Happy 1/2 Birthday!

My sweet little baby is 6 months old today.  I know I sound like a broken record, but WHERE has the time gone???  It breaks my heart that his 'babyhood' is going by so quickly.  Jamie and I are still on the fence about whether or not we will have a 3rd, so I realize that there's a chance this could be the last time I care for a baby and I want it all to SLOOOOW down.  But on the other hand, it's so exciting watching Collier as he gets older and learns new things!  He is sitting up really well now although he will fall over from time to time.  He loves sitting up and playing with one of his musical toys (one of Noah's hand-me-downs) that is a mirror/piano.  He has begun pushing up on his belly and getting his tummy off the ground so I showed him how to get his legs underneath him (in a crawling position) and the very next day I found him in that same position and rocking back and forth! Uh-oh... I'm close to having a crawler! He definitely knows how to get around and has learned how to push himself backwards.  He also rolls all over the place to get to different toys.  I've just begun to introduce the sippy cup and he knows exactly what he's supposed to do... it goes straight to his mouth the minute I give it to him, however, he hasn't quite figured out that he's supposed to raise it up and tilt his head back in order to drink.  He is still a jumping machine and will spend as much time as I'll let him in his jumper.  He kicks his legs CONSTANTLY and they remind of me of little windshield wipers... back and forth, back and forth...

He still has such a sweet, happy disposition and my dad's side of the family has nicknamed him "smiley."  He has the most infectious laugh!  And I love to listen to him as he carries on a conversation with himself.  I can't wait until the day that I get to hear him say his first word.  He has also discovered how to blow raspberries.  And boy does he blow them!  ALL.THE.TIME.  And it makes me laugh every time.  He is such an eager and enthusiastic baby.  He's so excited all the time: huge smiles, kicking his legs as fast as he can, all the while checking out the world around him, trying to see what he can play with, and just so happy.  The only thing that he doesn't play around with is his food and his bottle.  If he spots the bottle, you have .2 seconds to get it in his mouth or he gets mad and will fuss at you!  Same with the food, he expects to be feed quickly... as soon as he swallows, he's immediately ready for another bite and if you're too slow, he will let you know.  We joke that we should just give him a straw and let him suck the food out of the container! He's on a GREAT schedule and we have dropped the "dream feed."  Now he gets a 6 oz. bottle every 4 hours: at 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm.  He still gets 2 meals a day of solids (at 8am and 6pm) but it's probably time for me to incorporate lunch in his day, too.  And he naps at 9am, 1pm, and 5pm.  The 9am is normally around 1 1/2 hours, the 1pm is the longest nap, ranging from 2 - 3 hours and the 5pm nap is the shortest and around 45 minutes (sometimes this nap gets skipped).  He goes to sleep around 7:30pm and sleeps until 7am.  He still has little phases every now and then where he'll wake up in the early morning hours, but he goes back to sleep fairly quickly.  He is a very easy baby!  Another "new" thing during this past month is that his hair is starting to grow and thicken up!  He has a cute little mohawk where it's filling in on top of his head and his hair is much lighter than Noah's... it almost looks blonde at times!  He is starting to slim up some and his belly isn't as round as it used to be... but he still has his sweet little chunky thighs!  I don't know his 6 month stats yet but we'll be going for Collier's 6 month check-up and Noah's 4 year check up in a few weeks.

It is such a joy and blessing to be Collier's mom.  I love this little boy with every square inch of my heart and he is the perfect addition to our family.  He adds so much happiness and laughter to our lives.  I feel so blessed to have been given not one, but two amazing little boys and I love being their mommy. Thank you God, for giving us these two precious gifts!