Louis: Six Months

Where has the time gone? Little itty bitty Lou is now 6 months old. We don't have our picture chair or the picture bear (they are in a truck in Oklahoma right now), so this will have to suffice and I will do a belated "official" photo when everything arrives.

Oh my sweet Louie Lou. He's the happiest baby in the entire universe. So mellow, so easy going, he's really nothing but a joy to be around. He definitely suffers from a horrible case of second child syndrome. He gets a bath when he starts to stink. He gets a book read to him when I start to feel guilty about it (note to self...feel guilty about this more often!) He hangs out in the exer-saucer more than I would like. Despite all of my shortcomings, however, he is turning out pretty spectacularly.

We had his final echo cardiogram last week to see if 1) his VSD (heart murmur) had closed, and 2) to check one last final time for any abnormalities in his heart's electrical impulses as a result of my autoimmune issues. I am pleased to report we have a 100% all clear on both fronts. He was a dream baby and just relaxed and smiled the entire time he had a cold, uncomfortable wand on his chest. The cardiologist called him a "zen baby" and said it was the easiest exam she'd ever done on a fetus, infant, or child. Not bad.

He has the greatest laugh. We hear it often. Most often when Norah is around. She continues to be his favorite person. BVZ is a close second (they've spent a lot of time together this past month). I am lucky to come in third these days. He loves: formula, ceiling fans, paper towels, my iphone, smothering himself with blankets, his light up seahorse, napping, baths in the infant tub we left in California, grabbing at his sister's hair, his pacifier, any and every toy on the exer-saucer, being tickled, and getting smothered with kisses. He hates: eating solid food, rolling over, baths in the bath seat we got him in Texas.

His hair is thick and shockingly blonde. It looks very red in certain lights, so we're unsure how it will ultimately end up. He has the coloring of a redhead and is fairly translucent. The pediatrician actually commented on how fair and thin his skin is and warned us that for him sunscreen probably would never be enough and if we were going to live in Texas we should invest in some SPF clothing for him on a daily basis. He has the exact same striking blue eyes as Norah does (no curls yet, but hers didn't show up until after her first birthday).

He is nice and solid, but surprisingly only comes in at about the 25th percentile for weight (I can't remember the exact stats from his appointment...how's that second child syndrome for you??). I hope that changes once he decides to be into solid food. He continues to be very tall, in the 75-90th percentile for height. His feet and toes, hands and fingers are incredibly long. He doesn't roll over with any consistency yet, although he is priming himself to crawl-when on his tummy his pushes up like crazy and tries to pull in his knees. He sits up perfectly with very little support and is almost sitting up on his own (Reid is a good teacher on this front).

His sleep is great. He consistently and with very little prodding from us takes 3 decent naps a day and is sleeping through the night with no problem. He wakes up at 5:00 am and I would love that to change to 7:00 am. Overall, however, I have absolutely no complaints on the sleep front.

He's as much like BVZ as Norah is like me. As she likes to say, "the girls are with the girls, and the boys are with the boys." We make a good team.