He's getting old

My little Cedric is getting big. It seems like he turned 6 months and decided it was time to grow up. 

First, we've been working on standing. If you give him your hands he can pull himself up or you can stand him next to a rail or toy to balance on. He stood here at his toy for over 5 minutes. 

 

Eating has been going much better lately. We've been relaxing a little on the rules and letting him taste whatever it is we are eating. So the other day I was at Panera, eating potato soup, and decided to let hem have a try. Did he like it? Watch for yourself! I finally figured out how to load videos :). 

He always makes that little sour face when he tries something new. Even when he goes for more, we still get a funny face. I think it is the consistency as much as the taste. Now he has tasted lots of sauces, pureed black beans, cream cheese and just about anything mild and soft that I've been eating. I never give him very much but he seems to enjoy the new foods. It has helped him open up and eat his meals at home. Still no teeth though. 

Cedric is also doing a great job grabbing things. He can use his thumbs to grasp tightly, like to grab round balls, my hair, my glasses, my skin . . . if he can reach it, he can grab it. He loves to make this "motorcycle motion" when he sees something he wants and makes a cute grunting noise. 

Cedric also started mumbling on Monday. This is the first audible "mama". He has said the ma sound a few isolated times but he woke up this morning and just couldn't stop talking! So sweet :)

The photo below shows Cedric's first bruise. It is next to his left eye, though you can't really see it. He has been working on crawling and can now get on his hands and knees. He still isn't moving a lot but he is working on it! 

Cedric remembers so much. Every time we walk in the bathroom he wants to play with the faucet (he loves faucets and sticking his hands in the running water). He remembers which books have pop outs he can play with. Also, he loves watching himself in mirrors and grabbing on shiny things. He likes to look out the window and watch the cars go by. He gets really still to listen when the dog barks or when a fire truck goes by. He likes stripes.  So many likes for such a little boy!

Seriously, look at this little man -isn't he growing up so fast? I think it is the nose. It has been morphing from baby button nose to a proper long nose. Keep growing little man, I can't wait to hear what you really think!

6 Months!!!

Happy Half Birthday to our little Cedric! Can you believe 6 months have gone by?

Here are the stats from his appointment on Friday:

Weight: 18 lbs 6 oz - 68th %

Length: 28 in - 95th %

Head Circ: 46 cm - 99th % 

As you can see, he didn't gain much weight and what he did gain all went to his head, literally. The doctor isn't worried about his slowed weight gain. "Long and lean" she said and that next to me it looks completely normal. She did say that we need to start feeding him food on a more regular basis as he will need more calories. He is kinda eating bananas and I mixed in some oatmeal cereal today for the iron. Baby needs to eat some food. We had a small mess one day with some apple baby food. I can't turn my back on this babe for even a minute!

Here he is enjoying some banana. It helps to use different kinds of spoons. 

Cedric is a great little sitter. He can keep his balance when he wants but most of the time he wants to lunge forward. He is working toward crawling. He will raise his little bum in the air, reach, roll, scoot, turn, and move backward in his attempts to crawl. Then he gets frustrated and upset and needs a hug. The doctor thinks he'll be crawling soon, so the baby proofing is starting early!

Above is a good photo of him working on his crawling. He is much happier on his stomach now than he ever was - he has even taken to sleeping on his belly!

As you can see from the two photos above, Cedric also really likes to stick his tongue out. He likes to try and copy us when we make silly faces. 

Cedric is also getting very curious about his surroundings. The other day he was very into the Playstation controller. Bob set the controller down and Cedric did a very good job of moving the joystick around. 

Here is a cute photo of Cedric getting ready to go out. He is just so cute! He is dealing well with the cold, I guess he doesn't know any better!

I can't believe how long and short the past 6th months have been. I am no longer considered a "New Mom" but now a bonafide Mom. Funny how much can change in a mere 6 months!  

Baby's First Blizzard

Last night (and into this morning) Cedric experienced his first blizzard. Winter Storm Nemo (love the name!) was our first blizzard as well, unless you count all of the Blizzards I've eaten from Dairy Queen. When I was pregnant I drove 25 min to get a cappuccino chocolate chunk Blizzard and a chicken tenders basket. I digress . . .

Here is the "before" picture I took yesterday at about 10 AM. 

The snow had just started to fall. Bob worked from home on Friday as the T was closing at 3:30 that afternoon and the Governor of Massachusetts banned all road traffic after 4 PM. I went to the grocery store on Thursday (along with everyone else in the Boston area) and we were all ready to make homemade pizzas and wait out the storm. 

Here is a look outside our door around 9 PM, the snow was probably about 6 inches high. 

Here is the "after" photo. The snow is over half way up the fence. I'm not sure how much snow we officially got but I'd guess it is 20" - 26" in our yard. 

The snow was higher than Siena's back. It came up to Bob's knees in the shallowest areas. Needless to say, Siena had a hard time deciding if she could relieve herself on this much snow.

Traffic was suspended until 4 PM Saturday, so people were walking around in the streets, assessing the snow. There really wasn't much damage to the trees, which is surprising because the winds during the storm were as high and higher than Hurricane Sandy. I guess the hurricane knocked down all of the dead trees and branches. 

We each took turns shoveling the drive. I accidentally agreed to helping with the snow removal in our lease. Whoops. 

The snow was up to my waist and higher on the drive way. Needless to say, Bob and I are both very tired and are planning to be sore tomorrow. 

We tried to do a little photo shoot with Cedric but it was too cold to stay out for very long. I did want him to see the aftermath of the blizzard, even if he had no idea what he was looking at. 

Cedric wasn't phased by the snow, I think it was too plain to get his attention. Now if it had fallen red or orange he may have noticed it, those seem to be his favorite colors right now. 

PS. Thanks for the snowsuit Mom, it has really come in handy!

All in all, the storm didn't affect us much. We don't really go anywhere anyway. We never lost power and are used to staying home all weekend. Thanks to everyone who called and texted today, I haven't felt this popular since August!

Cedric's First Bubble Bath - In Pictures

Bubbles?

As head of this bathtub and ruler of the bathroom I decree that bubbles are interesting. I will now be cute for the remainder of bath time. 

My new rubber ducky also looks interesting.

Is there something on my face?

Whoa. The bubbles can fly through the air? This is serious. I do not understand how this is happening and I'm not sure I approve. 

Comfy cozy in my frog towel. Is it too early to start protesting bedtime?

Cedric's First Meal - In Pictures

Sweet Potato? That sounds interesting. Is it a kind of milk? 

I guess it looks okay, I do put most things in my mouth right now anyway . . .

Umm, I'm not so sure about this . . .

Why Mom? Why did you put that gross stuff in my mouth? Don't you know I eat milk?

I'm on to you. Don't think I'm going to let that spoon in my mouth again! I'm not angry, just disappointed. 

So far we have tried sweet potato, avocado, oatmeal cereal and straight milk. He hates the chair, he hates the bib, he gets sad when he sees the spoon in my hand. We are going to give it a rest for a week or so and then try again. Right now I'm trying to make the chair a happy place. Baby steps.