Happy Six-Month Birthday, Joshua!

Joshua continues to be a very happy, playful, social baby. A few of his recent milestones:

1. I have unconfirmed suspicions that Joshua has rolled from front to back, although there is always a caveat. For instance, Katie sometimes flips him over so it's hard to know if he has rolled without help or not. :-)

2. Joshua can now sit unassisted for several seconds at a time without toppling.

3. Joshua now has two of his bottom teeth (first one on Aug. 17, second one on Sept. 8).

4. Joshua started solid foods on Aug. 16. As you can see from the photo below, he wasn't too thrilled to begin with. But boy did that change quickly.

He has now had (in chronological order): rice cereal, peas, avocado, Ritz cracker crumbs, carrots, pears, sweet potatoes, green beans, and peaches. So far he's not a huge fan of the fruits and beans. He can't get enough of cracker crumbs or anything else resembling Mommy's food. For that matter, he can't get enough of food, period, even the ones he doesn't seem to like.

Which brings me to... The things Joshua loves at Six Months!

1. FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!

Friends, this boy can EAT! I'm talking 10 ounces of jarred food a day, even when I've added rice cereal to all of it. He just goes and goes. I'm going to need to start making baby food in bulk. I was so happy to find bulk packages of baby food at Sam's the other day and I already need to buy more.

2. Joshua loves MOMMY!!!
I can carry him in this baby carrier for hours and he is content as can be. It's often how we do naps while we're out and about.

3. Joshua loves TOYS!
Joshua is learning how to grab items and move them around. It's funny to watch him try to stick a pacifier in his mouth (it hasn't been a successful quest yet). While he always prefers to be in Mommy's arms, he is also content to play in his Exersaucer for a little while as long as I'm not far away.

People warned me that one challenge of having two kids would be when they both wanted to play with the same toys. And yes, sometimes Katie cries because I won't let her steal whatever Joshua is playing with. But other times, if he's crying, she'll often bring him toys -- even her own toys -- to try to cheer him up. She really is a fantastic big sister.

Anyway, back to Joshua...

4. Joshua loves ALL PEOPLE!

Yes, if you're willing to hold him or give him attention, he will reward you with the biggest smiles. He is a social little guy and loves to play games and tease. He enjoys chewing on his grandma's chin and having me blow kisses into his tummy. He loves pulling on Katie's hair, and thankfully she thinks it's funny too.

Here's a photo of Joshua getting love from his grandparents, sister, and cousin at the beach house in August:

Joshua's being baptized on Sunday morning at the 11 am service; hope some of you can make it. On Monday we'll have his 6-month appointment and I can send you updated measurements. A few weeks ago he was nearly 18 lbs. I guess that makes sense with that huge appetite!

Happy 6-month birthday, Joshua!