Brooks William {6 months}

 Somehow, this sweet baby boy is 6 months old (as of December 11, 2014).  He is 100% delight.  As Kreg says, "he's the kind of baby that makes you think you want more babies."  He's just easy to please.  Happy to be here.  Content.  Healthy.  Full of joy.  Thank you, God! 

 A little over 17 pounds and 27 inches, I am so so pleased at how he has grown!  He started so very tiny! He's right in the middle of the growth charts on weight (48th percentile) and still pretty long (75th percentile).  I *think* his eyes might just stay blue... we will see!  His hair is growing in lighter but I can't decide yet if it will be brown or blonde.  I'm betting on a little brown hair blue-eyed cutie.  I just love watching them grow & change into "themselves!"

 Brooks' favorite things right now are: toys-- any kind, but especially wooden ones that he can chew on (no teeth yet, we're still working hard on them!), his brothers, FOOD, and snuggles with mama.

 He sits very well and is getting sturdier as he stands-- he hasn't shown much interest in crawling, though!  This surprises me because his brothers were all about it-- but I'm alright with him just scooting and army crawling at this point... it's slower and easier to keep up with, ha!

 Brooks does the most adorable thing with his hands... I'm going to have to catch it on video but when he wants something he opens and closes all his fingers (I call it spirit fingers!) as he reaches for wants.  It's just one of those sweet little things that reminds me that each baby is a unique individual person.

 Brooks said his first word last month: Dada.  Kreg has been working on this since practically day 1, so it's only fair!  I love watching him watch our mouths and try to imitate us.  So far, he has "Dada" and "byebye" down... and is quite good at blowing raspberries.  Mama is coming, I'm sure of it :)

 We started solids this month! After 3 babies, I still have yet to buy a jar of baby food... We've always fed our babies "real" food and done the smallest amount of pureeing as possible.  It wasn't until after Westin that I learned there is actually a name and method for this-- it's called Baby Led Weaning.  I steam his veggies and give them to him whole and he gnaws on them until he's mashed them enough to swallow.  Does he choke?  No.  Does he sometimes find his gag reflex?  Yes.  But less and less as the days go by :) He also eats whole bananas, Cliff kids bars (that was kind of an accidental discovery... but works just as well as oatmeal), sweet potato "fries," drumsticks (okay, we pull most of the meat off first but we do leave him some and he loooooves it), yogurt, and bone broth.  He has a hearty little appetite and I love to watch him discover new tastes and textures.

Thank you, God, for the blessing of our little Brooks!  We pray that he will continue to grow strong and healthy, that he will have a servant heart and a desire to know You intimately.