6 months

Somehow, Aldous is six months old already.  I'm not quite sure how it happened but I blinked and now he's halfway to being a year old.  Next time I blink he's going to be going to kindergarten!

Aldous is generally a happy, smiley baby.  He loves to be entertained by his brother and as soon as he is able to crawl over and grab Eliel's toys, he will.  For as much as Aldous smiles, I think he is going to be a strong-willed little boy.  He definitely knows what he wants and if he doesn't get it, he will let you know... loudly.  That being said, when it comes to sleeping, he is a sweetie.  He sleeps from 7:30pm until usually 5-6am.  Although that's earlier than I'd like to get up, I'm not going to complain (although I typically do at 5am!)  He also goes down for naps and nighttime quite well, usually without a peep.  Bedtime around here is quite wonderful!

At his pediatrician appointment, Aldous weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces which is the 51st percentile. He is also 26.75 inches tall which is the 53rd percentile.  He weighs almost the same as Eliel weighed at 8 months! A lot of it has to do with the fact that he still spits up a lot of what he eats which causes him to eat more.  Perhaps he will level out to Eliel's percentiles once he stop spitting up all the time. The spitting up is definitely getting better, but because Aldo moves a lot more now, he tends to spit up not as often, but in bigger quantities when he does.

Aldo sits up quite well on his own and only tends to fall over when he reaches for something or is getting tired.  Anything that is within his reach will end up in his mouth.  He's crying in the picture below because I pulled the 6 month sign out of his mouth!

Aldous is also enjoying eating... very much.  He continues to be Adam in looks and attitude!  When this little guy is hungry, watch out!  He has eaten avocado, bananas, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, carrots, parsnips, apples, pears, nectarines, broccoli, yogurt and mangoes.  He definitely favors sweet fruits and yogurt.  Unlike Eliel, Aldo also loves to try and feed himself.  From the very first time we fed him, he's tried to grab the spoon and put it in his mouth.  He loves to try and pick up foods from his tray and put them in his mouth.  He enjoys sucking the pulp out of a thick slice of cucumber or biting on a piece of melba toast.  I don't think this kid is going to eat purees for very long!  As soon as he masters the pincher grab, he's going to want to eat everything on his own.

Now that Aldo can sit up, it's a whole new world for him.  He gets very upset if you put him down on his tummy or his back.  It won't be long now before he figures out how to get his knees under him!  We won't be back to the pediatrician until 8 months so we won't be able to see how much he has gained but I know his 7 month post will have lots of new 'tricks' he has learned!  Stay tuned!