6 Month Milestone

Here are Marshall's 6 month photos from the Picture people. The photographer is now very familiar with us and was maybe a little surprised that we didn't bring props to torture him with. :-)

He is really starting to look like Chris more and more each day (especially in his button down shirt and vest)!

Kissing the duck?

Showing off his two bottom teeth.

Showing off his new trick - getting up onto his knees.

He is really getting to be a big boy. I really wish that he wouldn't try so hard to advance at everything so fast. I would really like to enjoy this time with him but he has just changed so much in this past month. He has learned and grown in so many ways. Here are a few things that I can think of that I don't want to forget:

• Understands the word "doggies." When you ask where his doggies are, he will look to the floor in search of them.
• When he tries to get the doggies attention he will make an "Ughhhmm" sound at them.
• He loves being outside. If he is in a crying fit, he will immediatly be soothed and interested in what is going on outside. I think he also appreciates the marvelous garden his Daddy has made.
• His favorite toy is Tigger. He just loves to play with his Tigger toys and slippers (which are not used for his feet but to distract him while he is getting his diaper changed).
• Right before he falls asleep he makes the cutest "cooing" conversation. It is the sweetest babbling I have ever heard, like saying a prayer before bedtime. Then when he is done talking to himself, he sticks his binky into his mouth and goes to sleep.
• Speaking of binky. He is very proficient with it. He will pick it up if it drops in his reach; will put it in and out of his mouth for amusement; will turn it around when it is facing the wrong way; will stick his thumb into the hole on the back side for more easy manuevering in and out of his mouth; and for fun he will put it in his mouth, bite down hard and make a popping noise as he pulls it out of his mouth.
• He understands the words "go poop-poo potty." It is really a command for the dogs. I will take Marshall outside with me so I can monitor and remind Boris and Molly to do their business. The first time he made the connection was after watching Boris do his stuff. He looked at me with this look of understanding, then you could feel him trying to imitate. I told Chris (and MiMi) about it later and when I did the command his face would turn a little red as he tried to comply.
• Occasionally says "MaMa" when he is upset, and "DaDa" when he is having fun with Daddy.
• His favorite word is "Ba," which he will just babble for the heck of it.
• When he wants his binky, sometimes he will open and close his mouth without making any sound. If we don't get a hint, then he'll make a high pitch "Ahhhhhh."
• When he is very angry, all you have to do is put him on his feet and he'll stop. He loves being on his feet. He even started to "Moonwalk" backwards.
• He loves it when you make noises with your mouth. He thinks it is funny.
• He also loves to be scared. A "boo" out of Mommy or Daddy will get a full out chuckle out of him. If you do it over and over again. He will just squeal in delight.
• He has been working very hard at crawling. He will get up onto his knees (which he seemed to pick up in one day at school), but can only seem to scoot backwards. It won't be long before he figures things out.
• He loves going to school and playing with the other kids in his class; a lot of the children are within a month or two of his age and they all seem to be pushing each other to develop faster. We were told several times in the past few weeks that Marshall was the "Star Pupil" because he was just so content and happy.
• Despite being a horrible breast AND bottle feeder (because he has a tendency to "snack" instead of gulping his food down) - he is a VERY good solid food eater. He will eat anything we give him from a spoon. I have never seen a kid eat green beans so fast. I really think he likes to mimic what Mommy and Daddy do at the dinner table.
• He also still enjoys drinking from a cup, but we have since switched him to a sippy cup since he becomes so excited about trying to serve himself that water/juice will slosh all over the place if it isn't in the sippy.
• He also really enjoys crackers. For the most part he will nibble on it, but will spit out the big pieces.
• His hair is still very white-blond and is about a inch long. But he has 3 "comb over" hairs that have been with him since his birth. Those are about 3 1/2 - 4 inches.
• His front two teeth finally broke through last week much to mine and Chris' relief.
• He is very curious about everything. When you hold him he is constantly twisting his body to see what is going on behind him.