6 Months!

Dear Henry,

   You are six months old today! So much has changed this month, your biggest accomplishment is that you sit up all the time. It must be great to see life from a new perspective. You seem to like it a lot and seem much more aware of everything around you.

What a big boy you are weighing in at 18 pounds and some change - that puts you in the 75% percentile. Your weight has stabled off a lot but you have grown in inches and are in the 90%. That means you are longer than 90% of the other 6 month old boys out there. Not a big surprise since all of the Niemeyer men are tall.

You take two or three naps a day depending on what is going on and are still quite flexible about the timing. I try to make sure that you get your morning nap and we are always home for afternoon nap. Evie loves her nap. Let's hope you continue to love sleeping as much as Evie. You go to bed between 7 and 8 and wake up between 7 and 8. You are still waking up in the night but showing lots of improvement going 5 and 6 hour stretches again like you did a few months back. I think you are finally feeling better now that your tummy troubles are on the mend. You still like to be swaddled and that will be the our goal for this coming month. Henry, you are a little too large for the swaddle. I had to buy the swaddle in the MEGA baby size so that it would fit you. There's not much room left so we have to get you out of that thing. You have taken a few naps without it so I think you might be ready to say goodbye to our friend, Woombie.

Eating is one of your favorite activities. You LOVE baby food and will eat two or three jars per day. Pears, prunes and carrots are your favorite along with a little oatmeal. Baby Mum Mum's provide you with some entertainment. Evie is constantly telling me that you want one. She patiently hands it back to you every time that it falls which is often. You have experimented with a sippycup some and will drink a little from it. Bottles are not such an issue anymore. You have decided that the Breastflow by First Years works just fine and will take it without too much hassle. You nurse every 4 hours and eat solids twice a day. It's pretty messy but it is worth it to see your big grin as the spoon comes near your little mouth. Nursing you is still sweet as you rub my face or twirl my hair. Although, you have grown two teeth and that can be tricky while feeding you.

You had your first Christmas and seemed to really take it all in. Wrapping paper was fun for you and all the new boy toys have been a big hit.

It's fun to have so many trucks, blocks and balls. You have even have your own bin for cars because you have accumulated so many.

You love to go outside for a walk or to watch Evie play with her boys. Daddy took you on your first jog and you just bounced right along with Evie.

Laid-back is still the name of the game. You are always calm and happy. It's fun to hear you laugh and squeal but you rarely cry. That's a pleasant change, my friend. Try to keep that up!It's easy to take you places and you are perfectly content to check everything out. You do not nap well in public but will nap on the go.

You spend your days checking out Evie, hanging out in your exersaucer and playing with your new toys. We love you so much! I could hold you and squeeze you all day. You are so soft and cuddly. Your laugh is contagious and makes us all smile. Evie just adores you. She said, "I'm glad hims in our family." You are always included in her plans and she wants you along for the ride everywhere we go. She tells me to hold you tight, be careful and not to leave you. If you get fussy, then she directs me to "help Hen Wee" which has made this such a smooth transition to becoming a family of four. I love seeing her love you more as you learn new things. Evie is so proud of you for sitting up. She said, "Hims sit up like just me." Everything is "like just me" with Evie. She is already planning sand castle building at the beach and reminded you to bring your green shovel. Yesterday, we were on a walk and I looked down to see this.

Words cannot even begin to describe our feelings for you. We are so thankful to have you as our son. Our healthy, happy little boy. You are so precious to us and such a delightful gift from God. We are enjoying this special time with you because it is so fleeting. Soon, we will be chasing you all over the house trying to get you in the bath or waiting it out while you experiment with a tantrum. Those days will be fun too but these baby days are the ones that seem to really fly.

Can't wait to see what you have your sleeve for us this month, Henry!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy