The Zorio Family: 6th Month Update

I had typed this and attempted to post it to our blog last Saturday, November 14th, but it did not upload for some reason. Some of the information, of course, is dated to last week, but here's attempt two.

It's hard to believe, but Dawson is six months old today! All the sudden he is able to do so many new things. A couple of weeks ago Dawson said "Ma ma" for the first time. John and I were so surprised that we thought it was accidental in the middle of all of his baby babble. We decided for this to count as his first word he would have to say it a few more times. Over the past few weeks he has said it several more times along with "da da" now too! We are so excited! Of course, he doesn't say it when we want him to or when we're trying to get him to say the words, but that just makes it that much more exciting when he does decide to surprise us with the words. He doesn't know who Mama or Dada are, but it's still sweet.
Also, a new thing for Dawson is sitting up on his own. Now he can sit for a good amount of time without anyone or anything supporting him.
We decided this past week that Dawson was ready to play in a baby walker, and he loves being able to move around the house. At this point he can only go in reverse instead of walking forward, but it's so funny!
Dawson's six month check up was Tuesday. He weighs 17 pounds 11 ounces and was around the 75th percentile for all of the measurements they took. Unfortunately he had to get four shots, but after a nap and infant Tylenol he was fine. We don't have to take him back until he is nine months old which seems like forever away, but I know it will come sooner than we realize. We really like Dawson's doctor and nurses. They all come in to peek at him when we're there to see how he had grown. The doctor is really patient and puts up with the long list of questions we always have for her at his check-ups!
At his check-up the doctor told us that he is ready to start baby food. We were very excited as we have been waiting for this day in hopes it would help him sleep through the night, or at least logner stretches of time. The first night he slept great, but after that he's been back to his old sleeping (or lack of sleeping) habits, waking up between 1 and 5 (sometimes 11) times a night. Even though it hasn't helped him sleep, starting baby food has been fun and messy!
For months now I have been reading about how to make homemade baby food, and I was excited to try it myself. It is so easy! I would recommend it to anyone who has a little time to make it! So far, I've made carrots, yellow squash, and sweet potatoes. For the carrots and yellow squash you peel and steam them and then put them in a blender for a long time until they get to the right consistency. The sweet potatoes you bake with the skin on, then peel, then put in the blender with a little water for a while. After you get the food to the right consistency you pour it in one ounce size ice trays and freeze. After you freeze them you pop them out, wrap them, and then put them in freezer bags. Each cube is one ounce so it's easy to gage how much Dawson is eating based on how much I thaw.
We decided to start Dawosn on veggies so he wouldn't get used to the sweet fruits and then refuse veggies. So far he's only had carrots, as you give them the same food for 4 days straight to make sure there is no food allergy. Tonight he will get to have yellow squash for the first time. He seems to like carrots okay, but still prefers rice or oatmeal cereal.
We have also started giving Dawson a sippy cup this week once a day with water. This way he can teach himself to drink from it with a clear liquid inside (easy clean up). He has had the sippy cup for four days in a row now, and I think he's managed to get about 1/8 of an ounce of water total. He's more interested in chewing the cup than drinking the water.
In the midst of helping take care of all this new stuff that has gone on with Dawson, John has been really busy with work as they are getting ready for all of the Christmas shoppers. He also got the chance to play golf (a rarity in the last 6 months) with a couple co-workers on Thursday. The weather was perfect, and he had a good time! I've stayed busy with working out (in addition to caring for Dawson). I've even started attending a cycling class recently which is intense, but fun! Our gym has childcare, so it's a nice break in the day for me to work out and leave Dawson in "playcare" for an hour or two.
I'm getting excited about decorating for Dawson's first Christmas soon, even though it's hard to imagine with the weather in the 70's that we've been experiencing here in Alabama. We're looking forward to visiting family and friends soon with all of the holidays and birthdays coming up, so hopefully we'll see a lot of you all soon!
Enjoy the pictures below!