6 months

It's Dax's half- birthday! He is halfway to a year old. 6 months. 182 days. Every way I say it sounds just as insane. Yet, while I can hardly believe it has been that long, when I look at the little man he is clearly bigger, stronger, smarter, and sweeter every single day.

Read on to learn about our little monkey's 6th month:

Dax continues to eat solid foods every morning and evening in addition to nursing. He has had rice cereal, oatmeal cereal, sweet potato, yellow squash, avocado, peas, zucchini, and apple. While he has not disliked anything and eats well, sweet potato is a clear favorite thus far.

Our first time making food for Dax with the baby bullet

He has progressed in his eating, but not so much in his rolling skills. After about a week of rolling over nearly every time we placed him on his tummy, Dax stopped. Now he will do it occasionally, but prefers to fuss and get us to flip him when he's tired of tummy time. Stubborn like his mama :) He does, however, have a new trick. He can sit up! He topples over from time to time, but he got stable pretty quickly after we started letting him practice.

Sitting with his friends Anora and Alex - you may notice that Dax took notes from his other friend David earlier this summer as he is snuggling up to Anora

Sitting has given him a new perspective of his toys and he will eagerly reach for anything that is close. Sometimes he can't quite reach. That doesn't stop him, though. Our little smartie has figured out that if he pulls on the blanket, it will bring his toys closer to him. Almost every time he plays now, he ends up with a pile of toys and the blanket scrunched up around him. It's pretty funny and very cute.

Dax also continues to show interest in people. We saw the slightest bit of stranger anxiety when a friend of ours was over a few weeks ago, but for the most part he enjoys company. Mom and Dad are still his favorites, though, and it is fun to see him light up when we play with him.

Dax was across the shelter at the annual Anderberg family picnic, but was still happy to see Daddy!

He also lights up anytime we are outside. This is not new, but seems to be a noteworthy part of his personality. We can just imagine him in a few years - running around our yard playing with frogs and toads, chasing turkeys, and coming in covered in grass stains. For now he is content just looking around at everything.

Exploring at the Arboretum

One of the best parts of playing with him, whether we are inside or outside, is his laughter. Shortly after he started smiling he would light up and we could tell he was on the verge of giggling. Then, he would let out a little chuckle for awhile. Now, it's a full-out belly laugh and it is the sweetest sound I have ever heard. Check out this video of our happy little boy. (He does love his jumper, but was laughing because I was tickling his legs - and if you can believe it, he was even more hysterical before I started taping him)

It has been another amazing month. We thank God every day for blessing us with Dax as our son and it brings us pure joy to watch him grow and change.

This month's photo shoot was a little more interesting. I don't anticipate it will get any easier as he gets more and more interested in the world around him!

 And, of course, we have to give a look back at how fast the little bug has grown!