6 months

6 months as of December 26, 2014
Height - 28 inches (90th percentile)
Weight - 17 lbs 3 oz (25th percentile)
Head Circumference - 17 3/4 inches (75th percentile)

Clothes: You are wearing all 3-6 and 6 months clothes and most of your sleep and plays are 6-9 months now. Toward the end of the month I've begun transitioning you into some of your smaller 6-9 month onesies. While in California you wore 3 month shorts -- tiny hiney, I tell ya!

Sleep:  You sleep 12 hours straight through the night -- 7:00pm-7:00am. Sometimes you woke up in the middle of the night, which was rough on me come morning. You generally wake up in the morning, roll over and play in your crib with your hands and feet until we come in to get you. Naps this month have been a major struggle for us. You show us your signs -- yawn, stick fingers in mouth, fuss a little -- but once we take you up to your dark room you decide it's playtime. You take a good morning nap -- 8:45am-10:15am, but you only stay asleep for about 20-30 minutes during your other two naps of the day. I think any sleep issues you've had this month all stem from teething.

Health: On Friday, 12/6 we took you for your official cranial band scan. You got your band on 12/19 out in Cranial Tech's Orange County office because we were there for Christmas. The band was rubbing, so we had to take you in Christmas Eve morning to get an adjustment. Biggy boy's head grew 2 millimeters in less than a week.

Diet: You eat 5 times a day. You're still on Similac Sensitive. You take 4 6-7oz. bottles throughout the day, eating every 3 hours, and 1 7oz. bottle as your last bottle at 6:30pm. On Sunday, 12/8 we introduced oatmeal cereal. We combined 1 tbsp of it with 5oz. of formula and spoon fed you a bit. I then started to decrease the formula and ended up with 2 oz of formula mixed with 1 tbsp of oatmeal or rice cereal. You were great with the spoon, swallowed a little bit, but most ended up on your cute little face. Everyday you get more and more used to it...

 Baby Gear Love: Baby Einstein jumper, ergo, stroller, Bumbo with tray

Likes: smiling, talking, sucking fingers, playing with feet, sucking fingers while playing with feet (see picture below), eating, getting a diaper change, going on walks, hanging out in your Ergo, rolling over, playing with all of your toys, playing in your jumper

Dislikes: evening-time, wind, naps

Crying: You were more fussy than usual this month, but I attribute it to the 2 teeth you cut and all of the changes you went through this month -- rolling, cranial band, west coast travel/timezone adjustment, etc.

Milestones: You ate food -- oatmeal and rice cereals -- for the 1st time and really seemed to like it. You couldn't quite get the whole concept of the how a spoon works, but you understood that you wanted what was on the spoon, so you were a-okay with me putting it in your mouth. Swallowing was an issue. You'd let me put the cereal in your mouth, but it would just dribble back out. Haha! You're so cute. The spoon really peaked your interest, so we let you play and get familiar with it a lot. Your favorite things to play with are still your feet. Boy do you love those things! You also love to stand. You like to stand up and hold onto things, mostly Mommy's legs. Your knees always buckle, but you quickly lock them and remain upright. Traveling is a big deal to Daddy and I and this month we took you on your 1st airplane, flying across the country, to California. When the plane landed in LAX everyone near us gave you an A+ --- You honestly slept the entire way. You met a lot of new people and hung in there like a champ! You were a little angel on Christmas and I'm pretty sure you love the beach as much as Daddy and I do. You flight home to Charlotte didn't go as smoothly as your 1st flight --- I gave you a B --- You pooped 30 minutes into the flight, I had to change your diaper twice, you fussed, were awake and playful and only napped for about 2 hours. You were still pretty quiet and didn't disrupt anyone near us -- thank you for that! And a HUGE milestone occurred this month - Your 1st two teeth punctured through your gums just a few days before your were 5 months old. Throughout this month they've fully come in and I love your new tooth-filled smile. All you wanted for Christmas were your two front teeth and Santa delivered fully!

Dear Trace, Daddy and I took you on your 1st airplane this month. We flew out west so that you could spend your 1st Christmas in California, just like Daddy and I always did. Watching you get to spend so much time in the house that Daddy grew up in and in the house that Mommy grew up in is so special to Daddy and I. You're so lucky to have 4 grandparents who just smother you with love. Even though you were oblivious to what was going on, watching you wake up Christmas morning in the same house that I always woke up in was the best Christmas present I got this year. And, of course, you and Cali were the cutest little Christmas elves I'd ever seen. Our time in California together is something that I will remember forever. You are a little fishy and love to swim. Daddy took you in the spa several times and you kicked your feet and smiled the whole time. We also took you to our favorite beach, the one that I've always gone to and the one that we took our engagement pictures at -- You are definitely a boy who loves sand in his toes. I have a feeling that you will have a love affair with all of the Orange County beaches we take you to! I know you don''t know who Santa is, and that you won't grasp the concept next year either, but when you do... oh man, I can hardly wait til Christmas 2015 when you will be old enough to wake up early, run down the stairs, stare in aw at the presents Santa left for you and rip into them all! But in the meantime, we'll focus on our next major holiday -- Mommy's favorite, Easter!

Scenes from the past month!