0.5 years old!

Kent has a will! And he knows it! He reaches for toys (and non-toys) that he wants if he's sitting upright, or he'll "swim" on the floor and reach for things that catch his eye. If he gets frustrated enough, he'll tuck his knees under him! It won't be long before he's crawling! It's fun and dangerous to see him exercise his will. 

Kent has dance moves!

Kent still loves it when you sing to him and play guitar and it's an immediate solution (guitar more than anything) if he's fussy when he's tired. He still sleeps great, from 7:30 to 5:30-6:30, although one morning we woke up at 8:15 and he was just in his crib awake and smiling. Luckily I didn't teach until 11 am that day. Most mornings, he wakes us up babbling and chatting away and we bring him in bed for snuggles, gently coaxing him to imitate our breathing patterns. Sometimes he falls asleep again, but most times he either chews on my hand/fingers or slaps my arm. Every night, he falls asleep like this: 

And at the last feed of the day, he has both fists over his eyes like this: 

Everything goes in his mouth, especially fabrics! He's more interested in chewing books than reading them or looking at them. I'd still like to have some reading time every day, even if it's short. I'm learning that the best time is after a meal while he's full and not as wiggly. 

When Chris and Corrie and their kids came over for Mother's Day weekend, it was in the 80s so we thought we'd try out our splash pad that he got for his baby shower. Well, this was Kent's reaction: 

He obviously didn't like the cold water. He proceeded to pee on my lap as he sat there pouting and sniffling. He had more fun with Papa: 

Kent's been eating new foods! These are his favorites, in order, from 'delicious' to 'why do you hate me?": bananas, carrots, pears (although first tastes = sour face!), sweet potato, avocado, and pees. I've heard a lot about baby led weaning vs. feeding purees. I feel comfortable feeding him, but I can see why it's good to teach him how to feed himself small bits of food too. It's hard to not worry about choking... I've put pieces of banana on his tray, but he's done nothing but wack his hand against them. Maybe he's too young still or lacks some fine motor skills. 

Newest development: random crying! He's burst into tears when people come up to him to say hi (with a smile), and he's cried when he thinks you're unhappy with him (at least this is what we guess). For example: if you've been smiling at him and then you stop and just look at him with a blank stare, he'll look at you back to see what your reaction will be and if you don't smile again or say something in an upbeat tone, he'll freak out. It's tough to get him calm again. Is this stranger danger? How would I handle this, other than give him opportunities to socialize and watch people? I just hope he is all smiles when we get together with family this summer!