Another month has passed, & what an exciting month it has been! You have blossomed into this very active, very playful little guy. You are always on-the-move; nothing is safe on the floor anymore as you can get to anything that you want. While you aren't yet crawling, you are getting very close, rocking on your hands and knees. You can also sit yourself up from a laying position, something that has provided you with even more freedom. You are starting to pull yourself up to stand, have figured out that it's fun to bang stuff together, and just recently started to clap - you're just such a big boy! As you get older & develop more of your personality, your likes and dislikes have become even more evident to us. Here are a few of the ones we've picked up on this month:
Favorites
Puffs - The only real change in your diet has been your new found love of puffs! Before this month, you would gag on them when we let you try them. Now? You can't get enough! I think you would live on these little star-shaped snacks for the rest of your life if we let you. And the best, most impressive thing of all is that you can feed them to yourself already! Mommy is still so amazed that you can do this, as it is not a skill expected this early. We can't convince you to gnaw on much other real food, only the occasional crust of a grilled cheese, but we're working on it!
Drinking water - Until this month, milk has been your only source of hydration. While you are still nursing 4 times a day & getting a bottle at night before bed, you are now drinking water at meals, too. And you love having something to wash down all those puffs! You finally figured out how to drink from a sippy cup this month, which made offering you a drink a lot easier. Except for the occasional glass of prune juice to help that troublesome tummy of yours, milk & water will be the only thing you drink for a very long time (we are holding off on the introduction of juice much, much longer than we did with your sister!)
Swinging - Santa brought you & your sister a swingset this year, and, thanks to the unseasonably warm winter/spring we've been having, you've gotten to enjoy the swing a lot. No matter how fussy you've been, you instantly calm down when you get into the baby swing. You could hang out in there for hours! Sometimes you are very mellow & just sit there soaking in all of your surroundings. But most of the time, you wildly wave your arms and kick your legs in excitement :)
Your activity table - We have a little activity table that you love to stand at. There are buttons you can press that make noises and music. It has been very helpful in teaching you how to keep your balance while standing.
Bath time - You finally enjoy taking a bath! You moved out of the little blue bath tub and into the big bath tub this month. You & Brooke take baths at the same time, something that thrills both of you. She wasn't so sure about sharing the yellow rubber duck with you at first (your absolute favorite bath toy!), but now she happily hands it over. You don't purposefully splash, but when you accidentally do it it makes you smile so big!
Not-so-Favorites
Vegetables - You're still not really a huge fan of eating your oatmeal and fruits & veggies. You have to be in the right mood to accept any of it, but we really have to catch you in a good mood to get you to eat your veggies. Sweet potatoes are about the only thing you'll eat without any complaint; green beans and carrots are your least liked veggies. We tried giving you actual peas and carrots a few weeks ago, but you're just not quite able to mash them up with your gums yet. We're hopeful that you will be soon so we can stop force-feeding you the purees and you can feed yourself some actual veggies.
Being rocked - You have never really enjoyed being rocked to sleep. We're fairly certain it's not the rocking motion that you dislike so much as the sitting down part. Even as a newborn, you've always preferred the person holding you to be standing while they lull you to sleep. We're starting a real bedtime routine with you now to try to get you to fall asleep better & faster, so we'll start spending even more time in the rocker. We're hopeful you'll learn to love the cuddle time soon as much as we do.
Wiping your nose - You got another cold this week, meaning there has been lots of nose wiping. You start squirming the moment you see the tissue coming.
You are such a funny little guy. You're very quiet if you're happy; you still giggle silently! You babble a little bit but not much, and you're still only making vowel sounds (oohs & aahs). The second you get mad, though, you really stretch those vocal chords! You do a lot of whining (or at least it seems that way to Mommy,) especially if you can't get to what you want or if she leaves the room for a minute. And if you get really mad, boy do you make some noise! Thankfully, this doesn't happen often & Mommy can almost always calm you down instantly.
Joseph, you are just the perfect addition to our family. We needed a calmer, more even-tempered little guy to balance out your loud & excitable big sister. Your playful spirit fills our hearts with so much joy & that smile is the most adorable thing on the planet! Thanks for letting us love on you for the last 7 months, buddy!
Love,
Mommy & Daddy
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