Happy Half-Birthday Cannon Ball!

Cannon, 6 months

My Little Canny,

You have made it a half of a year already!!  You weighed in at 16lb, 1oz and measured 27 inches at your doctor appointment yesterday.  This puts you in the 25th percentile for weight, 75th for height and 95+ for hear circumference (all the same as last month)!  I never thought I would mother a bean pole but as a Taufer/Murdock, 25th percentile definitely makes the bean pole cut.  The doctor was a little bit concerned that you have only gained 15oz in the last 6 weeks and suggested several ways to help you put on a little more weight this coming month.  We also learned that your iron count is a little bit low but that should also be corrected with your increase in solid foods.  Your little green eyes lit up when she suggested that I allow you to 'eat until you are no longer interested'.  We have been on this regimen for two days now; your gaping mouth and attempts to get me to shovel faster indicate that you approve.  Your favorite food still seems to be bananas but we have to take a short break from them until we can loosen your little digestive system up a bit.  We have added prune juice, pureed prunes and an increase in pitted fruits to try and get you a little more regular since you have only been pooping every five days.  If this doesn't work (though I am 98% sure it will) we will try Karo syrup, then would need to take you to a GI specialist to see what we can do.  This is a problem that has been around since you were born but we are now taking a more proactive approach to make sure you are as happy and comfortable as possible.

I can tell when you are hungry because when you see a bottle you start kicking your little legs as fast as you can and wailing like you haven't been fed in weeks.  Sometimes I wait an extra second or two before giving you the bottle just to watch those legs go - you are so strong!  I can't set you down for no more than a couple of seconds before I catch you rolling and army crawling to wherever you'd like to be.  Normally this movement is motivated by Tank or one of his toys, which he always takes away from you right as you get your little hands on it.  Most of the time your army crawling is a lot of arm extensions and body dragging but yesterday I came around the corner just in time to watch you take your first two crawling strides!  We're talking hands and knees, belly off the floor, back straight, real baby crawling!  I was so proud that I got excited and yelled and you immediately plopped down in place.  Watch out world! 

In addition to moving around you are also sitting pretty well on your own and have a talent for grabbing things and winding them around your fingers very quickly.  Your favorites are hair, necklaces, cords, and earrings.  You also like to experience lots of different textures.  The changing table is up against the wall in your nursery and every time I change your diaper you try to roll over so that you can scratch the wall.  I don't know if you like the feeling or the sound but you are very persistent.

When you are not interested in whatever is going on around you, you love to yell.  It is not a happy noise or a sad noise, it is just a very LOUD very flat yell, like you are discovering your voice.  These yelling fits can last anywhere from 2-30 minutes and are one of my guilty pleasures.  I should probably try and stop you from yelling when someone nearby is trying to have an adult conversation but I normally just chuckle and wait for you to breathe and start again.  After the yelling fits there is often a lot of lip smacking or talking.  Your favorite/only words are 'mama' and 'baba'.  You don't know what they mean yet but let's just say I'm not surprised they are your two favorite words, especially with Daddy working overtime right now.  I love to hear you say 'mama' over and over.

When it is time for bed, around 7:30, you normally go down happily and sometimes even allow me to snuggle you for a couple of minutes.  We are still swaddling you to sleep but I think that will end soon.  You like to sleep from about 7:30pm-6:30 or 7am with a couple of sporadic naps during the day.  Typically your naps during the day add up to about 3 or 4 hours but there is hardly any consistency left to them.  You always take a nap around 8:30am but then your schedule is up to you.  I respond to eye rubbing and that seems to work great.  We still let you nap with your binki but you go to bed at night without it.  The doctor suggested that I try to transfer your dependency on your binki to another comfort object, like a blanket or stuffed animal, but I would much rather have to destroy a binki and deal with the consequences than have to carry Mr. Buns with us to the grocery store for the next year.  I promise not to let you be one of those kids that has to take it out to eat cake at their 4th birthday party. 

Your favorite part of the day is the morning.  I come get you when you wake up and feed you a bottle.  Once you are done eating we play on the floor and I read you two books.  Sometimes you listen and sometimes you don't but we always enjoy story time together.  You love to wiggle around and flash that gummy smile every time we make eye contact.  People have been telling me you are teething since you were 2.5 months old so at this point, I'll believe it when I see it.  And I hope that's not any time soon!  Whether it is your toothless grin or your sonatas of yelling, I cannot get enough of my Baby Cannon.  You make me excited to wake up every morning.  I am so grateful to be able to spend my days in your tiny company.

All of my love,

Mom