John & Shannon Hufford: 6 Months Old

This little guy is now 6 months old! Can you believe how fast time has flown? He's almost doubled his birth weight and that is saying something since he was born at 9 lbs 6.5 oz. He's a chunky monkey and so adorable. Most days I am just fascinated by him. He is SUCH a good baby. I really didn't think I'd get so lucky two times in a row but am so glad that I did. He is happy almost all of the time. Just patiently waits/hangs-out if I'm busy doing something and is so mellow and laid back. The only times he really cries are if he's either hungry or tired and even then very rarely.

Today, I was brave and hauled both kids off for pictures all by myself. Usually John is able to tag along and help but since he had to work I braved it alone. I'm not a fan of prepping small children for pictures. I worry and plan every little detail to make sure they are happy, full, well rested, etc just in time for the camera to start shooting. And no matter what lengths I go to, it never works as planned. Thankfully, we are still able to get a few decent pictures regardless of what mood they are in but that is usually after I've jumped all around the studio and am sweating like crazy. Anything to get a smile right? What confuses me is that my kids are happy and smiling 99.9% of the time. However, when it's time to do it for a camera they immediately turn it off and make me work for it. Luckily, it gets easier as they get older but when they are little it is hard work! Oh well, what I won't do to document my cute kids as they grow up. It's always worth it to see the cute little pictures!

Jonas was not very generous with his smiles today. They tried putting almost every toy/prop in front of him to eek out a smile. He wasn't having it. What he DID smile at was his sister of course. Like he always does. All she has to do is just smile at him and he's all grins from ear to ear. So needless to say, we weren't above using Addison as our little prop just to squeeze some smiles out of this guy. We had her hanging in the air, moving around the room, draped wherever, just to get his smile perfect. It worked every time. I'm so glad she was our human prop today. We have her to thank for the cute pictures we did get!

So, lets see.... What is Jonas up to lately at his ripe old age of 6 months? Well, for starters he has finally rolled over. Once with Daddy a few weeks ago but luckily he rolled again for Mommy and Addison to see a couple of days ago. He's not too generous with rolling. He's pretty content to just sit and hang out. Daddy has been practicing with him more than anyone but Jonas doesn't last long on his tummy and usually gets upset pretty quickly. Oh well, one of these days he'll just take to it and roll and crawl all over the place. It's funny how less concerned you are with all the milestones when it's your second child. I figure he'll learn to roll, and crawl, before he walks right?

He has been enjoying his rice cereal for a few weeks now and is eating very well. Soon, we will start trying out his veggies as well. He loves to play with Addison and she can get him giggling and belly laughing so hard - more so than the rest of us can. I'm so glad they love each other. She's very protective of her brother telling everyone she meets.... "He's my Jonas!" or "He's my Bonus." (his nickname is Jonas the Bonus). Many a time, we will all gather as a family around Jonas as he lays on the floor and just smother him in kisses all at once. As you can tell, we love having him in our family.

He has really mastered using his hands to grab anything in front of him. He keeps trying to figure out how to hold his own bottle but we aren't quite there yet. He has slept through the night a handful of times (most recently being last night). He will wake up sometimes but just goes right back to sleep after getting his binky back. He is truly an easy baby and so laid back that I'm even amazed most days.

And his latest accomplishment is going "swaddle-free"! I decided to try it out tonight since he's getting so big. I prepped myself for a long night of fussiness but so far it hasn't happened. He only needed one reminder that it was "night night" time and he was out. I couldn't help but get a picture of the big boy in his bed. So funny how he spreads out like superman. I guess he was ready to stop being bound up like a little china man eh?

And just how big is our little guy getting at 6 months?

Length: 29 inches (95%)
Weight: 18.11 1/2 lbs (50-75%)

He's a tall little dude. He looks so big but I guess when you are stretching that weight out across his long little body it is a bit more deceiving.

Happy 6 month's old Jonas McKay! We love having you in our family!