It’s almost frightening… there are some differences, especially in the eyes, but the similarities are striking. When Becky first handed me this photo, I thought for a second she gave me a picture of Cavan. A hint: the picture was taken in December of 1979.
And, of course, the hair is a giveaway…
Cavan cut his first tooth a week or so ago. It’s one of the bottom center ones. He fussed a bit about it, but overall hasn’t been too cranky. Earlier this week he got a cold, now he’s better and Shannon and I have it. We’ve all been pretty miserable this week. I assume the cold germs came from my work, even though I wash and sanitize my hands before I come home there’s a lot of nasty stuff on money and I always get sick more frequently when working in a bank.
We’ve been giving him a few stage 3 baby foods since he’s more than ready to try them. He likes them a lot, and also enjoys sucking on fruit. Soon we’ll let him try soft finger foods and see how he likes that. Last night he was sitting in his high chair gnawing on a bitey biscuit and intently watching Daddy eat his dinner. He’s convinced that whatever we’re eating must be better than whatever he’s eating, and he wants to try everything. He sure doesn’t have any problems eating! One of his favorites are Popsicles even though we only let him have a tiny bit because they’re the 100% fruit kind but they still have a lot of sweetness.
On the job front, Shannon has an interview September 3. I have an interview August 25 and another one next week yet to be scheduled. Hopefully something will work out for us.
As far as our apartment - we need to be out of here October 1 or our rent goes up by $100 a month. Things are cutting very close, but it seems that finding work is a months long process. The interview I have on Monday is for a job I applied to in February - just as an example. So, we need to move by October 1, and we have no idea where to yet - we need work and don’t want to get stuck into a lease somewhere only to be offered a job somewhere else. The logistics of moving are a source of stress in themselves, but right now all we can do is take things one day at a time and hope that things work out for us.
Cavan had his 6 month check up last Thursday. He’s balancing out nicely! 27 inches long and 20.2 pounds. He is a big boy, but all around big so we don’t need to worry about his size. Developmentally, Cavan is still measuring right on/ahead in everything. When we were waiting in the lobby of the Doctor’s office Cavan was blowing raspberries at me while standing on Daddy’s lap and laughing - the nurse commented on how cute that was and said that she was surprised he was only 6 months old, since he looked and acted much older. Then we went into the exam room and Cavan sat on the table holding Daddy’s hand. When the Doctor came in she stopped and just stared at him for a minute, Cavan smiled at her and “talked” to her a little. After she was done watching him sit and chat with her she looked at us and said “I guess we don’t need to worry about any developmental delays!” She was very pleased with his growth and development.
The 6 month check up wasn’t all fun and games though, Cavan got another round of booster shots. He sucked down the liquid ones like he was starving despite the fact that he just ate, and he cried for the shots (the nurse was pretty rough and made him bleed a lot). He was sleepy for the rest of the day but overall did really well.
On Saturday we went to Utica for my friend’s baby shower. Cavan met three little girls and he loved the attention, the youngest one was 2 and she kept holding his hand and sitting on the foot rest of his stroller. I’m not sure how old the oldest one was (5 or 6 maybe?) but Cavan liked her a lot too, he kept touching her face and smiling at her. What a little flirt we have! I feel bad that Cavan doesn’t get to socialize with other little kids - it’s pretty clear that he’s ready to start meeting them. Unfortunately, we’re stuck in Lansing away from everyone we know and in a temporary situation here so making friends for a playgroup is kind of pointless. We need to be out of our apartment by October 1 and have no intention of staying in Lansing.
We bough Cavan a jumperoo (finally). He loves it! He hops around in it happily and loves playing with all the toys on it. We definitely need to put up a video of him in it!
Shannon has been slacking with pictures lately! We need to post some new ones!
Cavan is 6 months old today! He can sit up on his own for short intervals before face-planting into the floor or getting bored and rolling over. He’s an expert at getting where he wants to be by rolling. He gets up on his hands and knees and he’s ready to crawl - he just hasn’t figured out the “one hand in front of the other” idea to get places. I’ll try to take a video of him soon.
Cavan has also become mister grabby hands. Nothing is safe! Yesterday we were walking through the mall and some stores (air conditioned walks are a good thing!) and he was sitting straight up in his stroller and reaching for everything we passed. While feeding him he grabs at the spoon, the plate, the bowl, our hands, the bib, the wipes, etc.
We finally found a suitable high chair. We didn’t want to spend a small fortune on one, and we wanted one that wasn’t going to take up a ton of space. We managed to find one that I think is perfect for us - just $20 at IKEA. It’s just a basic plastic high chair with removable legs, the tray came separate for $5, so $25 total for a high chair - not too shabby! Cavan loves it, he sits in it and swings his feet back and fourth and loves being able to look at us face to face on our level. We also invested in a couple plastic bibs - a must have now that Cavan is eating/wearing two “solid” meals a day.
Also - Cavan is still quite a chatterbox. I don’t think he stops “talking” for more than 5 minutes while he’s awake. He makes all sorts of sounds and strings them together, but still isn’t saying real words intentionally.
Last week when Shannon picked me up from work I leaned into the back seat to give Cavan his hello kisses and he reached for me with two hands. Likely he just wanted out of his carseat, but it was still adorable. He also reaches for the bunny and the kitty, and loves watching them and smiling at them.
Our friend Matt came to visit from Arizona and we toured the greenhouse on campus with him. Cavan tried very hard to mutilate every plant within reach, but only really got a couple handfuls. Matt also gave Cavan a new book, part of the “Baby Be Useful” series entitled “Baby, do my banking.” It teaches Cavan all about how to balance the checkbook and manage home finances. Hey - a baby can’t get by on cute alone.