Carrots

I tried carrots tonight, and that went better. I'm still surprised at how sad he appeared when he tasted the green beans: the corners of his mouth turned down, and he seemed about to cry. What did he think we were eating all this time? I wonder if he's holding out for cotton candy, or apple crisp.

baby pushups

baby pushups
Originally uploaded by pkellyspurles.

Peter started trying different crawling techniques a few weeks ago. Today he's up on his knees and rocking a bit. This day, he was trying hands and toes.

toy car

toy car
Originally uploaded by pkellyspurles.

We've been playing cars lately.

big kid clothes

big kid clothes
Originally uploaded by pkellyspurles.

I dressed Peter in "big kid" clothes yesterday: navy corduroy pants, and a navy and white sweatshirt jacket. He was wearing a pale blue Winnie-the-Pooh t-shirt underneath, and pale blue and green monkey Robeez on his feet, but the overall effect really shook me. He's getting bigger.

Six month checkup

Peter weighed 23.25 lbs at his appointment yesterday. He ripped up the paper sheet before Dr Johnston could measure his height though.

Peter's first solid food

Peter's first solid food
Originally uploaded by pkellyspurles.

We gave Peter his first solid food on Labor Day. He loved it, and has had barley, rice, and oatmeal in the weeks since. Yesterday we started green beans from the organic food coop, no less, and cooked and pureed by his mummy. The beans weren't a success yesterday, and weren't any more popular today. His dispair has melted me, and so I'm abandoning beans for something sweeter for the time being.

Crawling

backwards mosaic
Originally uploaded by pkellyspurles.

Peter's crawling backwards these days. Creeping, rather. Or maybe inching. He starts out flat, then moves his hands toward his knees and flexes so that he's up on all fours, and then stretches his legs out backwards so that he's flat again. He crept across the kitchen floor the night in several minutes I took these photos.

Six months and a bit

Peter was six months old last week. It's hard to believe that it's been that long, and no longer than that at the same time. I wonder if he'll know when he's grown up how many times each day Ron and I said, "What a great kid."

I think Peter said "hi" on the phone tonight to Ron. He's been saying haaaa for a while, and mama for the past week, but until now it hasn't seemed to have any symbolic content. This evening, while I held the phone up to his ear, he looked at the phone, and said hhhiiii two or three times at the phone, then looked at me and smiled.

He's also creeping backwards very effectively (far and fast), and rocking on his knees. He seems frustrated at not being able to move forward.

And he's been eating baby cereal since Labor Day. Rice, oatmeal, and barley. He's a neat eater, surprisingly.

Gotta go. Baby Peter's up.

Kisses, puppy kisses, and funny noises

I have to blog this before it changes, or before I forget. We kiss Peter all the time, on the cheek (both cheeks, when it's me) or on his tummy and so on. He laughs like a nut, so we do it a lot. Since Peter was about three months old, I've been putting my cheek to his mouth, after I kiss him, so that he can kiss me back. He does.

It began with him opening his mouth against our cheeks and making random funny noises: ghghghgh, aaahhhhhh, oooohhhhhh, and so on. One day last week, he tried licking Ron on the cheek a few times. Today, he started grabbing my head and pulling my cheek tight against his mouth and saying (really loudly) "awhhhhhhhhhh". I wonder when he'll hit the right combination, and when he does, if he'll know right away that it's the right one. In the meantime, it's hilarious.

Jumperoo

Our friend Sarah came by this evening with a piece of baby furniture that her daughter has grown out of. It's a seat that is attached to a frame with four bungee-like tethers, with and front dashboard that has blinking lights, electronic sound effects, and a steering-wheel-like appendage for the driver. As soon as Peter got in he began to jump up and down and back and forth, smiling and shouting. This is a roller coaster for babies.