Month 6: Half a Year

My sweets,

Six months ago, your daddy and I were gifted with the most amazing present. You. Your round little face and sweet nursing cheeks, your twin death stabbers (that's right, month 6 saw the advent of your second tooth), your enormous, playful grin, and the heartbreaking pouty lower lip. You're gorgeous; you're beautiful; you drive me nuts sometimes.

You change so quickly that sometimes I don't notice it until I look back at how things used to be. One of the most poignant examples of this is your grasp. All of the sudden, I noticed that you grasped things very deliberately, and were able to move objects from one hand to the other. It's not like you all of the sudden began doing this; your ability to do so developed so gradually that I didn't even notice it happening until all of the sudden you weren't aiming and missing - you were consistently grabbing whatever was placed in front of you (purposefully or not. Let's not talk about those two cups of coffee you spilt within four days...)

Everything you do has purpose now. I can put two toys in front of you, and you'll show preference for one of them. One of your favourites is your little yellow Angel Care baby toothbrush that I bought off eBay. Something tells me I should buy a few more, in the case that we ever lose this one - you'll gnaw away at it for hours (okay, maybe not hours, but longer than most toys!) You're also a big fan of beer bottles and beer cans - obviously, Daddy discovered this penchant, not me. Soothing on your gums, we say. We really know, though, that you're probably going to love beer just as much as your daddy does. But not until you're eighteen years old.

You're a babbler. In the mornings, you'll lie in your bassinet and babble until I come get you - and that's when a gigantic smile spreads across your gorgeous little face. You like talking to your toys, sometimes, too - either that, or putting them in your mouth (or kissing them, like the exersaucer flower that you so lovingly caress.)

You're a mover. You roll all around; I can't leave you alone for more than a few seconds now, or else you'll roll off the couch (yup, that happened - I win mom of the year. You were absolutely fine - you barely even cried) or roll into the couch (that little scenario resulted in a little bit more crying. I couldn't help but just watch you for a few seconds before scooping you up into my arms - you were so cute!) You've discovered your toes, too. I love watching you when you're lying on your back, bringing your toes to your mouth and excitedly gnawing on them.

We started you on solids at about 5.5 months, "solids" consisting of finger-size sticks of sweet potato, avocado, or banana. We've chosen a method of solids called "baby led feeding", which means that we don't feed you - you feed yourself. Over the past half a month, we've watched you grasp, miss, squeeze, squish, gag on, and throw your food - you've only really begun to get good at actually gnawing and perhaps swallowing every now and again. It's hilarious to watch, and suppertime usually ends with Daddy clearing up the kitchen and me giving you a bath.

We still find banana behind your ears every once in a while.

Love,

Mama