1/2 Year Old!

My baby boy turned 6 months this week! 

He still thinks sitting is dumb and is not quite crawling.  If allowed to, he would stand all day.

He got TWO teeth, which is two more than he needs in my opinion.  His overall mood has improved greatly since they finally cut through though.  We’re done with that now, right?

He had his first taste of “solids” (otherwise known as fairly liquid food that just happens to not be breastmilk) yesterday.  He was initially curious though suspicious of our motives.  We debuted with sweet potatoes.  Some made it into his mouth.  Some made it all over his face and hands and diaper and chair.  We believe a small amount made it into his tummy.  Curiosity quickly transitioned to sorrow, anger, and all-out crying. We’ve tried several more times and I believe he and Kenny finally had a positive experience this afternoon. 

He’s become a bit more attached to Kenny and I and a bit wearier of outsiders.  He’s generally happy to grin at people across the room while in our arms, but hand him over and he often makes them feel like they smell bad or something.  We did test him in that area quite a bit though this month.  He’s seen all of his grandparents and even made it to the West coast. 

I, on the other hand, am beginning to feel increasingly like I am losing my mind.  My memory is virtually non-existent.  I don’t know if it’s the weird sleep or the constant changing focus of my attention.  At work, I basically get up every two hours to pump.  At home, I drop whatever I’m doing when he cries.  Maybe pregnancy was just preparing me for this phase.  The other day I stopped a coworker and asked her where she had gotten her shoes because they are exactly what I need for my friend Molly’s wedding.  Apparently I had stopped her on a previous occasion and we had discussed my borrowing them.   I had no memory of this.  Oh well.  Who needs clarity anyway?  Especially when you have a little monkey like this.

Let's all move to Oregon

We spent most of last weekend in Portland, Oregon for our friend Lindsey's wedding and wedding-related activities. I was last there 10 years ago and it's even more beautiful and wonderful than I remembered it. Our friend Wayne's parents were kind enough to allow us to invade their home. They even got some of Wayne's things down from the attic for Eli to play with. This is his first ride in a highchair, and perhaps the longest length of time he's put up with sitting (generally prefers to stand).

On the second day we were there, Lindsey and TJ planned a wine tour complete with bus for a group of about 40 of us. Oregon pinot noirs are among my favorite wines. Splitting and skipping many of the tastings was a bit rough, but the outing was awesome nonetheless. Views like this were around every corner:

We learned that Eli has an embarrassingly accurate knowledge of what to do with glasses of alcohol. Regretfully, I do not have the picture wherein he attempted to fit his whole head in the glass.

Later that week, we visited a few microbreweries (breweries and wineries are just like museums, only tastier). I guess Eli is just in that grab everything and put it in your mouth stage.

After partying all week, some of us found it hard to stay awake for the wedding. There was a live band playing a few feet from him, but he remained fairly dead to the world throughout. He even allowed himself to be passed from lap to lap so mama and daddy could get a few dances in. This is Eli in one of his brief moments of wakefulness during the reception. I believe he awoke to express surprise or disgust with the band's song choice.

As we were leaving, the bride even let him chew on her French-manicured finger tip. That's love.

While waiting for our flight in the Portland airport, Kenny finally did it. He ate a Baconator.

So, let's do it. Let's all move to Portland. Part of the reason we moved to Chicago was to be closer to family so we can't just pick up and move to Portland--but we can if you all come with us!

A new cry

My industrious little baby has found a new reason to cry this week. He's taken to crying because he can't crawl. Patience is not currently his strong suit.

He's been happily playing in his crib. Three times now I've left him in there wiggling on his back and playing with his feet and come back two minutes later to find him on the other side of the crib, sort of up on all fours and pissed because he can't go forward. He looks up at me and then drops his head and cries some more. I really don't know what to do in this situation. I know he knows how to flip himself back onto his back, and he's not going to learn how to crawl if I pick him up with these cries. He just gets so sad and frustrated. I've taken to cheering him on, but I don't think he understands the encouragement.