6 month pictures by Clarine Smith Photgraphy

We had James' picture taken by Terry Smith of Clarine Smith Photography again on November 7th. She is an amazing photographer who took the pictures of James when he was one month old. Grandma-ma and I took James and met Terry at Curtis Park in University Park at Lovers and Hillcrest. James and I go to our stroller strides class there and I have taken Simon and Ellie to the playground there for years. It is my favorite park! Anyway, James seemed more interested in the leaves and other people there. Once again Terry did a fantastic job and captured his priceless expressions. Above are some of my favorites. I wasn't planning on being in the pictures but she captured a few moments of me holding James, which I love. We will see Terry again in April when James turns one!

Standing up again

I am pretty sure the activity mat is not supposed to be used this way since the arches aren't too stable but James was being creative in how he uses it. Friday evening I was at the computer and Sean was sitting on the floor with James. He said, " Did you see that?!? Has James pulled up like this before?!?" I looked over and saw James standing up holding on to his activity mat. He had only pulled up and stood up in his crib that morning. Sean said he was sitting on the mat and playing then grabbed onto the arches and pulled himself up from a sitting position. He is so strong and now standing up is his new favorite thing to do!

Standing up & Kisses

There is so much to write about this week! Guess who I found standing up in his crib yesterday morning?!?! James had pulled himself up and was standing up in his crib just smiling at me when I walked in his room! As you can see in the first picture he was so proud of himself. Also notice his poofy bed head hair when he wakes up. I love it! He also started peering over the edge watching Coco and Chloe which made me a little nervous! We lowered the crib to the middle setting about a month ago then lowered it all the way last night. When I saw "we" I mean Sean. =) We also haven't taken the bumpers out which I know we need to do soon but he hasn't tried to climb on them yet. I am reluctant because he always rubs his fingers on the bumpers as he is going to sleep. There is a dotted texture on them that is soothing for him to rub. James also started saying "na na na na" yesterday. Do you think he means "ma ma"? Wishful thinking...

Today we went to our baby signing class and the moms sit in a circle while the babies play in the middle. James is the only boy in the class so he is quite popular with the girls. His friend Avery was laying on her back and James decided to crawl over and kiss her on the cheek! It was the cutest thing I have ever seen. He crawled over to her, opened his little mouth and put it on her cheek, just like he gives me kisses! He had all of us laughing. What a charmer!

First haircut

BeforeAfter

Grandma Janie and Mommy took James to get his first haircut on Saturday! The lady cut about an inch off the top and the back. James had lost a lot of his hair around the sides when he was about 3 months old. It has finally grown back but the hair on top and back never fell out so it was really long compared to the sides. It looked like a toupee! He had to sit in my lap but didn't exactly sit. I have no idea how the lady cut his hair as well as she did because he was such a wiggle worm. He was constantly jumping up and down and moving around. I wasn't going to cut it until his 1st birthday but now it is more even all the way around! He still has the wave on top which I think is adorable.

7 months old!

So James Peyton, what are you up to at 7 months old???

You are 28 inches long and weigh 19 lbs

You wear a size 3 diaper

You wear 6-9 month clothing and we just bought your first pair of 12 month footed pj's

You have several nicknames-J.P., Jamesie, Bugaboo, Tigger, Tiggaboo, Buddy, and Bubba (I have no idea where we came up with some of these!)

You are crawling everywhere but aren't all the way up on your knees. It started as an army crawl with your forearms but now you use your hands. You are fast!

You are a wonderful eater and have now had rice cereal, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, apricots, and bananas

You eat breakfast in the morning and dinner at night but still have bottles too

We are taking a baby signing class and you made the sign for bottle!

You are very talkative and say "ya ya ya ya ya" and "da da da da"

You love music

You are a happy baby and love to laugh

You have started giving mommy kisses by opening your little mouth and putting it on my cheek. It is the sweetest thing ever!

When I pick you up you pat my shoulder or back three times

You take two naps during the day for 1 1/2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the late afternoon.

You moved to the regular bath tub and love the water! I think you are going to be a great swimmer just like your Daddy.

You technically sleep through the night because you sleep 8-9 hours but you usually wake us up at 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. then go right back to sleep until 7:00 or 8:00 a.m. after your bottle

You spent your first Thanksgiving at home with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma Janie, Simon, and Ellie

I can't wait to see what you do next month! We love you.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Thanksgiving!

Siblings

We have a full house this week. Simon and Ellie are staying with us for the week and Sean's mom, Janie, will be here too. I am a little sad most of my family is in Vail for the holiday but am excited to host Thanksgiving for our little family here at the house. Simon and Ellie have two little sisters at home in Waco so they are used to being around babies and are so good with James! Above are pictures of them each playing with James. Ellie loves to read and reads to James all the time. James' favorite game that Simon plays with him is peek-a-boo. James is so lucky to have a big brother and big sister!

Growing up

I feel like James is growing up so fast! He sits up so well now, crawls all over the house, loves to eat and try new foods (rice cereal, green beans, sweet potatoes, and squash so far, all organic and approved by Aunt Lea of course. We are so lucky to have a pediatric nutritionist in the family!!!) and he even started "talking". James said his first syllable last week. He has been saying, "ya ya ya ya ya". It has now turned into "da da da da da". I try to get him to say "ma ma" but no such luck. He says "da da da da da" all day long. You should see the smile on Sean's face when he walks in the door from work and James says "da da". It is so sweet. I am not sure if James really understands yet that "da da" means Daddy but he will eventually! I also bought James his first pair of shoes last week. I am amazed that he keeps them on his feet and does not try to take them off. What a big boy!

6 month appointment

Watching cars
James Peyton

We had our 6 month appointment at our pediatrician's today. Dr. Smith said James is doing great and is so strong! He is already crawling everywhere. It is more of an army crawl on his forearms but he is so fast! I will leave him on the floor in the den playing with toys, walk to the kitchen, look down and he is beside me. He also likes pulling on the curtains in his room and has discovered that opening cabinets is fun. Time to baby proof the house! Below are James' stats from our appointment today:

Length 28 inches (95th percentile)
Weight 19 pounds (75th percentile)
Head 17 3/4 inches (80th percentile)

He seems to be consistent with his growth rate. He has been in the 95th percentile for length and 75th percentile for weight since he was 2 weeks old. Our next appointment will be when he is 9 months old!

The pictures above are from James sitting and watching the cars go by out his window. He LOVES watching cars! He is sitting up by himself really well now, without wobbling, but I put him in the bumbo seat so he would be a little higher up so he could see out the window better!

I love rice cereal!

James loves his organic brown rice cereal! Can you tell?!? The second picture was taken right after we fed him. =)