Our Little Genius

About a month ago, Hunter started inconsistently turning off the lights whenever we say, "Turn off the lights!" He would always bat at the switch, but only a few times would he get lucky enough to hit it just right that he actually turned off the light. Several times tonight, he has consistently turned off the light, and we were finally able to capture it on video.

5 Month Happenings

Since my last post, Hunter has started eating foods like a champ! His favorites are squash and bananas, but he also likes sweet potatoes, carrots, applesauce, peas, and mac & cheese. Some days he will eat green beans, but like his mama, he is not a big fan. We have also gotten him to eat oatmeal, but some days we have to mix in a little apple juice for him to eat that. We tried to give him some mashed up avocado this week, but he didn't really like that much. His two bottom teeth are almost all the way in, and we think he may be getting a top tooth in a few weeks. At his doctor appointment this week, Dr. Parkerson said the top gum was a little swollen, and we have noticed him chewing and slobbering more than normal again. Hunter is now able to sit unassisted for a few minutes at a time when placed in a sitting position. He seems to do better if he has a toy in front of him to focus on, otherwise he is looking around the room and topples over. He has now discovered his tongue, and loves to stick it out and spit! He continues to babble more every day, and has discovered a new level of squealing. He enjoys playing peek-a-boo, and has one of the best laughs I have ever heard! Hunter's laugh and smile make everything else in the world disappear, and you can't help but smile and laugh with him :) This past Wednesday, we had Hunter's 6 month appointment. We actually went in about 2 weeks early, since I was on Spring Break. At his appointment, he weighed 17.6 lbs. and measured 28 in. That puts him in the 50th percentile on weight and 90-95th percentile on length! Dr. Parkerson said he looked really good, and she was impressed that his weight has kept up with his height, which she says is difficult to do when they are that long. Since Hunter's 4 month appointment, he has grown nearly 3 inches!!! Here are some various pictures we have taken over the last month or so.

5 Months

You can tell my mama is an educator, because she already makes me read!

Sitting up

Eating for the first time in his highchair

Hanging out at Black Walnut after church

Teething

Our little boy is growing up so fast! Today we noticed that Hunter's two bottom teeth have broken through his gums already! We figured he had started teething since he is constantly chewing on his hands and drooling, but we didn't expect to see teeth for another month or two. It's amazing how fast they change! Hunter also found his feet a couple weeks ago, so now he likes to suck on his feet as well. Hunter never took to the cereals we tried recently, so we decided to try some sweet potatoes the other day. As you can see from the pictures, he is not a fan of those either. We've decided to give food a break, and will introduce it again in a week or two.

New Developments

It seems like over the last two weeks Hunter has changed so much. He is definitely beginning to show us his wonderful personality. He has been smiling and squealing for awhile, but now he has begun to giggle. His laugh is so adorable that it makes me laugh :) He has also begun to grab his feet, and is constantly pulling off his socks. I'm glad it has been warmer lately so he's been able to go without socks the last few days. Today he rolled from his back to his tummy, and then his tummy to his back. He's definitely become a pro at back to tummy, but is still inconsistent on tummy to back. I figure we only have a few more days before he becomes confident at this skill and we'll start finding him rolling clear across a room :) Tonight we gave him his first taste of rice cereal. As you can see from the pictures, he is NOT a fan!!!

Rolly Polly

Yesterday Hunter rolled over for the first time from back to tummy! Now that he knows how to do it, that's all he wants to do. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to roll from his tummy to his back, so we constantly have to flip him back over, otherwise he becomes frustrated. We also went for Hunter's 4 month well visit today. He now weighs 15.4 lbs. and is 25 1/4 in. long. He is considered in the 50-75% for both height and weight. Dr. Parkerson told us that we can now start introducing foods! We are going to start with rice cereal first, and then we'll move on to vegetables. This should be interesting :) She also said that his lower gum is slightly swollen, so he probably is beginning to teeth, but it could still be a couple months before we actually see a tooth. It's amazing how much our baby boy has changed in such a short period of time!

Smiling at his favorite monkey toy

Playing in his exersaucer

Rolling over

Happy New Year

Hunter has had several first recently. He attended his first New Year's Eve party the other night, but none of the Williams clan was actually awake to ring in the new year! This past weekend, Hunter also went on his first hunting trip to Lovelady. Of course, he didn't actually hunt. Hunter and I hung out in the house, while Daddy and his friends went duck hunting, but it was Hunter's first over night trip somewhere. Hunter did awesome! We were a little worried how he would do sleeping in his pack n' play all night, but he slept the whole night. That night was also the first time we've put Hunter down for the night, only to find him turned around in the morning. On this trip, Hunter also got to see his first horse. Lastly, Hunter has started to roll onto his side from his back. It has really been fun watching Hunter change and grow everyday! I look forward to what each new day will bring! I think I forgot to mention that when we took him to the pediatrician when he was sick, he weighed in at 14 lbs. and is now 25 inches long! Here are a couple of pictures from the New Year's Eve party.

Merry Christmas

Not only did Hunter celebrate his first Christmas this year, he also survived his first cold. Last week, we made two trips to the pediatrician. On Monday, we were told he just had a cold and to give him saline drops and elevate him at night. By late Wednesday afternoon, he developed this horrible barking cough, so we scheduled another doctor appointment for him the next morning. Hunter had developed a mild case of croup, the beginning of an ear infection, and goopy eyes. The doctor gave us drops for his eyes, an oral steroid for the cough, and Amoxicillin for the ear infection. As soon as we began administering his medication, we immediately noticed a change. Hunter is still congested, and has a little cough, but he is pretty much back to his normal self. This week, Hunter has really taken a liking to standing and squealing. He has been very fun to watch and play with this week.

Practicing sitting up

Daddy & Hunter on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve