Six Months Old

Jared is six months old! Holy cow! How can he be that old already? He is growing up way too fast. He continues to be a very sweet, happy baby. He is testing out his vocal range and has been very talkative of late. He loves to talk to his toys, or scream at them. It is pretty comical to listen to. When he gets excited all of his limbs start moving at the same time and he gets the biggest grins. It is so darn cute. I love his smiles.

He has started taking more of an interest in his brothers and the dogs. Evan especially loves to talk to him and sing to him. Jack likes to talk to him, but only for short spurts. Daniel doesn't pay him as much attention as he used to, but makes it clear that Jared is his favorite. That is probably because Jared doesn't mess with his toys yet.

Jared is a very curious baby. He tries to grab anything that comes near him. He'll grab my drink if I'm holding him, or reach up and pull on the brim of my hat. He has discovered his feet and likes to grab those too. He has started rolling, slowly, across spaces. I set him down on one side of the family room floor the other day and walked out. When I came back he was on the other side of the room.
We set up the Jumperoo for him this past month. He loves it! He will jump and jump and jump. His feet almost look like a ballet dancer's when he pushes off the ground. I keep trying to get a video of him jumping, but he always stops when I get the camera out. He also is very good at closing his eyes mid-photo. He gets that from his Opa Jones.

We have continues trying to feed him rice cereal. He still doesn't like it. I even tried a different kind (oatmeal) and tried mixing it with apple juice and formula. Still no luck. I have gotten him to eat it with a syringe and the last try he fussed when it wasn't coming fast enough. Maybe it is time to try and have him eat from the spoon again.
He has been having these shaking episodes, almost like he is shivering, every once in a while. I took him to see the doctor about it. Dr. Allred said he wasn't concerned, but to watch him and bring him back in if he started jerking during the episodes. So far, so good. He has had one or two more since then, but they are the same.
Jared took a tumble down the front steps in his stroller this month and landed face first on the cement. Scared the living daylights out of me. I rushed him to the doctor, and other than a swollen side of his face he was fine. Thank goodness he was buckled into the stroller.
I have been working with him, trying to get him to sit up. He does great in the Bumbo seat, not so great without it. It will come though. I'm in no hurry. I enjoy this stage when they are learning so much and he is such a good natured kiddo. We keep him up with us after we put the brothers in bed, just so he gets some alone time with us. I think he really enjoys it. He really loves Gary. He will be sitting on my lap, content, but the whole time he'll be trying to get Gary's attention. No one can get him grinning and laughing like his Papa. They have a special bond already. We sure do love that boy.

We took him trick-or-treating with his brothers at Papa's work this past week. He wasn't too sure about the whole experience, but looked darling in his lion costume. It was the same costume Daniel wore for his first Halloween. Jared even held still so I could paint his nose and some whiskers. The older boys had a great time filling their treat bags. Next year Jared will be all over the candy, I'm sure.

Happy half-birthday Chub-Chub!