I can't believe he is half a year old. In the same amount of time since he was born, he will be a year old.
Crap. That's so fast.
Too fast.
Yet, he's so fun and learning new things every single day that I can hardly stand it.
I am torn. I want him to stay little and cuddle-able but I am excited to help him learn to walk and talk and have a decipherable conversation with me. (Well, he already promised that he would cuddle with his mama until he's 17, so I have a few more years to get used to the idea of his independence.) It's tough to grasp how we got here so fast.
New mamas and papas are warned about the sleepless nights and hours of crying, diaper rashes and mounds of laundry, spit up and poop explosions, do-this-so-they-are-the-smartest-kid-ever-but-not-this-or-they-might-be-different (heaven forbid)-from-other-kids, buy-this-so-your-house-would-bounce-if-dropped-from-outerspace, and so on. Sure, we can definitely say we've experienced some of that to a small - very small - degree. Not that I am comparing, but if there was some sort of "rate your baby" scale, ours would definitely be at the top (of course, all parents say that). I am not referring to how cute or precious he is, all babies win that award in my opinion, this is more about how easily manageable he has been and continues to be. I can honestly say that I have never heard him cry for more than 10 minutes, and that's usually only when he's so tired he can't fall asleep. At the beginning our nights were somewhat sleepless just because he needed to eat...but once he ate, he would go right back down, no fuss about it. He really is a good baby, like, he is good at being a good baby.
We should stop while we're ahead. Why mess with perfection, right?
I am beginning to understand the whole "your baby is like a sponge" metaphor in a way that I never have known before. It's not just limited to when you drop a four-letter-word (you know the ones), he is quite curious about most things we say and do. And with that in mind, our six month list (everyone, pray I will get through it in one sitting):
1. He has this hilarious fake cough. It's like he knows that his voice can do all sorts of things and he's just trying it all out, and for some reason the cough is his favorite. So funny. And it seems he really enjoys communicating with his PapaBo like this.
They don't really like each other much.
2. I love to see him wrap his chubby little hands around objects that are too big for him to hold. It's like a whole new world of discovery for him, like he's saying, "Look at what I can hold, mama."
Chubby fingers playing on the floor at GiuGiu's house...where he learned to scoot backwards!
3. Well, somehow the day he was born we started calling him 'Bubba'...no rhyme or reason, it just happened. Poor kid isn't going to know his name when he goes off to preschool. So, naturally, the first sound that he is experimenting with.."buh buh buh buh buh"...often times sounding more like a motorboat. Cute, nonetheless.
This is his "buh buh buh" face...cute as the rest.
4. It's time to baby-proof the house, Scootie McScooterpants is taking off! But I already shared that, so this one doesn't count for my six.
"What did you say, GiuGiu?"
4(again). We can finally learn what this kids feet and knees look like! It is "shorts weather" here in East Tennessee and we are taking FULL advantage of it. We've been out in the yard every day this past week and plan to be out much more. Noah likes to see all the new shapes and colors that he can't see confined in the four walls of our house. Goodbye winter... see you next year!
Look, his knees and his feet!
5. Noah hasn't really cared one way or the other about his paci...he still mostly doesn't. We usually put him down at night with it, but of course it falls out once he's asleep. So when he wakes up in the morning he looks for it, "swimming" laps from one end of the crib to the other. Once he finally finds it, sometimes it ends up not-so-right-side-up, like this:
Uh oh...wrong way.
Also, as a parent note, we started him with four pacis, two of two different types. And proudly, we have kept up with all four of them. ALL of them...if you know us, you should be proud, too, this is quite the feat. But, sadly, as part of growing up, bigger boys need bigger things so we had to give him two new ones for his little mouth. Check back in six months to see if we still have them, a red and a white.
6. And finally, to melt your heart... Noah has started laying his head on my shoulder when he's sleepy. He has been all about wanting to be in his own bed when he's the least bit tired, but the past few days he has pulled himself close by grabbing my shirt and lays his head down on my shoulder. Today he fell asleep on my hip while I was walking around the yard watching my mama dig a new flower bed. So sweet. I hope he still does that when he's twelve.
Ok, maybe not twelve.
Eleven and a half.
And not to give the impression that mamahood doesn't have it's not-so-cute moments, here are a couple of things that I could live without, that I'm sure I will eventually miss...maybe:
1. He bites. He still breastfeeds. You do the math.
Let the sun shine...let the sun shine in...
2. You can't really blame him because he didn't stand much of a chance, but the kid doesn't have the best patience. He wants food and he wants it NOW. He wants the (insert bright shiny object here) and he wants it NOW.
This is his growling face...still cute.
We will be working on this.
And before I get off my emotional rollercoaster for the day, a few family photos:
Then...
And now:
Whew. I'm spent.
Enjoy.
Happy six month birthday, bubba.
Please slow down just a hair.
Thanks.
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