Six Months!

It is so hard to believe that our sweet little, bouncy boy is six months old. Half a year old. Six months of learning how to be parents. Six months of smiles. Six months of giggles. Six months of enjoying this most precious gift from the Lord. Zach is such a blessing. Sometimes I can't wait until he wakes up in the morning, just so I can see him and talk to him. But then I remember that he likes to wake up at 4:30 in the morning. Just kidding, little buddy. I am happy to see you at all times of the day :) Zach just keeps growing and growing, as it should be. He is the most. active. baby. ever. And that is not my own opinion. Everyone who sees him and spends time with him says the same thing. My parents (who raised 9 kids) said that none of us were as active as he is. His activity has grown from simply kicking, and moving all fours at once, to now being able to roll across the floor. He can get from point A to point B in a matter of seconds. He is also learning how to sit up on his own. He is still very social and talks and smiles at everyone. No stranger danger here. Although with new people, he does stare at them for a bit before cracking a smile right away. This month was pretty mellow in terms of the things that he did, until we decided to road trip up to Ohio with Nana, Grandpa and Aunt Jen- so once again, we had another busy month-including his first sickness. 

Here are the exciting things he has been up to this past month!

• Went apple picking for the first time! Mom dressed me in my cute little overalls and we headed to the apple orchard. My favorite part was grabbing onto the branches and the leaves. My love for grabbing leaves continues. 

• Celebrated Daddy's birthday! I got him Winnie the Pooh on Blu Ray so we can watch it together :)
• I love my bouncing Tigger. He sings and bounces and whenever he gets going, so do it. I like my legs and flail my arms all at the same time. 
• I love measuring spoons. My favorite thing to do with them is shake them and hear them jingle. Although my Aunt Jen taught be how to clank two spoons together on the 8 hour drive up to Ohio, and I now like to do that as well!
• I am definitely a mobile baby. I can roll over on both sides and can move across the room in a matter of seconds. I can also rotate my self around a full 360 degrees. 
• One of my favorite games to play is tug-a-war. Daddy will hold a blanket over me. I will grab it and we will tug back and forth. I move all of my legs and arms at the same time in excitement. 
• Went to a bunch of pumpkin patches and orchards with my Mommy and Nana. Mommy was trying to get some cute pictures of me with pumpkins. I was so interested in the stem of the pumpkin that I didn't even bother looking at the camera. 

• Then I decided to give the pumpkin a taste. I moved so fast that mommy didn't even have a chance to stop me. 

• Went hiking to the Art Loeb trail. We saw a bunch of leaves changing colors in the mountains. 

• Five people also commented how mommy and daddy were starting me young, in terms of hiking. 

• I still love being outside. 
• I have been having more difficulty sleeping through the night this month. I go to bed around 7:00, but then sometimes I wake up at 2:00. Sometimes I wake up at 4:00 or 4:30. I almost always wake up at 5:00/5:30 in the morning. Daddy says that I like to soar with the eagles. 
• I road-tripped up to Ohio again with my Mommy, Grandpa, Nana and Aunt Jen to see a bunch of my family. This is the second time I have been to Ohio. The first time was when I was only 2 1/2 weeks old for my Uncle Jon and Aunt Lacey's wedding. I did GREAT in the car ride!

• Got to spend time with my Aunts, Uncles and cousins!

 me & aunt kim!

 aunt tessa & kaitlin

 aunt sarah, noah, gabe & kaleb

uncle chris & kaitlin. 

uncle david & emma. 

• Watched my Uncle Ryan play football. 

• Had early morning weightlifting sessions with Uncle Ryan. 

• I got to see my Aunt Jessica and Aunt Stephanie play volleyball!

• I got to see my Gramma Linda :) It was the first time I got to see her since she moved.

• I went apple picking again.

• I met my 'Aunt' Rachel for the first time! She is one of mommy's best friends from college. We just happened to be in Ohio at the same time and were able to meet! 

• I got my first cold :( Being sick is no fun- for babies and for mommies. 
• Rang in my 1/2 birthday with my first fever, call to the doctor after hours and first time taking Tylenol. Happy 0.5 to me!
• Celebrated my first Thanktober: Thanksgiving in October!

• Had my first time to fight a dinosaur: thanks to my cousins, Noah, Gabe and Kaleb. They even gave me some dinosaurs to take home and play with when I'm older! 

• My hair is growing like crazy! It is still as fuzzy as can me. My doctor said that is defies gravity. It is probably also the number one thing people say about me when they first see me. 
• I love to sing. I melt Mommy's heart when she hears me singing along during worship at church. 
• I am starting to sit up unassisted- still a little wobbly but I'm almost there! 
• I have this weird thing where I kind of like being scared and will laugh. Sometimes I also do this laugh/cry. My mom says that it reminds her of my Uncle Jon.

Statistics:
Weight: 17 lbs. 2 oz. [40th percentile]
Height: 28 1/2 inches [98th percentile]
Nicknames: Zachy, babylove, Boo Boo, Zach Attack
Likes: Being outside, Jumperroo, Mirrors, measuring spoons, tags, Bouncy Tigger, singing, people changing voices, tug-a-war, books 
Dislikes: Being by myself, getting my nose wiped/cleaned out, being on my belly for long periods of time
Clothing: 6-12 months/ 9 months. Diapers: Size 3

Milestones:
Roll across the room: 10.3.13
 
6th Month Pictures:

A Note from Mom:
My sweet little Zachy-boy. You have been in our lives for half a year now. It has been such an exciting half a year. You have grown so much. You have the sweetest little personality. You are active and bouncy like your daddy, yet sweet and gentle. When you get picked up, you like to wrap your arms around my neck. You love to talk and sing, whether it is to yourself, to me or daddy or whenever you hear other people talking. You do, however, don't have a problem letting me know when you are lonely, bored or not happy. I LOVE having you in my life. I have gotten so used to having you around. While I was writing this post, you ran a little errand with your daddy and I felt so lonely not having you around. I know these next couple months are going to be filled with many exciting things and ways that you will continue to grow more and more. I love you, my sweet little boy :)