Tate: 6 Months!

I just found the 5 month post in the draft box. Boo. I'll post this one in a day or two so I can get that one up.

This little chunker is 6 months old - and worth more than his weight in gold (which for fun, today would be just over $358,000). Tate is the happiest, sweetest baby a mama could ask for. The main things this guy does is put everything in his mouth, eat and kick. He rolls around the floor and gets points for some scooting attempts. He usually ends up pushing with his feet leaving his bum in the air and his face on the rug. He'll play on his tummy in push-up form and pivot around on the floor as well (he rolls to get where he wants to). He can sit, but is very wobbly. His dexterity is improving so he has better accuracy at getting everything from point A to point mouth. We started feeding him solids a few weeks ago and he does well. He loves sitting in his highchair and having dinner with the family. The first time he tries any new food is funny because he scrunches up his face and makes gag noises. He usually ends up finishing the bowl. I think he has liked butternut squash the most. He is undecided on the pacifier, though I still encourage it (to avoid thumbsucking and have it for desperation-quiet-times like church and the subway). 

Tate is more vocal these days and especially loves the "d" sound and has started doing more "n" sounds too. Sometimes it sounds like he is saying, "Hi Dada!" over and over again. I love his sweet little voice. His laugh is wonderful - it takes a little bit to get him going. He definitely smiles more than he laughs ( feel like June laughed at everything?). He still "sings" himself to sleep on occasion, and his singing is turning into a little more of a grunt. My friend today said it sounded like a car engine :) Tate has started to cry purposefully more lately - meaning, when Anson yanks a toy out of his hands, Tate will cry because he wants the toy back. For the first time on Sunday he seemed to exhibit a little "stranger danger" and cried because he wanted me back. He is much more aware of what is going on and able to resopnd. 

He has rosy little cheeks and a bright smile--which lights up the second anyone engages with him. The rolls on his arms and legs attract all sorts of attention (too bad it's not summer and they stay hidden most of the time!). He's a decent sleeper (should have asked me that a couple of days ago when it was better). He usually eats 4x/day: 4:30, 10, 2 and bedtime (730 or 8ish). I have started giving him his solid meal with our dinnertime. Last night he woke up at 3am and I couldn't stave off his hunger and gave in so we could both go back to sleep. He still waited to eat until 9:30 so it didn't shift things too much. I am still working on how to get that early morning feeding a little later...At least he goes back to sleep until 7:30 or so after eating!

June is a great helper and is good at helping. From getting diapers to entertaining him with toys, she is quite the big sister. Anson can get Tate to laugh really easily. I trust Anson more with Tate, but he still likes to walk dinosaurs on Tate's head, help him roll over, etc. and one of them (Tate) usually ends up in tears. Anson better figure out really quickly who the larger brother will be! As a side note, I just realized that Anson may be over his biting phase! YAY!!!

I can't seem to find the paper with his measurements from his 6 month check up, but I'll fill in this gap later. I can say he is about 23 lbs and >97% in both height and weight. His head is on the chart - maybe in the 70s or 80s