I remember feeling like Noelle's first year took forever but when I looked back it felt fast. Louie's first year is just zooming by. June 5, 2016 sounds like a long way off in theory (especially since we haven't even turned the new year) but it really feels like I will sneeze and he won't be a baby anymore.
Month 6 has brought lots of interesting fun to our house! Louie is just a rolling fool. The boy loves to wiggle and worm his way all over the place. I'll set him down on the floor and I come back and am so surprised at how far he has gotten. I also have to be careful because that little buddy loves to put stuff in his mouth. And boy is he good at finding stuff that you had no idea was nearby.
Louie is also still trying to figure out his sleep. We toss and turn between two good naps and three mediocre naps...on a really bad day sometimes it is 4 crappy naps. I say that and I am also mindful that right now we should be hitting his 6 month growth spurt. He still needs to be swaddled to sleep which is surprising for such a big guy, but the dude cannot keep himself together when he needs to sleep if he isn't wrapped up in some way. He really and truly has fully refused the pacifier (I had such high hopes) and just hasn't figured out how to self-soothe just yet. Overall he isn't a horrible sleeper, and honestly...this being my second kid and I know that eventually they figure out how to sleep - I'm just not too concerned. It's a season, it's a phase, this too shall pass, yada yada, etc.
He IS starting to hit his stride with eating though! I truly started him on some solids the week before he turned 6 months. I wanted him nice and used to it by the time we hit Christmas. So far he isn't a fan of cereal, but he is getting the hang of fruits and veggies. So far sweet potatoes are the favorite, pears are second, and apples & bananas are tied for the bottom. But that's all we've tried so far, and I have to say it's going pretty good. Noelle is desperate to feed him all the time, but after a slightly terrifying spoon gagging incident she isn't allowed to without lots of help from Mama.
Noelle still loves having Louie around as far as we can tell...she actually makes a big deal of playing with him at least a few times a day, and is always saying how much she loves him. There is still some underlying jealousy though, because she desperately wants to sit in her high chair that her little brother is now using. Josh and I have made it a dinner eating negotiating tool though. You gotta do what you gotta do as a parent #theparentalstruggleisreal.
Louie has also been a big fan of "jumping" on us for a while now. Josh had been saying we should get him a jumper because he loves it so much. Well this thanksgiving we were at Josh's Aunt's house and they had a "jumperoo" - which is like a jumper but safer I think. And it has more toys involved. Anywho, we put little Lou in that thing and he was in baby wonderland. He couldn't get enough! Josh's parents saw the infinite joy of the jumperoo and got Louie an early Christmas present - his very own jumperoo. So this week we have enjoyed an extra activity for Louie. It is hilarious and when he really gets going in it he looks like a dancer in Riverdance.
I'm excited to see him experience Christmas, especially with how much he loves toys. And I think that Noelle will lose her mind over her christmas presents and probably Louie's too. She likes to use a high pitch voice when she talks to him and he just smiles from ear to ear. I can already hear her saying, "Look at your new toys Louie!! Do you like them? Yeah they are fun!"
We also have a few names we call him...usually "Louie Boy" and "Loubacca Lou". Noelle loves to use both of these names, and I am not sure why we call him Louie Boy but we do, and then the Loubacca is b/c when he is tired he makes a gurgling chewbacca like noise (I think I wrote about it a couple months ago). Anyway, Chewbacca Louie turned into Loubacca Lou. Noelle has a little chant she made up with Josh, "Loubacca Lou, Loubacca Lou, Lou-a-bacca, Lou-a-bacca, Lou-a-bacca LO!" It's hard to explain and I probably need to get a video of it someday, but it is cute!
So a very happy half-birthday to the Lou man - we all love you and can't believe you haven't always been around!!
