It’s already been half a year since you were born. Why does the time fly away so quickly these days?
You can now sit for at least minute before you lose your balance and topple over onto your side. You like to grab at my face and try to eat it. Actually, you try to eat everything. You’re finally rolling from back to front, but mainly when you are angry. I confess, sometimes we let you get a little frustrated just so you can find out what you can do when you try. I hope you don’t mind to much. You see, frustration is critical to the human experience, and you will encounter it many times, but that moment when you push past it or around it to get what you want is a great moment that helps you to grow like nothing other can. So we will let you get frustrated you you can figure out things by yourself. But don’t worry we’ll help when you need it, it will be a long time before we’ll leave you alone. You can move yourself around on the floor now, usually by backing yourself into a corner and then yelling because you can’t go forward to get out.
You love it when I lay you on your belly and rub your back, you smile until I stop. You smile all the time actually, at everyone, especially yourself in the mirror and other babies. You like to suck on paper and try to grab and eat all of the mail before I can get it inside. It’s a little contest we have now, how many pieces of paper can you grab and mangle before I can read them?
You are all eyes and smiles. Those eyes now look exactly like daddy’s. Brown in the center and fading to bright blue on the outside ring. Right now you are lying on the floor sucking on your toes, and making happy talking sounds.
You’ve started to watch us very closely. You pull in back in surprise and delight when I put something in my mouth, you are fascinated with eating. You try to talk back to us, you are obviously pleased when we imitate your gurgles and gargles. “At last, they’re starting to sound intelligent, I may still be able to train these big clumsy bipeds to obey me.” You berate us severely when we get things wrong, letting us no how very displeased you are.
I love that you have started to rub your face against my chest and lean on me when you start to get tired. One minute I’m carrying you around in the sling and you are staring at everything and the next you are fast asleep, without a sound. You still sometimes fall asleep draped over my arm as I hold you around your waist facing out. When you were less than a month old you fell asleep that way in Trader Joe’s and every single person who saw you melted at your cuteness. You’re getting kind of heavy to hold that way now, so the days of you falling asleep while I carry you around and do things one handed may end in a very short time.
I don’t take enough pictures of you. I’m sorry. I have hundreds of your brother before he was 6 months, but of you I have maybe 50. I’m worse now than with the Girl. My brain is messed up, I keep thinking I want to wait to take pictures until I get the digital camera I’m coveting. I forget that you are not going to be this way forever and I will miss this if I wait. I especially need to get your smile recorded because it’s so incredible. Your wide toothless grin and eyes so incredibly bright seem to make even the worst problems fade away. I hope you still like to hang out with me and give me kisses for a long time yet.
Love,
Mommy