he is.

I mentioned in my last post that we have started Andy on solid foods, although at this point he enjoys joining us for a meal and playing with the utensils more than actually eating.

Andy seems to have lost all of his baby hair. His head is evenly covered with hair that's the same color brown. And his eyes still seem to be the gray they were when he was born. They pick up blue very easily, especially if he is wearing anything blue, and they're maybe a touch darker than Matt's gray eyes. We'll see if they stay that color, as Matt's did, or if they change as he gets closer to 1.

Here are some photos of the 6 month old:

With a shaky eggs at library story time

Trying to get his brother's attention

Attempting to pose with my boys

Playing with bath toys while waiting for the bath to fill up

Mr. Smiley!

Having a good time splashing in the bath

Andrew's Week 26

I'll post later to commemorate Andrew's 6-month birthday, but here are some photos from the past week:

On the sidelines at big brother's sports class

Trying to reach big brother's trains

Watching the cat watch Matt set up his game

This past week we started Andy on solid foods. So far he's had avocado, banana, and apple. Banana may be his favorite.

Picking out some toys with big brother

Happy smiles

Posing in their new matching dinosaur shirts from Aunt Ane

Playing in his new raccoon shirt

Eating his feet while his brother attends a birthday party

The "I just woke up from a long nap" face

"Talking" up a storm as he plays

Andrew's Week 25

Andy passed 25 weeks this past Monday and is gearing up for his 6-month birthday next week.

Andy has not yet managed to make himself mobile, but he wants it more than ever. He has started almost cruising. We joke that he wants to skip crawling and go straight to walking, but there are times when it does seem that will be the case.

Andy is doing very well with sitting unsupported. He can stay for longer and longer intervals, to the point where he's sitting for minutes at a time. And he is getting better at getting himself back up if he leans forward or to the sides. He sometimes still bonks his face or gets stuck as he tries to roll out of a lean, but those instances are getting fewer and fewer.

Andy is very strong. He is getting harder to hold when he reaches for something, which is just about all the time. And it's almost as hard to pry his fingers off of something he shouldn't be holding.

Getting more confident with standing and even taking one hand off (usually to grab something)

An unsure smile

Andy wants to play with all of Matt's toys and goodies as much as, if not more than, Matt wants to play with all of his.

Getting harder to keep entertained and content in his rocker seat

Our usual view, with hands outstretched to grab something. And here you get a good view of those two teeth.

Once again, a typical view with hands ready to take hold

Crashed! Andy is actually napping quite regularly these days. He has had his routine down for the past few weeks. Unfortunately, his brother's schedule doesn't always allow for him to nap as long as he'd like, but he does a good job of adapting. He usually struggles to sleep with his brother running around, but sometimes he's just so tired he'll crash downstairs.

"Here, let me help!"

Watching the train go by as he samples one of his cars

Andrew's Week 24

Andy is just 2 weeks from turning 6 months. He has been busy!

Most people know Andy as an easy-going, happy go lucky, smiley baby. He is that, but we also know him as determined, ambitious, and focused. The latter qualities have been on full display the past couple of weeks. Andy is set on reaching all of his milestones, especially when it comes to his ability to grab and move.

He is really working his fingers and grip. He holds objects like toys and anything else he can grab for increasing lengths of time, and if he doesn't quite hold onto them the first time he tries again and again until he can get his fingers fully around them. He is putting things to his mouth -  paper, clothes, the remote (his favorite target), a phone (his second favorite target), and Matt's toys - to explore them more. But he seems to save the chomping down for his teething toys most of the time.

Wiggling those fingers

Chewing on teething toys

Playing while waiting for his brother to finish class

Andy now sits upright unsupported for minutes at a time. He almost prefers now to sit, especially if that means he's on the floor with his bucket of toys in front of him. Here he is doing just that:

Andy is moving rapidly toward fully mobile. He will push up onto all fours, which he can hold for more than a few seconds now. He started pushing up and holding planks last week. He is also pushing himself backward while he's on his tummy. He is covering more ground that way. He hasn't quite realized what that means and started doing that on purpose, but I suspect that will happen soon. And I swear he pulled himself forward half an inch a couple of times the other day in the same position. All of these are signs that he may be crawling within the next 4-6 weeks. When Andy is on his tummy, he can finagle himself so that he faces a different direction from where he started. He still doesn't roll much, even though he has rolled both back to front and front to back. That said, when he falls over from sitting he often almost seamlessly moves himself into a prone or supine position. In other words, he seems to prefer to start a roll from sitting rather than lying down. Andy is also standing with a purpose more and more. He can hold onto something and stand on his own for longer periods of time. He can also turn around an edge, usually with some spotting and support. He may also take a hand off for a moment or two. This is technically from week 24, but this Tuesday he let go a couple of times for a second and stood on his own. (One of those times he even was able to resume holding onto his support without any help.)

 

On all fours

Plank position

Andy has two teeth: the second came in during that week between Christmas and New Year's, so he didn't quite have his two front teeth for Christmas! But he's working hard on more, most likely the two bottom ones on either side of the ones he already has. He should be getting his first two top teeth next, but they don't look like they're ready to come in yet.

This is not as impressive, but Andy has also started blowing raspberries. (This would be much cuter if his brother wasn't doing the same while being defiant!)

Onto more photos:

Hello!

 Making a goofy face

 Looking up from playing

 The cat's tail is almost within reach...

 Holding his airplane, waiting for his turn in the Busy, Busy Airport game

In his new shark towel

Some photos of the brothers together:

Looking up to his big brother

Being held

Really wanting to grab one of those blocks