Brenson is Six Months Old!

Six months ago today, we were in the hospital waiting to welcome our little {big} Brenson into this world. I thought labor was going very slowly, but little did I know how fast things would progress. We were so excited to welcome our son into our family.

Here is Brenson's monthly photo with his giraffe. Could he grow any faster?

Mr. Man is now wearing mostly size 12 month clothes . . . especially in onesies and sleepers. In bottoms, he does still wear a few 6 month and 6-9 month pieces. He is in size 3 diapers, but we are having big problems with him leaking out of every diaper we put him in. Size 4s still seem too big, so we are experimenting with different brands. So far, the Walgreens brand that we really liked with Brianna are definitely a no-go. Pampers are okay. He is wearing a size 3 shoe. Updated to add: At his 6 month check-up, Brenson weighed 19 pounds, 10 ounces (82nd percentile), was 28.5 inches long (97th percentile), and had a head circumference of 17.5 cm (68th percentile).

This month has been full of firsts and changes. Last month, he began sitting up on his own, but this month he has mastered it. He sits on his own to play for long periods of time every day. He even bends down to grab toys and sits back up on his own.

At first, he was very proud of being able to sit on his own. Now, it's just a way of life.

Along with being a great sitter, Brenson is becoming increasingly mobile. He will get up on all fours and rock like he's getting ready to crawl. He also rolls across the floor to get to where he wants to go. This morning, I was in the bathroom getting ready for the day while Brenson was playing on his playmat in the living room. When I came out, I found that he had rolled over to the entertainment center and opened the bottom drawer. He just looked up at me and smiled like he knew that he had done something special :-).

We were really trying to hold off until 6 months to feed him any solids, but he just acted like he was starving all the time. I was really struggling to keep up with him, so instead of stressing about it, we just started giving him one formula bottle a day. At first, he would gag a bit at the bottle, but now he takes it with no problems. Also, we started feeding him rice cereal, a bit of table food (such as mashed potatoes, bananas, chicken and rice, cucumbers, and cantaloupe), and a bit of baby food (green beans, sweet potatoes, and carrots).  He's also had a few wagon wheels. He loves EVERYTHING we feed him, and seriously gets SO EXCITED when we put him in his chair to eat!

We love how his little personality is coming out more and more each day. In this photo, it's like he's saying, "Oh stop, you guys are cracking me up!"

He is so great to smile for the camera!

Brenson's favorite toys right now are his excersaucer, a ball monster thing with a rattle in it, rattles, and crackle books. One of my friends posted a photo on FB of her little one in a homemade ball pit. I thought it was a great idea and couldn't wait to try it. Brenson loved it, too!

Chris took the kids out to visit his grandparents one Saturday in June while I met with some friends to plan a baby shower we're hosting for another friend. Brenson had a great time with his great-grandparents!

We packed up the baby swing about two weeks ago. Brenson hadn't been enjoying it lately, and he was getting too heavy for it. He would have that thing rocking and creaking with all of his kicking and back bowing, so we decided it needed to go away. Sad :-(.

Since Bren is sitting up now, he is participating in Music Class so much more. I LOVE this! He really watches and tries to do what the teacher is doing. This was his first day with an egg shaker, and although he's not using it yet in the photo, later he was shaking along with the class!

The hand drum is his FAVORITE! He is so serious about it during free play time. I love how his hand is blurry in the photo because he was beating the drum so fast!

When we go shopping, Brenson now sits in the cart like a big boy:

Brenson still has not cut teeth, but he drools and chews constantly. If he's anything like his sister, this will go on for MONTHS before a tooth pops through.

He laughs and smiles constantly, but he still has a short temper. He goes from happy to mad in no time, especially if we take something away from him that he wants. He loves to smile at people, but does not like strangers to touch him or get too close. He is wild on the changing table, and we have really started to speak to him in a stern voice to help him learn that acting crazy and kicking is not acceptable behavior during a diaper change. He is very sensitive to our tones and responds well.

In Brenson's five month update, I had mentioned that sleeping had been rough for a few nights. Well, he went right back to sleeping GREAT. However, a few days ago, he started waking in the night again. I think it's another growth spurt, and hopefully it will pass soon. I will say though, he's a great sleeper, but not great at going down by himself. We almost always have to rock him or cuddle him to sleep . . . and we do it so we are feeding the need. I just love the cuddle time! He is still sleeping in a swaddle. We are taking the beginning steps to break him of this, though.

Brenson can be quite serious about things. Whenever there is something new or different, he always has to take it in for a bit before deciding if he likes it or not. He did this with the swimming pool, the ball pit, etc. I love his little serious face!

We have gone swimming a lot this summer, and Brenson LOVES the pool. We taught him to kick and splash, and he has a great time making the water fly. However, now he kicks and splashes during bathtime and it is a mess! Because of this, he's now getting baths in the big tub (in a bath chair). He thinks this is a great change!

Brenson isn't nearly as chatty as Brianna at this age, but he does like to babble and coo and make all kinds of sounds (especially razz). He has said "Momma" a few more times, and he looks right at me when he does. He is definitely a Momma's boy, and I can usually make it better when no one else can.

Happy half-birthday precious baby man. You are a light in our lives!