Six month stats and our trip West

Jonathan had his six month appointment two weeks ago but I've not been able to blog about it till now.

Here are his stats:

Height:  28 3/4 inches; 97%tile

Weight:  19 lbs 4 oz; 76%tile

Head:  44 cm.; 53%tile

He's a pretty big boy.  His head that started out so small is finally catching up to the rest of his body.  

Last week, Stephen had three recitals -- one in Canon Beach, Oregon, one in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and another in Seattle.  He also did a 3 hour master class, gave a 2 and 1/2 hour lecture for a group of piano teachers involved in MTNA, and taught several private lessons in Seattle.  Did I miss anything?  Probably,  He was very busy, needless to say.  And everything went really well.  Stephen was told after his recital in Seattle that it was the best concert they'd had and they wanted him back next season.  

Jonathan and I flew with him to Oregon and met up with some family who came to vacation and hear Stephen's concert.  We only had one full day there unfortunately because Stephen had a competition with a chamber group he's working with (which they won, by the way:)) on the Thursday before so we couldn't fly out till the night before his recital.  So we hardly had any time to really enjoy the beach or our beautiful beachfront hotel room or our humongous jacuzzi.  Bummer.  We made the most of the time we had there though.  I got to go on a run along the beach, something I'd been looking forward to for months.  I'm really starting to love running.  I used to just do it because I knew I should and would good afterwards. But I'm starting to actually crave it.  We'll see if that lasts.  Anyway, the beach run was AMAZING.  I can't think of any words good enough to describe the affect the ocean has on me. The sound and the vastness of it are intoxicating.   

One of the best parts of the trip was spending time with my sister, Ciana, and her husband, Dave, and getting to finally meet their baby, Matthew, who was born just 6 days before Jonathan.  It was SO fun to see those two little boys together.  They are so different, in looks and development.  Matthew's basically crawling while Jonathan only recently mastered sitting up.  Jonathan seems a lot bigger and somehow more dense than Matthew.  Matthew is quite mellow, while Jonathan seems much more high-energy.  It was really cute to sit them next to each other and let them play with toys together.  Playing with another kid didn't seem to phase Matthew; he hardly looked at Jonathan.  Whereas Jonathan seemed more interested in staring at Matthew than playing with the toys.  Matthew has four siblings at home so playing with other kids isn't novel to him I guess.  It was really cute to see Jonathan trying to figure out what this other kid was about and why he was playing with his toys.  Jonathan's always been really observant.   

After Canon Beach, Jonathan and I spent the next week in Washington with family.  Saturday we celebrated Halloween at the Allreds with Spencer and Andrea and their kids, and Heather and Nathan met us there with their troop.  I knew Jonathan was growing but I had no idea HOW big he is until I met Andrea's new five-week old baby, Gordon.  Oh my, he's tiny!  And he's actually quite big for his age too!  It's so hard to believe that Jonathan was ever that little!  I got to hold Gordon for awhile while Jonathan was sleeping.  I LOVE little babies!

It was fun to hear everyone's reactions to Jonathan.  Everyone thinks he looks exactly like his Mama :)  It's funny cuz I see a lot of Stephen in him.  But I think it's hard to see yourself in someone.  I think people know what we look like better than we do ourselves.  I know that sounds confusing but I can't think of a clearer way to say it...

Another consistent reaction was that he talks a lot.  He really is very noisy.  I get this comment SO much -- in grocery stores, at church, from all his family back home, everywhere.   Even his pediatrician in Provo said at his four month appointment that he has a lot of "vocal variation".  And his new pediatrician in NY said at his six month appointment that he is "very vocal".  So I guess it's true.  I don't think I would have known this if EVERYONE hadn't told me.  He's my first so I don't really have anything to compare him to.  The only time he's really quiet is when we're outside.  He loves the outdoors.  When I push him in the stroller on my runs, he is really quiet and sort of zoned-out.  Anyway, everyone thought it was pretty funny how he's always chattering or shrieking.  I love his little baby noises :)

People also were really surprised at how much he eats!  I started feeding him solids about a month ago and he just can't get enough.  I read online that you should feed an infant as much healthy food as he wants, that he will only eat as much as he needs.  And the way you can tell if he is full is he'll either stop opening his mouth or spit food out or get really fussy.  Jonathan doesn't usually give any of these signals.  So I just keep feeding him until I think he can't possibly fit any more in his stomach.  It seems like he's gained a couple pounds since his six month weigh-in.  He really is a big baby.  He wears 9-12 month clothes.

My mother-in-law, Kathy, was so shocked at how such a high-energy kid could focus when I turned on a youtube video of an orchestra or some other classical performance.  She said she's never seen an infant so riveted by music before.  And she raised 8!  While he has a tendency to get pretty loud and hyper about things, he usually mellows out and stares intently at the screen when I turn these videos on.  Maybe music will be the thing that helps him harness all the crazy energy he has built up inside.  We'll see!

Now we're back home and I couldn't be happier.  I love traveling and visiting family, but it's always so nice to be back in my own habitat, where I can cook and clean and take care of my little family.