Six Months

Wow. Six months in, and what I'm thinking is this: babies aren't babies for long!

"Mmmm, grass! Yummy!"

He can sit up, roll over and make a concerted effort to propel himself along the floor on his tummy towards whatever he spies and wants to chew on.

So far we have not found anything he does not want to chew on. Except for cauliflower. He picked that up and as soon as it touched his mouth he started to cry. I can understand it; I hate cauliflower myself!

Banana, though, is a different story. Tomato is another favourite food. And broccoli. He tried bread for the first time yesterday and didn't seem too impressed, but he did give it a go. Asher also loves to drink water - mostly he spills it down his front, but he does try to drink it, and with some success (especially if I help him hold the cup!)

We've really been enjoying the sunshine. Whatever mood Asher is in, taking him out for a walk seems to cheer him up (or if it's near nap time, send him to sleep).

It was so hot today that we turned the baby bath into a makeshift paddling pool. Ash loved splashing in the cold water. Of course he tried his usual bath time trick of pulling the plug out. Guess why? That's right - he wants to chew on it.

I'm delighted to say, though, that in the last few days Asher has begun to show a little bit of interest in shaking things as well as chewing on them. Now I know why all baby toys rattle! He also enjoys making 'bbbb' and 'vvvvv' noises. And blowing bubbles. Preferably with food in his mouth. Listening to Mummy and Daddy make stupid noises is another favourite activity. He still loves all his old favourite songs, and is starting to giggle when we tickle him.

Reading to Asher is becoming more challenging as his reach increases. However, if we can achieve a comfortable reading position in which Asher grabbing the book and stuffing it in his mouth is impossible, he does enjoy a good story. He recognises some favourites (Go Baby Go still elicits a huge smile) and will usually pay attention to a whole baby book or most of a picture book. I occasionally read a bedtime story, but he knows that milk comes after a bath so he's not usually in the mood for reading then.

I'm glad to say that Asher's cold has finished now. He did not enjoy having his nose wiped! It disrupted his sleep a bit too. The normal pattern these days is bath at seven, followed by milk then bed. It takes between 10 minutes (very good day) and an hour (exhaustingly bad day) to get him to go to sleep, usually by giving him the dummy repeatedly. Then he usually wakes up at about 10 or 11 for a feed, then two or three more wake-ups during the night - and he thinks 'morning' is any time from 5:30 on. Not quite sleeping through the night, but this is a huge improvement on how things were a couple of months ago.

"What's that? You think I'm going to stay still while you take photographs of me?"

This baby is so determined! Determined to move under his own steam. Determined to stay awake at nap time. Determined to grab everything and then taste it. Determined to coax smiles out of everybody he meets. Determined to experience the world in any way he can. He is not the kind of baby who will sit still and stare at you and gurgle. Asher is happy and fun - he's a joy - and he makes me laugh every single day. Love you, baby boy!