6 months old!

My dear Wesley,

Mommy is very sorry she can't pick you up these days.  I hurt my back pretty badly, but I'm on the mend and I think if Daddy continues taking such good care of the two of us, I'll be all better very soon and able to take care of you more in a few days.

You are SUCH a good baby.  So happy and full of joy!  Even waking up, you'll happily chat to yourself for at least 5 or 10 minutes before chirping to let us know you'd like to get out of your crib.  And by chriping, I mean more of squeaking.  You love to play and laugh, especially watching Mommy, Daddy, or anyone make silly faces and noises.  You also love to watch us clap and have recently discovered that the newspaper is so noisy and cool!  You love to play with anything that combines noise and texture.  Sometimes just scraping the side of the couch or chair with your fingernails entertains you long enough for Mommy to grab a snack or run to the bathroom.  You certainly have my attention span.  You move on to the next thing fairly quickly.  Except when it comes to your feet.  Those things are pretty dang cool.

You have also figured out how to roll from your back to front, which is funny.  You have yet to realize that you can continue rolling and that will get you off your tummy.  You can no longer sleep on your side because you roll onto your tummy and get pissed because you're doing tummy time.  It's kind of sad and amusing all at once.  You've also learned how to dig your face into the floor, raise your butt, and push with your feet, slightly scooting yourself forward.  You so desperately want to be on the move and get so frustrated because you're not strong enough...yet.  You are working on keeping us on our toes, that's for sure!

Man oh man do you love solid foods.  You love anything orange - sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peaches, apricots, carrots - in addition to bananas, apples, and pears mixed with your oatmeal.  You don't like summer squash, and HATE peas.  Green beans are ok.  Your Aunt Julia is in town and determined to fill our freezer with all sorts of treats for you to try.  You'll be trying beets and cherries soon.  It's so much fun to watch the expressions on your face as you eat.  You are such a great eater though, and aside from peas, you're game for anything.  Even cold prunes.  Such a champ!

You've now been on more overnight trips away from home.  We went to Aberdeen for a few days to visit Jeff, Tina, Natalie, and Alanna.  Mommy took you all be herself because Daddy went to GenCon.  Then over Labor Day Weekend, Mommy and Auntie Kari took you to Spokane so you could meet more family members. You loved it there because there was always  someone to hold you!  But man, you were so over stimulated and it took some magic to get you to fall asleep at night.    Everyone loved you, and you even managed to charm Uncle Terry, who isn't the craziest person about babies, but he even played with you, and that just warmed my heart.

You aren't perfect.  You don't like to be left alone and you do. not. nap.  You'll take one good morning nap, and on a rare occasion, you'll have an afternoon nap.  Usually, though, after the morning nap, you're up all day aside from a few 20 to 30 minute naps throughout the day.  Oy.  This makes Mommy and Daddy quite irritable sometimes.  But it's not your fault.  We don't really have you on a schedule yet, but we're working on it.  And sometimes you do sleep through the night, which we are very grateful for.

I can't believe how much you've changed.  I can't imagine how the next 6 months will go by just as quickly as the first 6.  You are so wonderful...happy and chatty.  I love you with all my heart and soul, and would do anything for you.  I never knew this kind of love was possible.  I love you my darling, wonderful, magical boy.  Please stay this sweet forever.

  (And just for perspective, here you are at 2 days old.)

Love,
Mommy