This past week Jake had his 6 month check-up. I always have mixed feelings for these visits to the doctor. I love getting his new stats and am always interested in what the Dr. Radcliff has to stay, but they never end well...with shots :(
Jake is a whopping 28 inches long (91st percentile), weighs 17 lbs 2 oz (41st percentile), and his head circumference is 17.5 in (68th percentile). That makes him sound tall and skinny, but he definitely has those cute baby rolls on his wrists and ankles and in his thighs.
Jake did great the first part of the appointment when the nurse came in and took his measurements, but after that he got a little mad. I thought it was because we had to wake him up about 45 minutes earlier than usual to make it to the appointment on time, but it turns out he just didn't want to be held. I laid out a blanket for him on the office floor with a couple of toys, and he was as happy as a clam.
He did really well with his shots as well. The nurses said now that his legs have more muscle, the shots hurt less. He had 3 of them and only cried for about 10 seconds. He cried longer when he was sitting and fell over and bumped his head (oops, sorry Jake!).
(If you look closely enough at the picture, you can see his band-aids)
Jake has been more playful lately. He has gotten the idea of kissing, or else he likes eating faces. But he'll grab either my hair and rub his open mouth all over my face, or the same thing but using Andrew's ears or nose to get a good angle. It is so funny, and he holds on tight!
Now that Jake is 6 months old, he can wear sunscreen and go out in the sun! I am BEYOND excited. So on the 4th of July, we celebrated the Land of the Free and Home of the Brave by taking a trip to the local water park (we bought season passes- again, I am stoked!!). We got Jake all sun-screened up and dressed to go. There's no way he was getting a burn with all his protective gear.
The first 20 or so minutes there he was extremely apprehensive. We took him to the very outer edge of the wave pool and let him splash around for a minute, but he was extremely nervous when the waves came and the water started moving around more. We decided to go to the kid portion of the water park, and after warming up to the idea, he loved splashing around in the water. It was so fun to watch him and to play in the water with him. I'm sure I had a huge grin the whole time.
After playing in the pool for awhile, we decided to take him around the lazy river. We found a 2-man tube and took turns holding Jake. But after a lap or so, our little man zonked out. I think all the excitement got to him, and he was gone. Even with kids yelling, the waves moving us around like crazy, and getting splashed from all directions, he stayed asleep. He slept when we got out of the tube, walked back to where our towels were, and the whole way home in his car seat. I'm sure it was a lot to take in, especially when he's used to hanging out while Andrew and I work during those hours. I wish we had pictures from the water park, but maybe next time. Definitely by the end of the summer I'll take some!
After coming home and getting all the sunscreen off, we headed to our friends the Zimmerman's (the other Mormon family in the Statistics Department at Ohio State) for a 4th of July BBQ. It has been HOT here lately, so we ended up having it inside, but it was perfect with grilled burgers, potato salad, and watermelon. We had a lot of fun with them, and especially celebrating their little girl's 4th birthday. All in all it was a great day! We are so grateful to live in this country and for the many freedoms we enjoy.
Jake also really wants to eat what we're eating these days, and nectorines really get him excited!
He can now eat stage 2 foods, which will add a lot of variety to his diet. I'm excited and love watching him try new things. It is so fun to have a little baby to teach and to love. Our first 6 months with little Jake have been wonderful- we love him to pieces!
