6 months

Our big boy is 6 months old! He’s a great kid. My only complaint is his fingernails are like razor blades when they get long, but luckily we have cute little Japanese scissors that Vida gave us, so the only barrier to keeping them short is our laziness.

Damon had his 6 month check up a little early so he could get all his shots done before going to Costa Rica, where we celebrated his half-year birthday. He seems to have slimmed down a little since his last visit (or maybe it’s because we went 2 weeks early) because now he’s down to 75% for weight (19 lbs 2 oz), which matches perfectly with his 75% height. He’s becoming more fun and charming every day. He flashes big smiles in response to funny faces and giggles when tickled. Like Riley when she was his age, he prefers to standing to sitting and is getting better at walking while holding on to our hands. He’s becoming super grabby with his hands… leading to a few spilled beers and glasses of milk before we finally wised up to his new ways. I think he’s still relatively mellow, though he has become pretty chatty. As long as he has something to chew on or look at, he’s happy. Especially if that something is his pacifier, which he loves to hold on to and gnaw on. So far he’s still a good sleeper… I really hope that lasts!

[Walking with Sage]

[Damon loves to swing at the park]

It’s too bad the sound is messed up on this video, his laugh is so cute. I was pushing him on the swing and he was having a good time… then Riley wanted to push him. She started jerking the swing back and forth sideways and I was telling her to be more careful when Damon started cracking up. This video is after they’ve been at it for a while so he’s not quite so excited anymore, but he’s still having a good time.

Rolling! I forgot to mention he rolls! When I was pregnant with Damon I worried that the little milestones wouldn’t be as exciting this time around since we’ve been through it before with Riley… but no worries, it is just as exciting the second time around. I’m not sure why, but watching Damon roll over is incredibly entertaining. The first few times he did it we were cheering him on and applauding when he landed on his stomach. What can I say, being a parent makes you do embarrassing things (like all those ridiculous faces and sounds we make to get him to laugh). He doesn’t really like being on his stomach, even though he likes rolling there. It’s a problem at night because he likes to sleep on his side, but gets really mad when he rolls too far.

[I love this picture. This captures exactly the kind of baby Damon is. So happy.]