Sechs Monate alt, und hungrig (6 months old, and hungry)

Owen turned 6 months during our Australian holiday. Here's a few milestones and developments we noticed during the trip.

During the first few days of our trip, Owen was learning how to turn over from his front to his back. He really doesn't like being on his front, however until recently he didn't know what to do to roll himself over. He managed a couple of times by chance, but usually he got stuck with his arm under his back. Here's a front and back shot of him in his stuck position. After about 2 minutes of this, he would start crying. Then one day, magically, he worked out that he had to move his arms out of the way before turning, and suddenly he was like those un-tippable toys. You put him on his front, and quick as a flash he's back on his back. Then, all through our holiday we were trying to get him to go from his back to his front. Unfortunately our families missed seeing it - it was only yesterday that he finally did it on his own!

It's a pottee, it's a seat... no, it's a Bumbo! What's a bumbo? It's a specially designed seat that allows babies to sit up even though their trunk muscles aren't yet strong enough. It does allow Owen to demonstrate his strong neck muscles, that can carry that proportionally HUGE head of his! It also allows us to take lots of cute shots of him...

One of the more exciting developments is Owen's hunger. 6 months is the recommended age for starting solids, and Owen knew it. Unfortunately for him, we decided to wait until coming back to Germany to start (better to get into the right time zone before adding another new routine). That meant our hungry little boy was mercilessly teased by seeing EVERYONE eating proper food, but none for him. He would stare intently at your spoon of whatever all the way from the bowl to your mouth, then he would imitate your chewing motions.

Finally, the time came for Owen to have his first solids. He has his own high chair, a collection of spoons and bowls, and wow does he love it! Here's a photo of Dad feeding Owen. He was so excited he wanted to feed himself!

Aaahh. That's better. Yummy yummy yummy I've got food in my tummy!

Of course, once you give an inch, they'll take a mile. "Where's my food??"