Skylar Drake turns six months old today. Happy Half Year birthday chunky monkey! For all my family and friends who read my blog regularly, I wanted to let you know what our big Sky has been busy doing.

1. While on his back, Skylar grabs both feet and rocks from side to side until he's finally on his stomach and then he rocks back to Happy Baby yoga pose!

2. Sucks his thumb.

3. When on his tummy, he can push up so high on his forearms that his head clears the co-sleeper. We've now moved him to the crib!

4. Can successfully grab at all the hanging toys on his Jungle Play Mat (on loan to us from our dear friend Dawn), make them rattle, swing and dance. And everything goes in to his mouth.

5. Can sit on his own unsupported but because he's so big, he sometimes starts to cant forward and when he finds his toes, they go right in his mouth.

6. Has a late afternoon snack of DHA-fortified infant oatmeal, and either mashed banana, garnet yams, or avocado as a side dish. He'll be trying applesauce today.

7. Skylar points with his index finger at nothing in particular.

8. Is really trying to talk. The other day I said, "thank you" to Dax for turning off the outdoor faucet and a second later I swear I heard Skylar trying to say the same thing. Whatever he said it sounded like thank you. He also says "hi". No joke. He does.

9. When crying to be picked up, he has said "ma" and "mama" and Tim's pretty sure that he's also heard him say "da".

10. If you ask Skylar where mama is, he looks to find me. If you ask him where dada is, he looks right at Tim, and he does this for Daxie and our dog Kodi Bear, so Sky knows who his family is!

11. When you come toward him with a diaper, he lifts his legs. What a helpful little guy.

12. Dax can get Skylar to grunt out a deep, hearty belly laugh. Dax has nicknamed Skylar "Noonie" and "Pooping Machine".

13. When you say "kiss?" he opens his mouth for one, especially when Kodi walks by because he knows he'll get a nice wet one from his furry friend.

14. When I ask if he wants a bath, he gets very animated and starts punching and kicking with arms and legs. Same goes for "neh" "neh" (breast milk) and when I ask if he wants his oatmeal.

15. Can palm his bottle for a short bit but he isn't quite holding it on his own yet.

16. Is loving the Rec Center pool.

17. Coos along to songs on the car radio.

18. His pediatrician says it looks like Sky's two bottom front teeth are about to come in. He also says that at 90% for weight, 90% for height and 96% for head circumference, we've got a very healthy baby boy.

19. Aside from getting fussy when hungry or tired, Skylar is such a happy, laid-back baby. We adore him.

I want to dedicate my next blog to some funny (and frustrating!) toddler antics. One glace at this list and you might think I never have my eye on Dax but somehow he manages to pull these escapades off in a matter of minutes!

1. While the red load was washing, Dax manged to open the dryer door, stand up on its lip, grab the partially opened and brand new bottle of Downey softener, and proceed to dump its entire contents into the wash cycle.

2. Flushing a pair of small nail clippers down the toilet.

3. Getting in to a giant tub of Vaseline and smearing it ALL over his face, his bed, and the carpets. Oh what fun it was to clean up, but his skin was as smooth and silky as a newborn's bottom!

4. Dropping DaDia's beloved snow globe on the living room floor and then not owning up to it. He continued playing as if nothing bad had happened. So naughty!

5. Finding Dax sitting in the middle of the kitchen up to his elbow in a brand new jar of all-natural creamy peanut butter. There were pools of it around his entire body and he just smiled and said, "Look mama!"

6. Dressing up in mama's headband (he actually got it on right) and beaded clutch purse and telling me he was going shopping for turkey. (And just to set the record straight, he prefers playing with monster trucks and tractors!)

7. Smearing washable finger paint ALL over his playhouse with his good friend AJ. They even managed to get it on the fuzzy rocking horse.

8. Left alone for 10 minutes to play together upstairs, Dax gets into the shower and AJ keeps turning it on and off. Dax is soaked and both boys are giggling uncontrollably.

9. Lifting Skylar out of his vibrate seat and nearly toppling over from the weight of the chunky monkey.

10. Finding Dax standing on the coffee table launching himself through the air onto the couch.

11. Getting in to the chewing gum in the center console of the car and leaving wads of it for us to find.

12. Taking himself to his potty, he later yells for me to come look at the "18-wheeler" he had pooped out. Lordy, it was enormous.

More to come . . .