More eating.

I know when I was born everyone said, "What a good eater he is!" In fact my large size often prompts the comment from strangers: "Well he sure doesn't miss a meal." Hmmm... is that rude? I'll leave that for you to decide. Anyway, this blog entry is about what I'm eating, or not eating. So at the wise old age of 6.5 months, I can say that I do love to eat cereal, formula, and my vegetables (except for the nasty peas). The past two weeks mommy has been trying to give me fruit. To her surprise, I do not like it very much. I can tolerate the peaches, but bananas and applesauce are just awful. I can manage a bite or two, but then I have to spit it out. I sure hope she figures it out soon. I don't like fruit!! Today mommy let me try feeding myself a cracker. I'm not sure how I feel about that. It was fun feeding myself but it didn't taste all that great. I kept trying to share it with Abby, but mommy wouldn't let me.

Doctor update

I'm a big boy. Duh! The doctor confirmed what we all know. I am big and strong. I officially weigh 22 pounds and 10 ounces (97%tile) and am 27.25 inches long (75%tile). He also said that I am ahead on all my milestones. He was very impressed with how well I can sit on my own and stand with help, with how good I am at making noises and babbling, and especially with my two teeth. Of course I had to remind him that my parents are both Ph.D.'s! Of course I'm a fast learner. On the down side, the doctor did say that I don't need that middle of the night bottle any more. Hmm... I don't know what I think about that. I love nighttime snacking. And of course, I did get 4 nasty shots again. But this time it really wasn't so bad. Nothing that my thumb and hugs from mommy couldn't cure. So to sum up, I'm a big healthy baby.

Company

This weekend Grandma and Grandpa came to visit me! I had so much fun playing and talking with them. Mommy and Daddy even left us to visit on our own. Of course I was on my best behavior. Grandma taught me to make a neat wa-wa noise with my voice. That was really cool. I showed my teachers at school today and they all loved it.

Here's a picture of me making the wa-wa noise.

Love

The first time I saw it I knew I had to have it. Isn't it a beautiful yellow squeaky toy? I will work all day, creeping across the living room just to touch it. Mommy and daddy keep saying "No, that's Abby's". But I don't understand English yet. All I know is that it must be mine!

Rosy cheeks

I think babies are supposed to have rosy cheeks. Mine are so rosy they hurt. Apparently rubbing drool all over your face all day long is not good for the complexion.

Rub a dub dub

Here's me in the tub!

I've been taking baths in the big tub for a while now. I love the water and I get special bath toys, like my little blue whale.

Eating, eating, eating

Every night it seems like I'm trying some new and exotic food. It makes dinner time very interesting. Breakfast and lunch could use a little spicing up. Every day its the same old cereal.

This morning I got an extra treat. Practicing drinking water from my sippy cup. I think I'm a natural at it. I only spilt about half the water.

New Toy

Mommy and Daddy are so good to me. They get me all kinds of fancy toys. Here are some pictures of me with my new favorite one. Amazing! It is both a hat and a bowl.

Colors

I love books. This one is supposed to teach me about colors, but I can't figure it out. Red, blue, and green all taste the same to me.

TGIF

Mom says that Friday night is party time. So we partied it up tonight on the living room floor. Now that is a good time.

Green beans

I thought that maybe all green food was disgusting, but today I tried green beans and they were pretty good. I only pretended to gag once and I'm not quite sure if it was because of their taste or their color. Hmm... only time will tell.

Toys

I love playing in my bouncy toy. It is great for jumping and licking. I feel sad for mommy and daddy because they don't have one.

I hate peas.

They are disgusting. For two nights now mommy has been trying to feed me nasty green peas. I do try to eat them because I love mommy so much, but I don't think I will be able to do it again. I am very good at acting like I am going to gag if she tries to put the spoon in my mouth. I hope she figures it out and sticks to cereal or squash. Mmmm, squash is yummy. Anyway, I will have to spend the rest of the night chewing on this orange squishy thing to get the awful pea taste out of my mouth!

Having fun

I haven't figured out how to clap my hands yet. So instead, when I get excited I like to flap my arms like a bird. You should try it, it really is fun! Above is a picture of me in mid-flap. Mommy also figured out how to record a few seconds of video with the camera. Hopefully you can check it out below. Too bad there is no sound. I swear I was saying lots of da-da-da's.

Lunch time

I know that I'm not so great at holding my own bottle at dinner time. However, after watching mommy feed me my cereal for a month now, I thought maybe I could give that a try. Put spoon in bowl then put spoon in mouth. Simple right? Wrong! She makes it look so easy. I guess I still have a lot to learn about fine motor control.

6 months old!

What a month! I celebrated my first Christmas and New Years. I tasted food for the first time, just sweet potatoes and carrots so far. I've also learned to feed Abby dog baby food from my hand! I got laryngitis and my first two teeth. I can finally roll across the room if I need to. I can sit on my own easily and I'm getting pretty good at standing too. I like to say da-da-da, especially when someone says it to me first. I smile and laugh all the time, mostly when people smile at me and when mom and dad give me kisses. Speaking of kisses, mommy gave me lots of extra ones today because I am such a big boy. (22 pounds at my last weigh in!) It is good to be me.

Dinner time

Its no secret that I love to eat. Dinner has just been one surprise after another lately. I've gone from just formula to rice cereal, then oat cereal, sweet potatoes, and carrots. I love my high chair and I love getting to eat like a big person. The next step I think is feeding myself. I know how the bottle works, but my hands just won't cooperate. Maybe if I keep practicing...

First word

Today I surprised mommy and daddy with my first word. Here is a transcript of our conversation for your reading pleasure.

Daddy: "Hey Cole. Who am I?"

Me: "Da da."

Pretty cool huh. Of course I can't actually talk yet, but I don't think they know that.

The good old days

Today I found my pacifier from when I was just a brand new baby. Turns out it feels nice to chew on it with my new teeth. I would never seriously use it now that I have my thumb, but it did make me a little nostalgic. Sometimes it feels like I was just born yesterday.

Food finally

This week I got to eat sweet potatoes. I've been very jealous of all the kids at my school that get to eat other things besides milk and cereal. So I was really excited to eat something new. Unfortunately, I now understand what "don't believe the hype" means. Sweet potatoes aren't THAT great, jeez. Maybe they are an acquired taste? I did eat them of course, but I wasn't that impressed. My cereal is tastier. Anyway, I will try them again and maybe I'll change my mind.

In other news, my second tooth popped out today. It is the bottom front right one. Now that I've got my two bottom teeth, I think I should skip the baby food and go right to pizza!

Nap time

Today I am having lots of fun watching mommy pack up the Christmas decorations. I will miss the pretty tree lights and dancing to Christmas music, but mommy promised that we will do it all again soon. After watching her work so hard it is nice to take a break and read a book.

Standing

Standing is my new thing. My legs are sooo strong, I can't help but use them. Whenever mommy tries to sit me down I just straighten out my body like a board and then she has to help me stand! It is a great trick. Now that my legs are in shape, I really need to start working on my arms.

Shhhh, don't tell daddy.

Today I went to visit Aunt Ali and Uncle Dan. I got to meet my Grandma-in-law Kathy and their cat, Tigerlily. I went to visit, but I also went to watch the Gator football game. Mommy says that I am a Gator. I'm not sure what that means. She has also said that I am a Buckeye, a baby, a dork, and a sweetie-pie. I guess I am a lot of things! Anyway, Aunt Ali dressed me up in a Gator jersey, but I don't think it helped as they lost the game.