Will - 6 Months

Happy 6 Months Old Will!

Weight - 17 lb 9 0z
Height - 27 inches

This month has been full of smiles! His smile seems to get bigger everyday. His is a happy baby most of the time. He really doesn't get too worked up unless he is hungry or tired (which is most of the day now that I think about it).

Food - We finally moved on from rice cereal despite his refusal to eat with a spoon. He would close his lips as tight as possible whenever he saw the spoon coming. He is ALWAYS reaching for our plates though, so I decided to try feeding him while we were eating. Worked like a charm! I gave him some sweet potatoes and he couldn't get enough! Now he has no problem taking a spoon. Thank goodness!

MAO came to visit and got to spend some quality time with Will. They watched some UT football together, played with Maggie, and did what they do best - rock in Cracker Barrell's rocking chairs. We found one just Will's size!




His first tooth has broken through. I knew it was coming because he has been chewing on anything and everything. He has been rubbing his ear which I read was a sign. I feel very lucky and am glad to say that teething isn't a big issue for him. It didn't wake him up in the middle of the night or any of the other things I've heard that come along with it. I know I may be speaking too soon, but hopefully the rest will go as smoothly as this one. It's a sharp little tooth!

Will isn't crawling yet, but he is very mobile with his scooting and rolling. I am NOT ready for him to crawl, because I am really NOT ready to chase him around the house. Maggie is going to be in for a shock when this happens too! Maggie is usually what he scoots towards. When he sees something he wants, he is going to get it. Determination!

He is big into elctronics now - cell phones, remote controls, cords, etc. Basically if we are using it, he wants it! I gave him one of JT's toy cell phones to play with. He knew it wasn't the real thing; he won't have anything to do with it!

Will turned 6 months old while we were at the beach. This was his first big vacation and plane ride. (I am writing another post about that, so I won't go in to all the details now.)

What a wonderful 6 months! Happy Half-Birthday Will!!!!!

Maggie and Will

Will has a puppy dog, puppy dog, puppy dog.
Will has a puppy dog; her name is Maggie.

And everywhere that Will goes, Will goes, Will goes;
Everywhere that Will goes, Maggie goes too.

They're gonna be best friends, best friends, best friends.
They're gonna be best friends, Maggie and Will.

I have been wanting to post about Maggie and Will for a while now, and just never seemed to get around to it. I can not express how pleased I am with Maggie's affection for Will. She LOVES him, and he LOVES her even more.

I'm not sure at what point during my new-mommy delirium that I made up this song posted above, but I can almost guarantee it was within the first few days we were home. When Will would cry, I would pace the house and Maggie would follow my every move. JT says he is surprised that I haven't worn tracks in the floor from circling through the living room, kitchen, and dining room. I started singing this song (the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb") and it would always calm Will down or put him to sleep. He was probably falling asleep just so he didn't have to hear me sing - hahaha!

The first few days we were home, Maggie didn't really pay attention to Will. The crying didn't seem to bother her. She went through a major depression because I was not allowed to play ball with her and people were always coming over and not paying attention to her. Luckily she never associated this with Will; her anger was directed more towards me and I was pretty sure that she hated me since I was the obvious reason for her no longer being the center of attention. We made it a rule that anyone coming to visit had to play with Maggie first, then they could see Will. This seemed to help a lot, and Maggie and I were able to bond again.

Maggie's protective instincts kicked in right away. She was next to Will at all times. If someone was holding him, she was standing beside them. If someone was walking around with Will, she was walking with them. Nobody was going to make it out the front door with Will without Maggie letting us know about it.

Will and I rarely moved from this spot. Maggie stayed right beside us.

I always fed Will in his room, especially in the middle of the night. Maggie was no longer forced to stay in her kennel, so she would come in there with me. It is not surprising now to find her sleeping his room sometimes. She is good at checking for monsters underneath the crib.

The first thing that Will squealed and laughed at was Maggie. He thinks she is hilarious! He loves watching her catch the ball, and when she brings the ball back to us, he squeals with delight. No doubt they are going to spend millions of hours playing together.

One of the first things Will does in the mornings is look around for Maggie. He smiles and squeals when he sees her. I usually sit in the floor with him in my lap so she can come up to him and he will pet her. So sweet!

They play together on the playmat. Will can scoot across the floor, and Maggie is always the target. Maggie used to get up and move when he got close, but she is more tolerable to it now and usually lets him touch her.

Maggie's favorite toy is "Bruiser". Will is interested...

