Happy HALF YEAR birthday, Parker Campbell Klein!

Parker Campbell Klein, today you turn SIX MONTHS old! 

We took Parker home from the hospital on the first day of spring. He has now experienced his first two seasons, and I can't wait for his first autumn beginning this Sunday! Here's our six month update on little man...

Height: 27.5 inches (80th percentile)

Weight: 16.5 lbs. (23rd percentile)

Hair: Parker is rocking a Mohawk! Though he was born with dark hair, he lost most of it fairly quickly. What’s growing back is a light brown color (in between my color and Max’s color) and is concentrated in a stripe running over the top of his head. It’s pretty comical.

Diapers: We have transitioned to size three diapers. We’ve been consistently using Huggies and it made me sad that instead of being called “Little Snugglers”, size threes and up are called “Little Movers”… time is flying by!

Clothes: We are in nine to twelve month clothing! Baby is a big boy!

Health: We have a healthy little man! No illnesses so far in his six months of life.  

Firsts: Parker went on his first plane rides! We flew to California, only an hour and a half flight, however little man was so excited about the new experience that he channeled his outdoor voice and shrieked for a big chunk of the flight. Throw in the crying and mommy and daddy gave him a grade of “D” for his performance.  We flew first class on the way back. We were a bit worried to be in this cabin with Parker, but he did awesome! There was barely a peep for the entire flight! Perhaps baby was simply telling us that he prefers first class??

Sleep: Parker is sleeping through the night consistently now! He’ll go down around seven or eight and wake up around six or seven to eat. He’s continued to do well with a morning nap and two afternoon naps (each usually lasting from one to two hours).  

Diet: BIG news here! Parker has started solids!! Our pediatrician recommended beginning at 5 ½ months, and right around there we noticed Parker was obsessed with our food. We decided to start with avocado, which I pureed with water using the Baby Bullet blender from my mamma. Little man l-o-v-e-d his avocado. He was totally ready for it and even grabbed the spoon to feed himself. Since then, we’ve been doing a solid each night around dinnertime. Parker has also sampled sweet potato, baby oatmeal, banana, zucchini and apple. Sweet potato is his favorite, though he will pretty much eat anything on a spoon (and still not a thing out of a bottle). He continues to nurse every 2-4 hours during the day.

Baby Gear Love: The Bjorn has been getting lots of use this month, and Sophie continues to be little man’s favorite toy. He also likes to hug his Jelly Rabbit and stuffed giraffe whenever he’s getting a diaper or clothing change (he’s not a fan of either one).  

New Experiences: Whenever Parker is presented with something new, he looks up at me or Max. We think it’s his way of gauging how he should be reacting. For example, we had a daytime summer thunderstorm (monsoon) a few weeks ago and Max took Parker outside under the covered patio to look at the rain. They heard thunder and Parker looked at daddy like “Am I supposed to be afraid of this?” Max just smiled and said “thunder”, so Parker stayed happy and kept looking at the sky.

Likes: Much to daddy’s dismay, little man is a Taylor Swift fan just like mommy. If we’re in the car and Parker starts fussing, I know all I have to do is play a T-Swift song and he will calm right down! Parker also likes touching (and grabbing!) faces and hair, playing on his play mat, sucking on his index finger, and he always smiles when he sees himself in a mirror. He continues to love mommy’s singing, and all kinds of books!

Social: We started Tiny Tot time at our local library! It’s a free half hour program every Wednesday morning. Parker did an awesome job listening to the stories and songs the first time we went. We have moved up to the older class in Musicology and continue to sing, dance and focus on developmental skills there. Parker sees lots of other babies when we attend Mommy and Me Yoga and when our Boy’s Mommy Club meets.

Daddy Love: Max was away on a two-week business trip to London this month. We Facetimed every single day and Max even got to read Goodnight Moon to Parker this way. Little man would get excited to see daddy in the “little box” and especially liked when he made silly sounds. I was so not prepared, however, for how Parker would react when we picked Max up at the airport upon his return home. Parker and I were waiting in the International area and saw daddy walking through the security doors. As soon as he reached us Parker went right to him with the biggest smile and then started giggling. Over and over, little man could not. stop. giggling. Being so tiny, this is his best way of communicating that he’s happy. It was the most sincere, most honest and sweetest thing; it blew me away and brought tears to my eyes to see how much Parker loves his dada!

Milestones: Parker went from rolling over twice in his entire life to doing it six times in one day! He’s going from tummy to back mostly but can do back to tummy as well. He continues to be a wiggler and scoots his little toosh in the air when he’s on his belly; it’s adorable. He’s been sucking on his index finger on his right hand a lot, especially when I put him down to sleep. It’s the cutest thing! Parker started reaching for his Sophie the Giraffe if we hold her in front of him and squeak her. We can pull him from laying down on his back to standing upright! Little man has some strong legs! He’s beginning to sit on his own, but only for seconds at a time before he topples over. In verbal skills, Parker has recently added consonant sounds to his babbles! He will say “mamama” and “bababa.”

Dearest Son,

Happy six-month birthday! You become more and more fun each and every day! Mommy and daddy can’t get enough of you. We love playing with you, reading to you, and making you giggle. You are already beginning to show traits of being like both mommy and daddy. You are a thinker and observer like dad: sometimes you will watch people and objects intently with your tiny brows furrowed on your serious face. Other times, you get super happy and excited about things like mommy: you will squeal and kick your legs over and over. You like to do this in music class and when we put you in your high chair (you love to eat!). This was a month of first for you: you had your first solid food (avocado) and your first plane ride (to mommy’s home state of California). You must be getting longer by the second because every time we turn around you have outgrown another outfit or set of pajamas! You have been sleeping through the night, which means it’s time for you to move out of mommy and daddy’s room and upstairs into your own room! We are going to miss seeing your little head pop up in your cradle with your smiling face to wake us up in the morning, but to tell you the truth you are getting too big for your cradle now anyway! Parker, we love you more than words can say. You have brought us so much happiness, laughter and sheer joy in these past six months. Heaven blew every trumpet and played every horn, on the wonderful, marvelous night you were born.

Love, Mom and Dad