Charlie is 1/2!

Half a year has already passed us by; Charlie is six months old!  Phew!  He is still such a happy, easygoing guy.   Case in point: we had no idea he has his first ear infection until today at his six month check-up.  He showed no signs of pain or irritability; that is, until the doctor stuck his tool in his ear - then he was not a happy camper!  His left ear is infected, but the doctor wasn't able to see past the wax in his right to tell if it too is infected.  He said it wasn't worth making him even more mad when it's already been determined he will need antibiotics.  So, Amoxicillin it is.  This was the inevitable result of the seemingly never-ending cold/cough that Charlie has had since the beginning of the year.  Hopefully we can kick this thing soon now that the weather is starting to warm up!

 Charlie is a growing boy!  At today's check-up we learned that he weighs 20 lbs, 6 oz (91st percentile) and is 28" long (93rd percentile).  At six months, Jack was 22 lbs, 10 oz and 27.5" long.  So Charlie is just a slender peanut compared to his big brother - ha!  His head circumference, however, is off the charts at 18.5" - the doctor even remeasured to make sure the nurse had it right.  It's funny because I was just saying this week his head seems large when I try to put pullovers on him.  Now it's confirmed.  The doctor wasn't worried since it is proportional with the rest of his body.

 Charlie was very animated during tonight's photo shoot - he kept leaning forward and making lots of noises and faces...

LOVE this one!  What a goofball!

 Our big guy has mastered sitting up and that's his favorite position these days.  He also loves to experiment with sounds and has discovered the "d" sound, as well as squeals, babbles and raspberries.  Here he gives you a nice demo of some of his favorite noises:

Charlie's eating lots of new foods.  In addition to sweet potatoes, squash and peas, he's now tried green beans, carrots, avocado and bananas.  The only food he hasn't enjoyed was his first taste of banana, but I had just mashed it rather than pureeing and it was a pretty ripe banana.  When we tried again with a newer banana and smoother texture, he seemed to enjoy it more.  He's been eating cereal in the morning and we're going to add fruit to that meal too; then he has a veggie and some cereal for dinner.  He's still drinking milk five times per day and so far we're still going strong with strictly breastfeeding.

Here's a comparison of our big boy's first six months: