Future Collegiate Athlete

After a little bit of begging from Barry, I agreed to take Canon to his first college football game. I had only the worst expectations - a hot, exhausted, squawling baby amongst thousands of hot, exhausted, squealing adults. Not my idea of a great time. As usual with babies, when you say something out loud, they tend to do the exact opposite. You tell someone that your baby finally slept through the night, and the very next night he wakes up three times to be fed. You tell someone your baby is finally on a regular three-hour eating schedule, and he immediately starts eating at random times throughout the day. It's what I like to call, You-Thought-You-Had-A-Baby-But-You-Really-Have-A-Mini-Teenager Syndrome. In this case, however, the reverse psychology worked in my favor. I expressed my hot, exhausted baby theory out loud, and so of course, Canon was the perfect fan!

Because we have friends in high places (thanks, Tony) we were able to get Stadium Club tickets. This means that we could sit in a box to watch the game or watch it from the shaded portion of the stands. We went back and forth from the box to the bleachers, just trying to keep it interesting. Canon loved it. While we were in the stands, he sat on Barry's lap and looked around at all the excitement. At one point, after a big play when everyone was cheering, he started flapping his arms and bouncing up and down, almost as if he were cheering, too. There was another memorable moment when I was holding Canon in the box. I went to stand next to Barry who was watching the game through the window. Canon looked at his dad, then reached up and put his hand on his shoulder, as if to express his gratitude for sharing such an awesome afternoon with him. It was truly the sweetest thing I have ever seen him do. If only we had a professional photographer to follow us around and capture moments like those. It is nice, however, to have some moments that only the three of us will ever see.

He fell asleep about mid-way through the second quarter but was awake again before half-time was over. Barry, Sam, Alicia, and Josh were able to stand on the sidelines, but Canon and I hung out in the stands. There were some kids sitting in front of us, and Canon loved watching them run back and forth. It doesn't take much to entertain this mellow fellow! After the game, we walked back to the car. Again, Canon loved every site. He smiled at every single person - no matter how strange or obnoxious - that walked by us. When we got home, I was eager to give Canon a bath. He'd never felt so sticky! Because Sam and Alicia were borrowing his bathroom for the weekend, Canon got his first Sink Bath. I remember my mom bathing my little brother in the sink when he was a baby, and I always thought it was the cutest thing. Now, doing it as a mom, it's just as cute. No back pain from leaning over, and the faucet makes a fantastic rainshower spray to get off all the soap. This may become a regular thing!

Canon's Half-Birthday

I know this is very "Alice in Wonderland" of me, but I got really excited about Canon's Half-Birthday today. The three-month-marks seem like such a big deal in this first year of his life, but today was probably the most exciting. Canon woke up at 6:00 super hungry. Thankfully, he went back to sleep after a quick bottle, and we both slept for a couple of hours. When I went in to check on him later, I found this happy boy . . .

Barry went to the Troy v. Florida game in Gainesville (sideline passes from Tony got him some TV time on our local CBS station!), so Canon and I hung without him for most of the day. It has become somewhat of a morning routine that, after Canon eats, he sits in our bed and watches us get ready for work. He gets pretty excited when we hang out in there.

The rest of the day was fairly normal. In an effort to save some cash (and because I like it so much) I took Canon's six-month pictures myself instead of going to a studio. I know he's not wearing anything fancy (sorry Nonna and MyGoo), but I thought the overalls fit the Porch Theme. I did put him in a smocked short-all for some pictures, but they didn't turn out as well. Here are a few of my favorites. If you click on Canon's picture at the top of the blog, you can see more of them.

Here are a few of the things Canon is doing at 6 Months:

Measurements: Canon weighs about 19 1/2 pounds. We go to the pediatrician next week for official measurements, but from what I can tell, he's at least this heavy. I think he's about 29 inches - again, we'll check with the pediatrician in a few days. After checking at the peds, Canon is only 18 1/2 pounds and 27 1/2 inches long. He has had a very low appetite and plenty of diarrhea the last few days, so I think he's lost a few ounces. I think the length measurement may have been a little off at the docs, but what do I know?
Tricks: He forgot how to roll over a few weeks ago when he was pretty sick, but he's been picking it back up. I stood several inches away from him while he was laying on his stomach today, and he tried to push himself over to me. He got pretty frustrated about it. I'm guessing he's getting ready to be a little more mobile.

Eating: Canon eats 4-5 bottles each day with 6-7 ounces per bottle. He eats oatmeal and fruit in the morning and veggies in the evening. He's getting less and less interested in his bottle, so we're going to talk to the pediatrician about sippy cups. I hear they can drink diluted juice this early - who knew?!?

Sleeping: He still sleeps through most nights but will occasionally wake up hungry (usually because he didn't eat much during the day). He takes at least a fifteen or twenty minute nap between each feeding and usually one two-hour nap at some point during the day.

Clothes: He's pretty tall for a six-month-old and wears mostly nine-month clothes, especially in clothes that snap under his diaper, which is pretty much everything!

Favorite things to do: Canon's two favorite things to do are play in his Exersaucer and lay in his crib watching his mobile and chewing on his Taggie. He also likes going with me when I run. He's started talking/singing at the things that we pass. Rocking on the porch is still a favorite, and, of course, he loves doing anything that gets him some one-on-one time with Mom and Dad.

Can You Tell What I Ate Today?

The older Canon gets, the more active he gets. While he would once sit calmly in my lap and just look around, he now loves to twist, kick, bounce, and - my favorite - pull hair! He's trying to sit up on his own, but he moves so much that he usually knocks himself over with excitement. He's bumped his head a few times but nothing major. I read in my "Week-by-week" book that babies around this age tend to get more bruises. Hmmmm . . . I hope they didn't do too much research on that phenomenon.

Canon's sitting behavior is not the only thing that has been effected by his new active nature. It has spread to his eating behavior as well. My once calm, clean eater has become a distracted, messy - I guess normal - baby. These pictures illustrate what I am trying to say.

And yes, the white stuff in the second picture is vomit!

Basically, what used to take five minutes to do, now takes at least fifteen. Canon turns in his seat to see the television. His hands end up in his mouth at least once before the meal is over . . . then, of course, into his hair. I spill a couple of spoonfuls on the table, or sometimes in Canon's lap. He grabs the spoon or the bowl, and when I try to pull them away, more spills occur. I've tried giving him another spoon to hold onto (thanks for that tip, Mandy), but he sticks the handle in his mouth, which gags him, which causes a bigger mess.

At least he helps me clean up afterwards!

After this particular meal, I decided a bath was more than necessary. Canon loves Bath Time, and this one was especially fun. I tried to make a bubble bath, but he got so excited kicking and slapping the water that most of the bubbles either dissolved or were splashed out. I wish I had gotten a video of it, but hopefully these pictures will suffice.

This has definitely been an exciting phase in Canon's life and a learning experience for me. I'm not used to dealing with such a hyper child. Canon has always been so laid back, relaxed, and observant. He's still pretty laid back, just with an extra jolt of energy. He's having so much fun, it's hard not to get caught up in all the excitement!