Six Months

My Dearest Nathan,

Today you are six months old. I can hardly believe that half a year has passed since you were born. In those six months you have changed so much, as have I. You have transformed from a tiny and helpless 7 1/2 lb. newborn to a curious and entertaining 18 lb. baby. When your daddy and I lay you on your stomach, you move your arms and legs so fast it's as if you are swimming on the carpet, but you only move yourself in circles or roll from one side to the next. You desperately want to be mobile so you can cause even more commotion than you already do, but you just haven't quite mastered the concept. You now reach for anything within your grasp. You want to touch and taste any object placed near you, including nasty objects deposited in your diaper. When you have something in your grasp, the first thing you do is put it directly into your mouth. Much to your dismay, your daddy and I have had to dig leaves, grass, dirt, napkins, socks, keys, candy, and several other items out of your mouth.

Your personality is really starting to show. You love to be the center of attention and will smile at almost anyone who comes your way. The only people who you really haven't quite warmed up to are your cousins. Any time they make a noise or come near you, you jump and make your "frowny face." They will often make you cry. Several times you have stressed out your aunt Nici so much because you insist on being held anytime your cousins are in the same vicinity as you. I know one of these days you and Caden will be ganging up on Ciara and causing all sorts of trouble. But for now, Caden scares you to the point of tears.

I have been bringing you to work with me almost every day since you were two months old. Though it has been extremely stressful for me and you make it really hard to get my work done, I would have it no other way. I could not go week after week without holding you in my arms, seeing your beautiful smile, or listening to you having conversations with your elephant and turtle friends. Everyone here loves you and you love everyone here. You smile and laugh and bringing out the best in all of my co-workers. It has benefited everyone having your personality around. I dread the day approaching sooner and sooner that I can no longer bring you with me. I will miss having all of my papers wrinkled after your tiny fist grasps them, I will miss the drool all over my phone cord (your toy of choice on my desk), I will miss the huge smiles you give me when I'm having a stressful day, I will miss typing on my computer while you sit on my lap and sing, I will miss you grabbing my fingers to chew on until you notice my wedding ring when you will stop to examine it like you know the meaning behind it and I will mostly miss the sound of your swing behind me knowing that you are sleeping peacefully within my arm's reach.

You have grown so much over the past six months. When we first brought you home, your newborn clothes and diapers totally engulfed your little body. Before you were born we thought you were going to be huge like most babies in our family, but you were so tiny. I look at babies now who are bigger than you when you were born and I don't believe that you were ever that small. Now at six months old you are wearing 12 month clothing. You are so long! At your four month doctor appointment you shot up 5 1/2 inches from the day you were born, putting you in the 95th percentile for length in babies your age. Just like your mom, we have trouble finding pants the right length that also fit around the waist. Your daddy is sure you will be well above 6' 5" making for an excellent pro-athlete (of course football is his first choice for you, but he'll settle for any sport). We can already tell that you have your daddy's muscular legs, which again indicates to him that you will be a pro-athlete of some sort. You have wanted to walk since you were about two weeks old. We figured this out by letting you stand supported by our grasp, and your legs automatically move one in front of the other ... this is one of your favorite things to do.

You have been eating solid foods since you were four months old. It was a constant battle to get you to eat your rice or barley cereal, but ever since we introduced you to fruits and vegetables you just can't get enough of them! So now, we trick you into eating your cereal by mixing it with some of your favorites: pears, applesauce, green beans or squash. Like your daddy, you are a messy eater and tend to fling food in all directions. Keeping your clothes clean is a constant battle. No matter what we feed you, you make the most disgusted face with your first bite. You act so grossed out that you just about gag until you realize that the mushy stuff in your mouth tastes yummy, then you get mad because we don't shovel it in fast enough.

You love to laugh and play. You especially like toys that make noise or music. Music seems to enchant you, which makes me happy. You have been surrounded by beautiful classical music before you were even born. You are not much for playing alone, you prefer to have company on the floor with you, especially your daddy. You love to laugh and smile at him, you love it when we eat your feet and belly or when we dangle you upside-down from your feet. You love to have conversations with us, even though we have no clue what you're trying to tell us. You love to be outside on a blanket so you can chew on your toes or sitting up staring at the pretty flowers blowing in the wind. You have come to love bathtime, storytime and getting ready for bed. But as long as you have your daddy or me, you can be happy anywhere.

I could go on forever about how you know exactly who we are, how you say "mama" all the time (and your daddy responds to that by saying "dada!"), how you smile so big when you see your daddy walk into the room, how you love your Grandma Jill and Grandpa Ron, how you wish you could spend more time with your Grammie Debi and Papa Kent. You have changed my life more than I could ever have imagined. You have forced me to become more flexible, you keep me on my toes by changing every week. You take up all of my free-time and a lot of my sleep-time, but I would have it no other way.

Love,

Mama

A friend of mine recently asked me if she should have children. I have no better answer for her than this: I love my Nathan more than you could ever know, he is my heart and soul. Is it worth it? Yes.