You had your first experience with solid food this month. And in true Smithkid form, you gave real food an enthusiastic thumbs up. You've had peas, avacado, sweet potato, butternut squash, and banana. Surprisingly, you didn't seem to care for the banana. Natalie approves of your rejection, however, since this keeps her from having to share her bananas. (FYI: your sister is part monkey). Speaking of your sister, she totally digs feeding you. And she's really quite skilled at it. I mean, I HAVE had to make the Just Because the Spoon is However-Many-Inches-Long, It Doesn't Mean You Should Shove It In Its Entirety Down Your Brother's Throat lecture to her a few times, but for the most part, she's a fabulous food-feeder. And any time you get to spend with her is a-ok with you. You think she is epically fabulous.
In true baby form, you're good at grabbing at things. And in true baby form, you have complete disregard for whether or not the aforementioned things are attached to someone's body. Grabbing rattles? Go for it. Grabbing your bib? Knock yourself out. My ear? Not so cute when you grab and pull as if you're actually trying to separate it from my head. My cheek? While they ARE chubby and ARE easy to grab in fistfulls, they are, in fact, still attached to my face. And no amount of pulling on your part will change that. But far and away, your most favorite thing to grab is Natalie's hair. And in your defense, she DOES dangle her head near you and her hair falls right in the path of your hands. In her defense, though, it DOES hurt. I keep trying to explain to her that you're not doing it to be mean, you're doing it to play with her. Except that logic doesn't fly with your entirely-too-logical-for-her-age sister.
You're sitting up really well now, so I think you've finally figured out how to properly balance your big ol' noggin. At least for a minutes or so. Which, given that your head makes up like 97% of your overall mass, I feel is quite an accomplishment. You'll grow into your head one day. I'm quite certain of it. And if not, blame your Daddy. Big-headedness is a Smith trait. You can blame your dry skin on me.
You still squEEEEEEEEEEEEEal. And scrEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEch. Holy moly, kid. Seriously, there's no contest to win to become the Screechiest Baby in History. Wait. I take that back. There IS a contest. And you've won. So now there's no need to screech anymore.
With Natalie, I love all things hairbows and cute little girly-but-not-overly-so shirts. With you? It's plaid. I love plaid with a fierceness that I didn't know existed until 7 months ago. I think I do a good job of not going overboard because Daddy hasn't vetoed anything I've put on you. He rolled his eyes when you were decked out in plaid overalls, but I think that was his secret, manyly of saying "Those are awesome!". At least, that's what I'm telling myself.
As is common with any parent of a new(ish) baby, I get asked about your sleeping habits a lot. The answer up until a month ago was met with a glare and a grumble (directed toward you, not the question asker). For a mellow kid, you sure as heck became anything BUT mellow when it was time to sleep. The only way I could get you to sleep was to nurse you to sleep. I love nursing you to sleep, don't get me wrong. What was rough was when you needed to nurse to go BACK to sleep every time you woke up during the night (3, 4, or sometimes 5 times during the night). You weren't necessarily hungry, you had just gotten used to nursing-sleep routine. To preserve my sanity and my ability to be a functioning member of society, I (gently - please don't call DCF) broke you of this habit. Your pediatrician recommended a book for me to try, and while it was pretty rough for a few weeks, you finally got to the point where you can fall back asleep on your own. It's amazing how NOT getting up 5 times every night makes for a much happier Mommy and Charlie. Who'da thunk it.
I said this when Natalie was a baby, and I'll say it again with you - Daddy and I make the best-smiling babies on the face of the planet. Your smile lights up your whole body. And when combined with your chubby cheeks, your square jaw, your twinkly eyes, and your dimples (oh those DIMPLES!!) ... man, there's just nothing better. And being your mom? Man, there's just nothing better.
Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Headlines for June 9, 2012:
- Flashlight Bombs Puzzle Phoenix Authorities
- Prince Philip Leaves Hospital
- Click and Clack retiring from 'Car Talk'
- Lindsay Lohan totals Porsche in car accident
- Triple Crown bid ends with injury for Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner
- Far-flung E. coli outbreak sickens 14 in 6 states
- R u crz? Most teens text while driving, CDC says
