11 months? Unbelievable!

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Here we are at eleven months, the time has gone by so fast, and yet he has become such a central part of the family and household it's hard to remember what we were like without him here. Everyday I feel so privileged to be able to share his life with him, yet I know in a few years he's not going to want me hugging and kissing him all the time. What an ingrate. The blog seems to allow only five pictures per post, so this months picture is here. To see the earliest months, scroll down. Also you can click on a picture and get a larger view of Felix in all of his near naked splendor.

No thank you!

Well, our first attempt at feeding Felix baby food went pretty well but since then he wont eat solids. His response has been a pretty consistent, "No thank you". He purses his lips, scrunches up his face, turns away and frowns. At first sign of one of his spoons he starts to get a stubborn look and then the only time he'll open his mouth is if we cajole him into laughter! His refusal to try any solid foods has worried us a little bit as we want him to develop his swallowing, etc. Mom is having a hard time providing all his calories (about 42 ounces per day) via breastmilk and would really, really like to have him sleep longer through the night on a full tummy. But we are holding out and not using formula yet. We've tried rice cereal, barley, sweet potatoes, avocado, bananas, green beans, peas, and carrots. We've tried home made from scratch and boxed / jars. The closest we've had to success was either sneaking in a spoonful of peas or the one time he grabbed a green bean from mom's plate and choked on it. Felix's grandmother was convinced that bananas would do the trick and so when we spent the weekend at her house recently we tried squashing an organic banana and feeding it to him. I think mom still has it in her hair!

Field Day for Felix

Each year around mid-September, we look forward to the crocus bloom in our front yard. Two years ago we missed it, but we happened to be in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland and saw fields full of wild crocus. Felix seems to like them, well at least not mind them, even with the bees buzzing around. Perhaps in a few years we can take him to the Swiss crocus.
Felix ate his first solid food meal. It was brown rice mixed with breast milk. He seemed to like it that first time, but since then has refused to eat his porridge. Picky baby, must take after his father. Unfortunately, the pictures of this event must have been accidently deleted as I can not find them.
Also, Felix had his sixth month check up. He is doing very well. He can sit up, transfer objects between hands, make various sounds, and some imitation. He is nearly 27" long and weighs 15lbs. 1.5oz. This puts him in the 60th and 15th percentile respectively. We believe his low weight is due to the scale being skewed by formula fed babies, which tend to be heavier. Either way, he is very happy and very healthy.

The many loves of Felix Truman

Aside from getting his picture taken, Felix also loves looking at himself in the mirror. Combine that with his other love of standing, and it almost beats out his loves of eating and sleeping. Though he does love it more than his love of taking a bath, rainbows, and cuddling puppies. But not more love than for those actual activities... So he claims.

Grabby!

Felix has started grabbing at things. Most of the time they tend to be attached to mommy (her hair, her jewelry, her clothes) but this time he got Dad's glass. All I have to say is, thank goodness it was just water or Dad would be in a lot of trouble with Mom!

Happy, Joyous & Lucky

Everywhere we go people tell us that Felix is so happy. He smiles so much and so readily greets strangers that I thought I might show the other side of the story, just for perspective! This side only flares up occassionally but sure amuses us when it does! It is worth noting, however, that Felix doesn't enjoy his car seat much and spends a good deal of time in it screaming.

Okay, I really like this picture, I believe it really illustrates why we chose the name Felix. He looks so engaged, so positive and optimistic. This picture is from July 12th. Everyday when I take his picture (I take a mugshot everyday) he smiles. He could be crying when I set him down but when he sees the camera he must know it's showtime.

6months! Where has the time gone?

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July

August
September


...... I can't believe it has been 6 months already. We've really enjoyed him and he is growing so fast. That sounds like such a typical mom thing to say. How about the truth: I'm tired, sick of well-intentioned people with unsolicited advice, I look back at my pre-baby woes and laugh at my naivete, and I miss my selfish days of doing as I pleased and having much less neck pain. The rest of the truth is that I count myself so incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful little guy, I feel completely blessed by his presence and when he laughs at me, I melt. He stops crying when I pick him up. Let me say that again, he stops crying when I pick him up. I'm a mommy. Wow! - Renae

Felix's First Fourth

This is Felix on the fourth of July, maybe you guessed that. We had a great day at Downtown Bellevue Park.  We'd gotten there early for got a good spot in the shade and a great view.  Felix had a good time, he was unfazed by the fireworks... actually, he slept through them.

Mommy and Felix at the park 

Felix leads a double life as a sea urchin, actually he is sort of the "chief" of his sea urchin tribe.  It is a small tribe though. 

Felix smiling 

power grab?

power grab?
Originally uploaded by HowardFamily5.

It was pretty evident soon after his birth that Felix had the ability to plant thoughts inside other people's heads. A team of doctors rushed in and tried to harness this power but ended up starting fires instead.

Introducing Felix Truman Howard

The long awaited arrival...
...Felix Truman Howard!
Born Thursday, March 10, 2005
5 lbs 15.4 oz 18.5 inches long



Mom and Dad are taking their time adjusting to the changes. Dad is home for almost three weeks to help Mom out and get to know his baby boy. Natalie and Megan love spending time with their new little brother and have been more than willing to help out (especially if it gets them out of homework).