Ronan is 6 months old!

Ronan is 6 months old! At his pediatrician appointment today he measured in at 27 1/4 inches tall (79th percentile) and 17 lbs., 2 oz. (44th percentile). So, he's still a tall, unplump guy. His head circumference was 44 cm (58th percentile). He's growing well. He's not as big as Brielle was at this age, when she was reportedly "over the 100th percentile" at 28" and 20 lbs. 5 oz., but we certainly didn't expect him to be. He's doing great with his developmental milestones. He can sit up on his own for many seconds (before he falls over). He's interacting with toys much more and laughing more often. In the photo below you can see his two bottom teeth. The ones on the top are now starting to break through.

During this last month, we had our big trip to LA for Christmas. Here's a photo of Uncle Kevin, Ronan, and Cousin Tavio, that I left out of the last blog post. The kids were amazing on the plane.  Brielle self-entertained with drawing, and Ronan either slept or looked around at the other people, flashing them his famous smile. We all shared a room together, and, amazingly, Brielle slept through Ronan's loud crying.

Back at home, the kids enjoyed their Christmas gifts. Ronan loves his walker "car" from Granddad Scott. He really prefers to stand up, and the car gives him a chance to practice walking around. He very quickly learned how to propel himself forward.

Brielle was also excited about Ronan's car. She frequently asks us to put him in it so the two of them can "drive" around together. She helps to push him forward and redirect him when he gets stuck. I think she's really excited that Ronan is getting to the age when the two of them can actually play together.

During this past month, Brielle had fun with the changes we made to the room that's next to the kitchen and bonus room. We have never been sure what to do with that area, but recently Daddy set up part of it as a "game room", including an arcade game with classic games, like PacMan, Frogger, and Tron.

Our Christmas present for Brielle was a really large mirror that she could use as her "dance studio". Almost every day since Christmas, she's dressed up in her favorite "ballerina" outfit from Grammy Barbara, put on her roller skates from Granddad Scott, and skated in front of her new mirror.

Brielle has also started new classes at the community center, including Pre-Ballet and Art, Music, & Acting. So far she's enjoying both of them. She loves dressing up as a ballerina, or a princess, or a princess ballerina. Classes for this young age mostly focus on getting them comfortable with movement and following directions in a group, but we can tell that she's picking up a lot of new dance moves too.

We're so glad that Ronan has been such a happy baby, and that Brielle continues to love him and is becoming more and more interested in playing with him and taking care of him. It's a really fun time for all of us.