I should probably stop calling my baby Linky-poo before it’s too late and I CAN’T stop. Seeing as how he’s a whole half-year old now and getting to be a big boy his baby nickname isn’t so cool anymore.

I don’t have any actual stats because we haven’t been to Linc’s 6 month appointment yet, but I can sum it up with: FAT. I tried to carry him in the bucket seat yesterday and my arm almost fell off. He’s HEAVY. He’s also outgrowing his 9 month clothes at an impressive pace, so I’m buying 12 month stuff. It’s hard to buy ahead for a kid who might keep breaking the scale or who might thin out as soon as he starts moving.

Right now his preferred form of movement is swimming. We went to a pool party yesterday and even though the water was a little cold he was SO HAPPY in the pool. He still loves his Otteroo neck floaty in the tub (despite the fact that it still looks insane) and I can’t wait for summer when he can float around our kiddie pool as much as he wants. I’m even considering mommy & me swim lessons, since he is such a water baby. You know his love is obvious if I would intentionally put on a swim suit to make him happy.

As of today, Lincoln has 4 teeth – top two front and bottom two front. They are very very sharp. He also has very sharp, very fast growing finger nails and a freakishly strong grip. He likes to show how much he loves you by grabbing the hairs on the back of your neck and ripping them out while biting your face and going “AHHHHGGGGRRRRHAAAHAAHAHAHAHA”. He’s a vicious baby zombie trying to eat you alive. It’s pretty cute the first couple times, but at this point I think he might actually be trying to kill me.

Likes include sitting up, hitting things, the cat, the dog, Evan, Caroline, singing, funny voices, when you tell him he’s kind of a jerk, laughing, tickles, patty cake, bath time, sleeping on people, sleeping in my bed, being worn, biting, shoving food in his face, blankets, flinging himself off high surfaces and anyone who will talk to him or hold him.

Dislikes include missing naps, tummy time, teething and being alone.

6 Month Milestones (from Caroline’s 6 month post, originally from BabyCenter)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Turns toward sounds and voices – He’s a nosey parker and wants to look at EVERY sound.
Imitates sounds – A little bit. Makes mamamama and babababa sounds but I’m not sure it’s imitating.
Rolls over in both directions – He still can’t roll stomach to back. Isn’t that supposed to be the easy way???

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Is ready for solid foods – SO READY GIVE ME ALL THE SOLID FOODS.
Sits without support – Excellent at sitting, only falls over occasionally.
Mouths objects – HAHAHAHAHAHA Yes.
Passes objects from hand to hand – He’s very good with his hands and grasp, but I’m not sure I’ve seen him pass anything.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Lunges forward or starts crawling – Flings himself around and can turn while on his belly, but hasn’t made muh forward progress yet.
Jabbers or combines syllables – Talky talky baby.
Drags objects toward himself – Surprisingly good at this one. Probably because he refuses to roll or crawl or lung, so he has to be good at reaching.

Three months in and Caroline is still the happiest, smiley-est, cutest baby ever in the whole history of the world. Obviously I’m a little biased but seriously, she gives newborns everywhere a good name. I should rent her out to people who are scared that having a baby will be super hard. Of course, then their baby will end up being all colicky and refluxy and screamy and they’ll hunt me down and punch me right in my smug face. To which I will just say I paid my dues, suckers, and his name is Baby Evan.

For the record, Toddler Evan is pretty awesome. But Baby Caroline makes me want a dozen more babies.

Unfortunately, we don’t have a 3 months well-baby check so I don’t have real stats for height and weight, but she is definitely big and chubby. We’ve moved up to 6 months sleepers and dresses and I’ve already started a pile of too-small stuff to put away. I’m super excited that spring is almost here so I can start putting her in the dozens and dozens of adorable barely worn hand-me-downs my friends and sister-in-law have given her.

Caroline is now awake for a lot of the day, but will fall asleep if we go anywhere in the car or if we wrap her up and bounce her in the bouncy seat. She sleeps for an amount of time that is technically considered “through the night” by baby-sleep experts but still involves feeding her at midnight and 5 am. Which is fantastic, as long as I get an occasional nap to make up for those couple of lost hours. One of these days we’ll work on moving her to the co-sleeper or the crib – or a new crib, if I can convince E we need one – but for now she’s still sleeping the the swing most of the time. Ok, all the time. No judging unless you’ve lived with a baby who gets up every 90 minutes to nurse for 8 months straight.

Favorite things still include smiling, looking at people, sleeping, and making adorable baby sounds. Dislikes are gas bubbles and having onesies pulled over her head.

And now for the gratuitous picture section. Milestones are below:

Ah! It's trying to eat me!

Bebeh feet of the month

2 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usually)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Recognizes your face and scent – Yes, although I’m afraid if I ever start taking regular showers again I might confuse her
Holds head steady – Yes, there is definitely less slamming of her head into my face when I try to hold her on my shoulder
Visually tracks moving objects – Yes, which I find ridiculously adorable

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Squeals, gurgles, coos – OMG the noises she makes are the absolute cutest noises ever in the whole world
Blows bubbles – Yes
Recognizes your voice – I think so, she definitely smiles the most when I talk to her
Does mini-pushup – Yes, she’s super strong!

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Rolls over, from tummy to back – YES! She did it for the first time right on her 3 month birthday. She can also go halfway from her back to tummy but can’t get over her arm
Turns toward loud sounds – Sort of. There are a lot of loud sounds around here. They only bother her about 50% of the time
Can bring hands together, bats at toys – Yes and yes, I’ve started giving her small toys to hold, which doesn’t last very long but she likes to try

Aaaaand one more picture for the hell of it. I was trying to catch her smiling but this is actually more awesome: