New York Trip

Bastian,

Here are a few pictures of you with two of your favorite Aunts while in Brooklyn for a little getaway with Mom/Luthien. Aunt Maria had a way of making you laugh that I had not seen before, and you cuddled with Aunt Shannon for the longest period of time before realizing you weren't with me. It was a fun trip and you were a good boy for most of the bus ride. You also LOVED the broccoli that Uncle Beau made, which was a first since you seem to prefer sweet things thus far.

Love,

Mom

Geared Up

Hi Bastian,

I know I'm biased but you are getting cuter by the day. Your mood, however, has not been as pleasant, and for now I am blaming it on your teething. I try not to use this excuse because it seems like moms always say their babies are teething to account for crankiness, but I think it really is true this time. You have two little teeth now on the bottom and I think two more are about to break through soon! You say "ma ma" a lot right now, and if I wasn't a speech therapist I would think you were actually making the connection, but I'm pretty sure it's babbling at this point :) But you do seem to say it when you are sad and therefore want me, so even others have pointed out that you are saying it. Here are just a few pictures of some of your winter gear.

A sweater knit by your Bobba and Nana. I'd say it definitely brings out the blue in your eyes...
A new good friend of ours gave/lent us a bunch of cute baby boy winter clothes! I have decided to put you in pajama outfits because it is so cold, they are much easier than pants, they work better with cloth diapers, and most importantly they are cuter anyway!
Your new vest, which I was really grateful for because getting things on your arms is impossible; you have always hated getting dressed. So at least this will keep your chest warm.
We love the outfit as well:
And one more, sorry I can't get enough of this vest! The little polar bear on the back is so cute because it's so simple!

Oh, I also wanted to tell you that you are sitting up very well now, with very little support needed. We give you a couple solid food "meals" per day which you get excited about but I still don't think you're quite ready for. You really don't swallow any of it, it all comes back out the front. You still love to gnaw on whole foods though, so I'm going to try cutting up large chunks of more vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash.

More of your new fashions to come...

Love you!

Mama

Dear Shannon

Thank You!!

I love my guitar onesie! It fits me perfectly and I now have 4 long sleeve shirts I can wear in this 30 degree weather we are having (but honestly AZ friends/family- we don't mind it at all!).

Dad/Rome especially loves it and he approves of the colors, and he's a tough one to please :)

Here I am rockin' out in it:

And here I look a little stunned but I wanted to show off my entire outfit:

Bastian: Mom's friend in Pittsburgh made and sent you this onesie, and as you can tell we all love it. Also, here is one more shot before bedtime, reading with Dad (yes, that's a lollipop your sister has...made of fruit if that makes it any better...!):
Love you!

Mama

Happy Birthday

Bastian,

You are officially six months and I wanted to report a couple milestones that have occurred this week! Last night I felt/saw that your first tooth has broken through your bottom gums! Dad and I had just been discussing when this might occur- your sister got her first tooth in her third month so I was thankful you waited a bit (although you had been showing signs of teething since then also).

You also started scooting! You have always done well with "tummy time" and I often put you on your tummy while I'm doing chores, cooking, or playing with Luthien because you like to look up and talk to me while in this position. This past week I noticed you would end up in a totally different spot from where I put you to begin with. Two days ago I finally caught you in action. There were toys that you wanted to play with, so you pushed up using your tippy toes and pushed forward using your forearms and knees....unbelievable (I think, for 6 months)! There was never a period of time where you became frustrated by not being able to reach something in front of you- you just figured out how to do it and did it! You are my determined boy.

I think there is another milestone that I may be missing, but I'll have to report it another day. You're probably going to wake up shortly so I should get some sleep!

Here you are eating some butternut squash we had for dinner. It's hard to tell what you do and don't like yet, you seem to want everything and have the same expression every time:

Don't worry, you're not actually eating the tootsie roll, just chewing on the outside of it, because Luthien gave it to you :)
Wildly excited by carving the pumpkin with Dad:

The quick and simple end result:
An example of your scooting here. You started out on the rug but ended up here!
I love you!

-Mom