Team Moran: Happy Half-Birthday, Matthew!

Oh my! Six months have flown by. Some days would not go fast enough but most were over before I knew it. I hardly remember what life was before I knew Matthew. It is filled with such joy and promise now. I feel so blessed to have had this time at home with Matthew, away from work and away from anything that might distract me from eating him up every chance I get. Every month when I sit down to write his birthday update I think there can't be that much more to add, he does pretty much the same things, but I am always surprised at how much I have to say... and every month he impresses me more than I ever thought. Matthew is a happy baby, he laughs and smiles at pretty much everything. He loves his routine and sleeps like a champ. He is getting stronger by the day and you can see so much thought going on behind his eyes.

Here is what you are up to now that you are half a year old:

You are so strong. You are steady on your feet and can hold yourself up if you have something to hold on to.
You have to be watched on the floor now- you roll over to your tummy then scoot to whatever toy you are after every time I turn around. You are secretive about it because I think I have only seen you roll a few times, but every time I turn around you are opposite of the way I laid you down.
You can sit up very well, in fact you did this on your own for the first time just one day after your 5 month blog update. You get better and better each day and this is your favorite way to interact with your toys.
You can hold yourself up on all fours, like you are ready to crawl. You can't quite get up to that position yet on your own though.
You have a lot of control with your hands. You can play your xylophone now. You like to hold everything and shake it around and put things in your mouth. You love to chew on your toys, just like your big sister Maggie does.
You love books, and are interested in the pictures and the words as they are read. You even like to turn the pages.
You sleep through the night. You go to bed about 7:30 and wake up to feed at 5:00am, then go back to sleep until 8:00.
You take two naps of about an hour and a half each. You can soothe yourself and can fall asleep in just a few minutes without help from mommy or daddy.
You give signs that it is time for your nap. You either rub your eyes or bury your face in my shoulder or throw your hands behind your head, your relaxation sign
You like to play with your pacifier, but you don't usually get in back into your mouth correctly.
You can ride in the top seat of the shopping cart and are such a good boy when we go into stores.
You smile and laugh at Maggie, you want to pet her when ever she comes near you and you don't even mind when she kisses your face.
You like to talk to yourself, like when you wake up from a nap or first thing in the morning.
You can jump really well in your jumperoo- and you think it's funny when mommy jumps with you too. Granna is jealous- she wants a jumperoo for herself.
You are curious about other babies. You like to smile at them and reach out to touch them.
You think daddy is the funniest thing on the planet! You get so excited when he comes home in the morning after working his shift. You laugh and laugh when he plays his version of peekaboo. Actually, it's just "Boo!"
You are a very efficient nurser. You can get your fill in 10-15 minutes. These are my favorite moments of the day.
And the best trick of all. Eating! You have oatmeal cereal with breast milk for lunch and you love it! You know exactly what to do with the spoon and don't even make too big of a mess. You even like to hold the spoon.
You are in the 75th percentile all around. Head, Weight, and Height. Perfectly proportioned. 18lb 3oz, 26 3/4 inches TALL, and 17in head.

Here are some pictures of you- such a big boy- as we move into the second half of your first year. I can't wait to see all the tricks you'll show us in the next 6 months!