Happy Half

Aaron turned half a year (6 weeks ago)!  We celebrated by having a half birthday party for him.  We invited Brett's brother, Tyler, and his girlfriend, Katy, and had a great time!

As per tradition, we made half a cake.

And Aaron is the first of the kids to get to try some.  (I didn't let Emmy have wheat until almost 1 because that's what the said was best to reduce allergies, and I held off sugar for Abby until almost a year.  But now they say it's best to give babies a lot of variety, so Aaron eats almost everything!)

He wasn't too sure of the flavor, but he sure made a mess!

And for comparison's sake, here are all three kids on their half birthdays:

Emmy:

 Abby:

Aaron:

 I used to think Abby and Aaron were twins born two years apart, but now I think Aaron has Emmy's (and Brett's as a baby) longer face shape with Abby's features. 

Aaron certainly has the girls beat in weight!  He was 20 lb 8 oz at his 6 month appointment while Emmy was 16 lb 13 oz and Abby was 15 lb 12 oz.  We switched out his infant car seat for a convertible car seat right after his half birthday, and the girls didn't reach the weight limit until well after a year.  I'm amazed at how different he's growing when I'm doing all the same things as I did with the girls.  In fact, at 6 months, he was just barely starting to eat solid foods well, so that 20 1/2 lbs came purely from breast milk!  I'm interested to see if he keeps packing on the weight once he starts moving around.  As of now, he loves to sit up and play with toys and makes no attempt to roll back to front.  I'm certainly not complaining because he entertains himself and I don't have to worry about what he's getting into!  I'm trying to spend a lot of time weeding the yard now while he stays on a blanket and Abby rides her trike around the sidewalks.  This is my golden opportunity! :)

At 7 1/2 months, Aaron:
-loves to feed himself finger foods (bread, noodles, fruit bits) and picked up puffs like a pro two days ago at Nana's (he's got a modified pincer grasp that's working pretty well for him)
-doesn't like to be fed baby food but will eat it if he gets a turn to gnaw the spoon every once in a while.
-is teething with a vengeance and chews on everything but is still toothless.  He is often on ibuprofen and can gum the chewable tablets (3/4 of one) which is much less messy than the liquid stuff.
-LOVES to sit up and play with toys.  I put a basket of toys next to him on a blanket and he will play for, seriously, 30 minutes!  It's nice to be able to read with Emmy or put Abby down for her nap without holding a grabby baby.
-is super smiley.  He is almost always smiling, and if he's not smiling, it's really easy to get him grinning.  A fake sneeze will do it every time, even if he's grumpy.  Every Sunday I have someone tell me  how cute Aaron was in Sacrament Meeting and how much they love his big smile.  He's a big distraction for everyone sitting behind us, I'm sure.  Add his happy squeals and screams, and sometimes I wonder if anyone can hear the speaker. :)
-is battling eczema just like Abby was.  His hasn't gotten quite as bad because I know how to treat it, but it is a constant battle.  I'm hopeful it will get better with the summer and that he will outgrow it like Abby has.  His scalp is pretty flaky and itches, and he inflicted a few wounds from trying to scratch it at night.  My sister suggested putting socks on his hands at night, and that has helped a lot.  Poor kid!
-is very good at putting himself to sleep for naps and night, but still wakes up more than he should at night.  He goes to bed around 7, wakes up at 1 or 2, again around 5, and then is up for the day between 7 and 7:30.  (That's a good night.  Sometimes he adds an 11 and a 3 wake up.)  He naps at 9:30 and then again at 1:30.  Those naps used to be 2-3 hours, but now they are 1 1/2 hours. 
-wears cloth diapers in the daytime and disposables for bed and when we travel.  I really love how well the cloth diapers keep in blowouts, and I'm very glad I get to use them with him.  I only got to use them for 4 months with Abby because of her skin issues, so this way they are more than paying for themselves. 
-is starting to babble and said a very distinct "mama" today.  Usually the ma-ma sound only comes out when he's tired and fussing, but I'll take what I can get. :)  He also does ba and a few da's.
-is a very happy, easy going baby who brings a lot of sunshine and smiles to our family!  We love him so much and certainly wouldn't want to imagine life without him!