Happy Birthday Evan Richard Davis III! (Someday, that is going to look totally ridiculous on a cake.

It’s official – I no longer have a newborn. Newborns lie around like lumps.  They’re floppy and delicate and wear little hats and tiny diapers. You watch them every second they’re awake hoping they’ll smile, but when they do it’s accompanied by a full diaper. You have to feed newborns as soon as they start acting hungry no matter where or when. Newborns cry for no reason, sleep at odd hours and are easily carried around in a bucket car seat, mostly unaware of their surroundings.

Baby Evan is not newly born. He rolls and scoots and is only a week or two away from crawling. He loves being tossed in the air or spinning in circles or bouncing on your knee. He pulls all those adorable hats I bought him off his head and shoves them in his mouth. He’s graduated from “swaddler” diapers to “cruisers”. He cries because he is hungry or tired or hurt or, more likely, trapped under a piece of furniture. He laughs at the dog and funny sounds and when you tickle him. Baby Evan goes to bed at 8:30 pm and takes two naps during the day. He rides in big kid car seat that stays in the car and loves going new places and charming everyone he meets. In public, he’s too interested in his surroundings to sit still and have a snack, and besides, he has two whole teeth now and that practically makes him an adult.

Our 6 month doctor’s appointment is on Friday, and I’ll get his official weight (ELEPHANT), length (FOOTBALL FIELD) and head size (SUN) then, but for now here’s how he’s meeting his milestones from BabyCenter:

Mastered Skills (most kids can do):

• Turns toward sounds and voices – Definitely. He especially loves music or singing, even if it’s on tv.
• Imitates sounds – I’ve heard “Ma” and “Da” and lots of other “almost words” but mostly he just babbles. Or screeches.
• Rolls over in both directions – Rolls, plus he can spin in a circle and push up with straight arms.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do):

• Is ready for solid foods – Ugh, solids. I bought some baby oatmeal that didn’t need to be cooked and mixed it with breastmilk but he made faces and gagged. He was slightly more interested in the baby applesauce (I definitely thought it tasted better than the cold oatmeal)(The dog, on the other hand, practically ate the baby’s face off trying to lick up all the oatmeal) but still didn’t get much in his actual mouth. I guess we’ll wait another couple weeks before trying again.
• Sits without support – Mostly. He does a really great job…right up until you look away. Then he falls on his face. I think he’s doing it on purpose.
• Mouths objects – What DOESN’T he mouth? Favorites include: remote controls, paper, and my feet, with or without shoes on.
• Passes objects from hand to hand – All the time, although mostly reaches with his right. No southpaws in this family.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do):

• Lunges forward or starts crawling – Not on the floor but he can lunge from your arms. Which is why I tie him to me with the mai tei instead of trying to hold him in public.
• Jabbers or combines syllables – No, unless “bppppppffffftttt aaaayyyyyeeeeeiiiiiiii” counts.
• Drags objects toward himself – Yes. Putting a bottle of ketchup almost out of his reach is a great way to distract him long enough to eat half your meal at a restaurant

So it looks like we’re right on track to a normal child. At least until he starts talking and his first words are “your mom”. Or maybe “Legendary!” I might actually encourage that one.