Got it! Maggie will not be happy this, because she isn't allowed to play with Will's toys. Maggie will not tolerate this double-standard.

And after all that playtime, they nap together.

Maggie was not feeling well last week. She didn't want to play and you could tell that Will was missing her. I know that sounds crazy, but he seriously looked for her when he was playing. She finally came around and Will put his hand on her paw to comfort her. She put her other paw on top of his. My heart melted...
I am so glad that this relationship has started off so well for them. They really are going to be best friends. We are proud of you Maggie! You are a great big sister!

Sweetness

My favorite picture of Will!

Will - 5 months

Happy 5 Months Old Will!

Stats:
Height - 26.5 inches
Weight - 16 lbs

His personality is coming out more and more each day. He is a mover too - always on the go. This made picture time interesting since he decided he wanted to peel off his sticker and eat it.

Will tried his first food at 4 and 1/2 months. Rice cereal - yummy! We got the video camera out, got all prepared, and learned that Will + spoon = mouth closed, lips sealed! Really?!?! This is coming from the kid that has his mouth open to everything! I was afraid he didn't like the cereal so I just put it in his bottle and he seemed to have no problem with that. I tried just milk in the spoon and got the same closed mouth reaction, so it is definitely a spoon issue rather than the actual contents. I try to give him the spoon to play with each day so he can hopefully get used to it. Until he gets good at the rice cereal, we aren't moving forward with any other foods. He can hold his bottle though, so we are making some progress.

Will seems to be recognizing the people that he sees more often. There is no greater feeling than seeing that sweet baby grin when he see you coming!

Will got to visit with his great-grandparents Mama and Poppa. He first met them when he was just a few days old, so this time they really were able to enjoy him. In November, Will is going to finally meet his other great-grandmother.

He is starting to scoot just a little. His object of desire is usually Maggie. He will scoot a couple of feet towards her, and right when he gets to her she usually gets up and moves. Poor Will, he has to start all over. Once he figures out how to get up on his knees he will be off and crawling. I am pretty sure that he will never walk...he is just going to start running! He scoots all over his crib throughout the night, but usually ends up in a corner with his bottom sticking up in the air.
Speaking of his crib, Mama was given a project to find a way to attach his bumpers to his bed so that he couldn't pull them off. Gram had previously tried velcro, but he would just pull that right apart. Mama sewed on buttons, but he could snap those apart within minutes. He really enjoys this and thinks it is a game. We could go check on him thinking he was asleep when he was finally quiet, and this is what we would see. I didn't really worry about him suffocating from the bumpers, but he would eventually get stuck in the slats and start screaming when he got an arm or leg caught and couldn't move. (The American Academy of Pediatrics actually recommends that bumpers not be put in cribs at all anymore. I think this is insane! I really think he could break an arm trying to twist and get unstuck.) Gram finally fixed the problem! She got some rope type material and sewed it on to each piece and then we tied it around the crib slats. Those bumpers aren't going anywhere now!

His new toy this month was the Johnny Jump-Up. He doesn't do much bouncing in it yet, but he likes to just spin around in circles and check everything out.

As I say every month, this one has been better than before. Every day is a new adventure or new discovery. There is nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a baby!

Will - 4 months

Happy 4 Months Will!

Stats:
Height - 25.5 inches
Weight - 15 lb 2 oz

Will is showing his personality now. He is a happy baby (most of the time) and loves to smile. He can entertain himself with his toys, but he loves to be interacting with other people more than anything.

Playtime - He is more playful than ever, especially in the past week!

• Bumbo seat - We call it the "Baby Koozie" (stole that phrase from a friend).



• Playmat - My new way to take a shower! I can put him down on this and tell him to play with his "friends" and I have earned a good 20-30 minutes of time for myself. He bats at toys, talks to them, and eventually rolls over for some tummy time. Maggie helps him stay entertained with this by knocking one of the bars every once in a while so all the little toys shake.
  



• Toys - "Bug" is still his favorite. This was the first toy we ever played with, and it is always my go-to toy. I gave him his first lovey to play with. It is a blanket with a monkey head and it really likes it. He likes to talk to it and attempts to eat monkey's head. He also has some rattles but he isn't too in to those yet. "Sophie" the giraffe - this is a teething toy and he likes to gnaw on it. It squeaks just like a dog toy, and Maggie has her sweet little heart set on this becoming her toy. I already have a spare because I know that Maggie will one day get Sophie and it won't end well.
  
