Mason - 6 Months

It's a gloomy, rainy day today, but it's Mason's 6-month birthday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home to a house full of relatives and I was in a sleep-deprived blur for two weeks.
Of course, he is still growing like a fiend! We had his well-baby check up and immunizations today and he is officially 20 lbs, 2 oz and 28" long (head is 17", I think). (When he was born he was 8 lbs, 8 oz, and 20" long, so he's right up there in the 92nd and 88th percentiles, respectively).
He has continued to astound us with his skills - pretty much sitting by himself except for the occasional helping hand, rolling all over the place (which he does even more exuberantly when naked - hmm??), his new guttural laugh that sounds like a machine gun, bringing his hands together and grabbing for objects, especially paper!, and expressing his vocal dexterity with everything from a whispery whimper to a chest-heaving yelp (he's doing that right now, actually). I think he's actually aware of 3-dimensionality now, which is interesting and knows what cause and effect is - this morning he was grabbing at his mobile and noticing how he could get the rest of it to move when he shook it. He is starting to also realize that he can make noise and now shakes his rattle-ly toys vigorously to emit sounds. Wait until he discovers pots and pans!
The big event this month was that we started him on solid foods - though it was not as exciting as we had hoped. He wasn't really into it and after trying rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and bananas (definitely NOT!), we decided to take a break. I just tried again this week to a much better reception. He cracks me up when he looks at me with his big bright eyes as he churns this textured food around in his mouth for the first time, learning how to swallow and not to choke it. He seems to really dig it now and eagerly opens his mouth for more. He LOVES drinking, though. After I feed him a little bit, I give him a small glass of water and he eagerly gulps it down (though, also occasionally choking). I've decided to try to skip the sippy cup stage and just go straight to adult cups. I know it might be a messy prospect, but hopefully a way to by-pass the constant-sippy-cup-clingy stage I see so many other babies and toddlers in (much like pacifiers).
We are looking forward to his first Christmas (LOTS of paper!) and seeing him try more foods this next month. Also - with my new job, we will be learning how to adjust our schedules around work, nap time, meetings, etc. No doubt, he will be a good sport and find new ways of entertaining himself. Which, I think he is done doing for now, so I must sign off...until next time.