Beast Boy, the Lover Boy

An update on our Beast Boy.

At 6 and a half months, BB is sweet, cuddly, affectionate, smart, smiley, drooly, and determined.

BB is learning to give eskimo kisses, and just generally loves to be held. He will gaze lovingly into my eyes or TC's eyes for long bits of time, sometimes raising an eyebrow or both. He is so loving. He will sometimes grab my face and pull it toward him for an open mouth, sloppy kiss. Its delightful, but between that and his constant drooling, I've recently remarked that I've never had so much drool on my person in my life.

The reason for the drool, TC and I have surmised, is that heavy bottom lip that takes quite a bit of effort for him to keep up. It's so endearing.

He has an easy smile. He started smiling at 6 weeks and hasn't stopped. He can be tired, in a bad mood, hungry and whiny, and yet, if he sees a new face will generally stop whining just long enough to smile and coo at them.

He is learning to imitate. A few weeks back he began imitating a "no" head shake. And with his comedic timing, he happened to shake his head at just the right time.

Me: Trying on hats, turning to him, and asking him, "What do you think? Do you like it?"
BB: no.

BB: dramatic cough
Me: "Are you okay?"
BB: no.

He mostly uses his no to make it nearly impossible to wipe his runny nose or to refuse a bottle when he's done eating.

He is giggly for TC. Those two can play and laugh for quite a long time. And it's adorable. He also gets super giggly when he's tired. He actually gets slaphappy, which makes it hard to put him to sleep because he's so much fun when he's that tired.

BB is vocal. He is pretty much always saying something. And he can get pretty whiny. But his whines typically replace a cry. He's more prone to complain than all out cry.

And when he does cry, I can hardly stand it. It's so sad. Or it's so angry.  He's a passionate little one. If he cries, it's with gusto, and full-on in whatever emotion he's feeling. Angry? Okay, well then it's an angry cry with fists shaking and eyebrows furrowed. Sad? Lip quivering and frowning with a healthy dose of sadness is in his voice. He's good at making his displeasure known, but not always good at communicating what exactly the problem is.

He can roll to his stomach and back, but doesn't love doing it. He doesn't like being on his tummy, and sometimes seems to panic and forget how to roll to his back, complaining until one of us helps him. He's learning to sit on his own, which he can do for a minute or so if we position his legs just right, and there's nothing on either side of him that he wants to reach for. Because if he leans to one side, it's all over.

He works really hard to accomplish whatever it is he wants to do. He's determined and will not give up easily. This translates into fighting sleep with all the strength that he has. Thankfully, once the fight is over and he's asleep at night, he sleeps for long hours.

We traveled to Barcelona in October with BB and he was an angel on the plane rides, and did really well while we walking around sightseeing. He was interested, checking things out, smiling at anyone who caught his gaze as we walked around the city.

BB is still a big boy. He weighs in at 20 lbs and is wearing 12-18 month clothes. His doctor says he's killing the growth charts. I say he's killing my back.

Over Thanksgiving we went to Disneyland. He's always so interested in everything around him so I was surprised that he did not seem to like anything about Disneyland. On It's A Small World he yelled at the dolls as we passed them in our little boat. We will try again in a few years.

We are in love with our lover boy, and often remark that we are so blessed to have him in our lives.