  


• Games - "Stand up" is still a favorite. It almost always gets him to smile. If he gets cranky when we play, that is a sign that it is nap time! We have started doing sit-ups now too. I pull his hands up and roll him up towards me saying "UP goes the Will, DOWN goes the Will" - he loves it! If there is anybody else in the room, he will keep his eyes focused on them like "Do you see what I can do?!?!". He also squeals the whole way up.
  
  
  
  

He can roll over from his back to his stomach when he goes towards the left. He does this with the greatest of ease - no struggle at all. He can actually turn over in the 2 seconds that I turn away from him. He sleeps on his belly now. I guess he likes it, but he can't roll back over yet so he is kind of stuck there. When he is playing and rolls over, he will usually hang out in that position for a while. Then he starts yelling for us to come help him - JT says it is like "flipping a burger".

He recognizes a bottle now and gets pretty excited when he sees it. He can even it hold it all by himself sometimes. He is not just interested in his bottles though - my water bottle catches his eye and he kind of reaches for my plate if it is close enough to him. I know he doesn't realize what he is doing, but I am hoping that this is just another sign that we are ready to start adding some solid foods to his diet.

Will got a great report at the pediatrician's office today. Over-achiever as always! He loves to flirt with the nurse and she always comments on his grown-up features. He was showing off his leg strength and rolling all over the table. The baby in the mirror caught his eye, so of course he had to roll on over and check it out.

Rmember all that hair he used to have? Well, it is gone, except for this mullet that has been left behind. New hair is growing in. It looks like it will be lighter than what he was born with, but I still think it will be more like JT's than mine.

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling

Will is rolling over from his back to stomach. I haven't actually witnessed the roll yet because he keeps doing it in his crib when he sleeps. He seems to be more comfortable sleeping this way, until he wakes up and realizes what he has done...he doesn't know how to roll back over yet. So he yells, and I come in and flip him back over. 5 minutes later, he is back on his belly again.

I think tomorrow we will practice rolling all the way over. Maybe then I won't panic since he isn't sleeping on his back as long as I know he can roll back over.

Will - 3 months

Happy 3 months Will!

Stats:
Height - 24 inches (That is 1/3 of JT!)
Weight - Not sure, but probably 13-14 lbs

This past month has been so much fun! Will's personality is starting to show more and more each day. Time is flying by and I really wish it would slow down.

Will smiles all the time! He smiles when he plays with his toys, when he sees us, and when we are talking to him. After screaming, crying, or any other thing that can test our patience, one little smile makes it all worth it!

I haven't heard a good giggle or belly laugh yet, but he is trying so hard. He goes through all the motions, mouth wide open, but no sound comes out. He does squeal with delight though, so I know the laugh should be coming soon.

JT and I traveled to Pickwick for a night a few weeks ago without Will. NeeNee kept him in the morning and early afternoon, then Gram, Gramps, and Uncle Brandon got him for the evening and overnight. I think everyone had a wonderful time! It was nice for us to get away, but I could not wait to get back home to Will! When we went to pick him up he was in a great mood! He was trying to be a part of everyone's conversation, making all kinds of sounds and just making sure he was center of attention. I swear he grew overnight!

We made our first trip as a family to Chattanooga. Will did great in the car! I rode in the back with him on the way there so we could play. We set up his Pack'n'Play in our room. Will didn't want to go to sleep because he was having way too much entertaining everyone there, but when he finally went to sleep, he was out!

I got a playmat for Will that has toys overhead. He lays there and checks everything out and is starting to try to grab at toys. It kind of scares him when he actually touches one because his startle reflex kicks in. He also has a mobile now over his crib that he is pretty fascinated with.

He still loves his hands and has become a thumb sucker. He isn't great at this yet and starts with his whole hand in this mouth and slowly tries out each finger until he gets his thumb. I have been trying to replace his thumb with a pacifier, and he seems be liking it more and more. It is calming for him and helps him fall asleep. He makes fists all the time and checks them out like it is the first time he has ever seen it.

JT's favorite picture - Will has his right hand in a fist and
he is staring at it. JT says it looks like he caught a bug
in it and he is trying to decide what to do next. :-)

Bath time is still pretty fun depending on the day. Sometimes he is in the mood for it, other times he just wants it to be over as fast as possible. He gets baths in the tub now. Maggie is usually standing over him wanting so badly to jump in!

Will holds his head up great! I have just started putting him in his Bumbo seat and he seems to like it. He bobbles his head and kind of dances around.

We love you so much Will! Our little family is just perfect!