Dear Eddie | Six Months

Sweet Eddie Boy -

As I am writing this you are quickly approaching seven months old (it is May 6th). Life is just moving so fast these days - it has been hard to find the time to sit down and get these thoughts out of my head and onto the page. You, your daddy and I are in the car right now, driving down to your Grandma and Grandpa's in Illinois for your Great Great Aunt Rosemary's 89th birthday party! You have never met her before, and you are going to meet some of my aunts and uncles for the first time today as well. They are not going to believe how big and strong and fun you are!

 The sweet little face that greets me after a good nap.

 You are such a big boy! You play with toys now!

Bundled up for one of our evening walks.

I will keep this letter a little shorter this month since your next one is coming so soon and I am having a hard time separating the past two months, but I have to pay some tribute to the fact that you are now half of a year old! I say it every time (probably every day) - but this time is going too fast. Everywhere we go, mothers with older children, grandfathers, strangers - tell me to enjoy every moment with you because it goes so fast. And they mean it - you can tell by the tone in their voice - they feel the passing of time differently than others without children. I really get it now, on a level I simply couldn't understand before you came. For some reason, your child getting bigger fractures the heart a bit. Maybe it's growing pains, and the resulting cracks make our capacity to love you get bigger as you do. Our love for you is so large, so wrapped up and tangled around every part of who we are as people, as parents, what we do with our time, how we think now. It's wonderful and immense and heart-wrenching and so, so sweet.

Mmmmm....you're a big fan of pretty much any food.

I just want to record a few of the developmental things that stand out this month. A major one is that you have been practicing lots of sitting up - and I almost trust your skills enough to leave you sitting unassisted, although not quite - sometimes you get excited and topple forwards or back, so we still need blankets and pillows around you just in case. You've also been saying lots of "dadadadada's", and a few "mamamama's" (although what the heck - the mamama's happen only when you are frustrated?!) I've been enjoying making, and you've been enjoying eating, lots of new foods: sweet potatoes, pears, bananas, mangoes, barley cereal - all of which you love. You've become this soft, doughy little person in the cutest way imaginable. Your wrists look like they have rubber bands wrapped around them, and I believe there are three rolls on each thigh. You are kissable and squeezable and we are eating up this gushy time. You got your "first kiss" this month from little Miss Ava Nowak - it was very precious, and made her mama and I tear up a little. We are all crossing our fingers that you two fall madly in love some day - but no pressure.  ;)

Getting my daily dose of baby snuggles.

Another big thing this month has been your nighttime routine. You've been pretty high maintenance - maybe your daddy and I have encouraged this - at times it's a little trying but we've come to the conclusion that while we have the time, energy, and patience - we will make the extra effort and send you off to sleep happily and peacefully. Your subsequent siblings may not be so lucky....You prefer to be shushed and bounced - sometimes for what seems like forever - and no more rocking! You still love singing and there is one magical song..."Mary's Song" by Taylor Swift. I bet you'll be embarrassed someday to hear that - but we start singing the first few words and you are instantly attentive and quiet. I put it on in the car, bust it out in the middle of the night during diaper changes - you name it. The effectiveness has only just now started to wear off after a good solid month of usage - I'm going to have to find a new song soon, but for now - you love it. Your papa has even learned how to play it on the guitar, and he plays you that - and lots of other songs, many nights before bedtime. Those are some of our most treasured moments of the day. (Although sometimes it also drags out bedtime - because you want to be able to watch and listen to your daddy play.)

Well sweet boy - I'll sign off for now. Let me just finish by saying that six months old is a dream. It's so much fun - all smiles and cuddles and giggles and very, very rewarding. I'm afraid we might give you a complex by how many times we look at each other and say "he is the coolest guy". But - you are the coolest - thanks for all of the joy you bring to our little home.

Love,
Mama