Baby Love!: Halfway to ONE!

I can't believe Drew celebrated his half-birthday just a few days ago. What a big boy he is getting to be!

7-27-11 6 months old today!

Drew's 6 month well visit is coming up in 2 weeks and we can't wait to see how much he's grown. I feel like he's gone through a big growth spurt within the last month or so. He's starting to get baby chub, which is so cute since he's been so lean since birth. We're not sure how much he weighs, but he just graduated to size 4 diapers and his 6 month clothes are pretty snug. He's started wearing 9 month clothes and they fit pretty well, just a little loose, which is fine....gives him room to grow!!!

Look at that belly!

A few weeks ago, my in-laws came to visit and my mother-in-law was showing me some pictures of Bill and his brother, Tony, when they were babies. Drew is definitely a Pantuso, as he takes after both Bill and his brother when they were babies! One picture that Bill's mom showed me was of Tony when he was 6 months old. He was posing with half of a sheet cake for his "half birthday" party.

I loved the idea and decided that Bill and I would do the same for Andrew. I baked a funfetti cake and decorated half of it for Andrew to enjoy at his "party". He had so much fun playing with the frosting and digging his fingers into the cake. It was so funny watching him. He even managed to sneak a couple licks of the frosting, which he didn't seem too fond of (good thing!). I wanted to go all out and have him wear a party hat and a special onesie, but hubs reeled me in, telling me to save it for his "real" birthday. :)

Admiring his cake and so excited to dig in!

Sticky frosting!

Mashing his hands together

First taste not so bad

On second thought, I don't think I really like this stuff!

There are so many things that Drew is doing now that we could have never fathomed he would be doing months ago. He's in that great stage where his personality is shining and we are so enjoying him!

Things Drew likes these days:

EATING! This boy loves every kind of food we've thrown his way (with the exclusion of rice cereal, which he still detests). We've tried all the stage 1 solid foods and have just started some stage 2 foods, which he is taking down like a champ. He also has started eating oatmeal and bananas in the morning, which he loves. He is such a good eater, often opening his mouth wide and grunting as if to say, "Hurry up, mommy! Get that food in my belly!" Since we've started him on solids, we've really noticed him start to fill out in the weight department. As of about 3 weeks ago, we also started giving him formula exclusively (yay! Mommy made it 5 1/2 months breastfeeding!). He drinks about 29-33oz. each day and loves his "baba". He holds it all by himself like a big boy, even tilting it up when it is almost gone. I've also started introducing him to the sippy cup, filled with a little bit of water. He doesn't seem to understand that he has to hold it and tip it and suck differently all at the same time. When I hold it for him, he can get the water out, but otherwise he doesn't yet understand.

Open wide!

HIS BATH! Drew loves, loves, LOVES his bath. I thought he liked it before, but lately he just squeals with enjoyment every other night when I give him a bath. He's started splashing the water with his hands and feet, and he just recently realized that it was so funny when mommy got wet from his splashes. I can't help but laugh myself because he just giggles and laughs so much when he splashes me.

Bath time= Splash time!

HIS JUMPEROO! We debated about whether to get Drew an exersaucer or a jumper, opting for the jumper, since it was just like the exersaucer, but with jumping action. We've been putting him in it for the last few weeks and he was ok with it, but didn't really "get" it. He would play with the toys, but would get frustrated and cry, wanting to get out after only a few minutes. A few days ago, I tried him in the jumper again. All of a sudden, everything seemed to "click" into place and he just started jumping like crazy, laughing the entire time! Now, it is by far his favorite toy. It's so funny watching him jump and let out squeals of joy at the same time.

Jump, jump, jump!

He also loves eating his fingers (no teeth yet!), riding in the car, taking strolls, being tickled, playing peek-a-boo, and sitting up and playing with his toys. Just like the jumper, all of a sudden one day he just decided he would sit up. He's so strong, bearing weight on his legs and wanting to stand on our laps or when we play on the floor. Part of me feels like he'll be standing before he crawls! He still is rolling over really well from his tummy to his back and can get about 3/4 of the way there from his back to his tummy. It is really amazing to watch him acquire these new skills. It just seems like he is a sponge, soaking up new knowledge every day!