A rainy June, but lots of fun for Lewis!

It’s been a little while since we caught you up on the adventures of Lewis!

While June turned out to be a terribly rainy month, we seemed to fare quite well with lots of visits to and from friends.

At the very end of May, our dear friend Debby visited. Aunt Debby is now a favorite of Lewis’s. And no wonder – she has two nephews of her own whom she dotes on, and Lewis got the same treatment! We spent a fun day out in Lambertville together, and then Lewis got his own night out with the babysitters while Debby and Daddy came to Norah’s choir concert.

Then Norah headed down to DC with baby Lewis for the Annual “Hoohah” – her college roommates reunion weekend! It was a really fun weekend, and Lewis got lots of love and attention from the other 4 girls. He also did amazingly well, even taking his regular naps in the stoller while we walked around DC. Here’s Lewis in the signature Hoohah pink hat!

After that, we slipped in a couple trips up to NYC – one to visit Norah’s high school friends, and one to take advantage of the youth babysitting while we attended the temple there. It was fun to have Lewis out in the big city again!

At the end of June, we hosted a baby shower for our good friends and neighbors, Jaime and Jeff. It was a lovely garden party, and we had a lot of fun doing it.

As for news and developments, a cute one is that Lewis can now sit in the swing at the park! We like to walk down to the neighborhood park in the late afternoon, and Lewis swings in the swing – very cute!

The other big news of the month is that Lewis is now eating some solids! He started with rice cereal at the beginning of the month. The first night he wasn’t too sure what to do with it, but by the second night, he had figured out how to suck and slurp it all up! After his 6 month appointment, we started with veggies and fruit too. He has now tried peas, bananas, butternut squash, and zucchini. The bananas and squash, he loves! Peas and zucchini, he could take them or leave them. It’s very cute to get to feed him every night!

And, finally…we have a crawler on our hands! Lewis spent a week or two grunting and groaning as he tried to figure out how to get going. He could push himself on his hands and knees, but didn’t know what to do with his arms so that he could get going forward. He could, however, somehow manage to scoot and make it across the living room if he really wanted to. Here are a couple pictures of him getting into things before he even really crawled! In the picture on the right, Lewis had started out on that playmat at the far side of the room. He went under the coffee table, and made it here! And, this is before he really crawled!

On Friday, June 26th, he all of a sudden started sitting up on his own. And, by Monday, he had figured out how to crawl a little. We still wouldn’t say that he has mastered it. But, he is certainly more mobile, and he definitely can crawl. We’re getting used to him all of a sudden popping into the kitchen to see us when we left him playing on the rug in the living room. Or, finding his way to every cord in the room. (Baby proofing is well on its way!)

New Personality Traits and Favorites for our little Munchkin:

Lewis is still a very strong little baby. He seems to be very determined too. If he has decided that he wants to get somewhere in the room, no matter how hard you try to distract him, he’ll remember! He’s a sweetie-pie. Our friend Debby said that she couldn’t believe how good and sweet and calm he was. It’s true! He’s usually an angel – especially for other people. He is a very happy baby! Unless he’s getting tired, he’s normally all smiles for us. And these days, we’re hearing lots and lots of little “chatter” – screams and coos as he tries to talk with us! We still think he’s a people person, because he loves to just stare at other people when we’re out and about. But for now, he prefers to observe and take it all in before he'll try to interact.

Lewis loves music; it’s always a sure way to calm him down. He seems to like being independent. Now that he’s sitting, he’s quite pleased with himself! Everything goes in the mouth – of course! He loves to touch everything, although he’s not the best at holding on to things still. He likes story time with Mommy, even though he’s often more interested in eating the books than reading them. He loves going for walks and jogs in the stroller. He is a bit ticklish. We get the cutest laughs when we wipe under his chin at night! And, he loves it when Daddy attacks him with zerbers on the tummy – he just squeals with delight!!! He spits up less. His poop is now gross and smelly! He’s normally a good napper, and he sleeps pretty well at night (although he usually still wakes up once to eat, or sometimes twice on a bad night, or if Mommy and Daddy aren’t quiet enough when we come to bed).

Lewis loves the tags and labels on things; they’re more fun to him than the toys themselves. He loves pushing large objects like his chair. He loves licking large objects too. He likes playing with his ear. He loves playing with or eating his feet. He likes pulling hair. He still startles pretty easily. He does OK with bath time, but it isn’t his favorite. He loves trying to grab the computer. He loves “The Wheels on the Bus”, and most any song with actions. He loves "Fly Banana Baby" (see below). He is obsessed with the tassels on the rug. He still doesn’t like going down for naps. He rarely sleeps on his back anymore. He likes to suck his thumb. He likes to suck his Daddy’s thumb too! Overall, he’s just a cute, happy, easy-going little guy, and we adore him!