Half a year!!

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!! What a fantastic kid I have. WOW--so much personality! The past month has brought on lots of changes. At his doctor's appointment last Thursday, he weighed 20 lbs. 4.2 oz. and measured 27.5 inches long. He ranks in the 90th percentile for height and weight, so he's gone down a bit (he was off the charts at one visit early on).

Jackson's still not quite crawling or sitting up, but very close to both. He can "army crawl" using one arm to scoot himself forward, and he still rocks back and forth on all fours. He's soooo close to crawling and every time I think it's going to happen soon, it doesn't. I guess it'll happen in its own time!

Jackson is now eating so much! We started with avocado (he was eating 1/2 at a time!), and he's moved on to sweet potato, peas, and bananas. He still eats everything puréed (or very well- smooshed), but I hope soon we'll be able to intruduce a bit of texture. I'm certainly not rushing anything though! He still has only his bottom teeth, so chewing is out of the question. I bought him this mesh thing where you can put in whole food and he can "chew" it through the mesh. It's brilliant! I freeze pieces of banana and put those in there. He LOVES it!

We're making some of his food, but I'm not a fanatic about it. Paul would like me to be, but has relented because most baby foods are pretty much nothing but the food itself and water (i.e. jarred peas are nothing but peas and water). Paul decided to steam peaches for him last night, and that turned into a 2 hour ordeal that I don't think he'll be repeating any time soon.

Jackson YELLS A LOT!! We're a pretty noisy household anyway, so he fits right in. He yells when he's happy and when he's not. He doesn't discriminate when it comes to yelling. I love it when he talks to himself--sometimes, I listen to him when he's in his crib after waking up in the morning or after a nap, and he just mumbles quietly to himself. There's no greater sound than a happy Jackson!

I'm still staying at home and won't be teaching in the fall. I guess the community college found someone better to replace me. I'm sad about it as I'd love to keep up with my French, but at the same time, I do love being home with Jackson! We go on walks, and spend some time outside (when it's not blazing hot), and he's an absolute joy most of the time. I love watching him learn and discover new things. I'd love to find a part-time position, mainly because it's strange for me not to be bringing in any money to the household, but Paul never makes me feel bad about this. For that, I'm grateful!!

There are lots of pictures posted on my photo site! Enjoy!!