To Sweet Baby Jake

Oh my beautiful little baby boy. You have quickly, ever too quickly reached 6 months old. Halfway to your first birthday, already...it scares me. The time has evaporated, moved forward with a pace so unforgivingly fast its baffling. So many, many small and precious moments and milestones have gone by and I haven't been as diligent as I wish I would have at writing about them all. I love you with all my heart and all I can say is that though reflecting on my life with you is important, living it with you is the most important, and I am trying so hard to be good at that part at least!

So much seems to have changed with you in the last month or so. I remember when you turned 2 months, you were so different all of a sudden. The newborn disappeared, you smiled, you cooed, and I fell hard in love (even moreso than I already was). Now its happening again. You're so expressive...always smiling, always giggling, always curious and watching and babbling. You're an ambitious little explorer, so eager to move around and to grasp at everything around you. That immobile baby is gone forever!

You're rolling all over the place and scooting now too, and between the two you get around pretty well...I don't put you down on the carpet for long before you're across the room and bumping into furniture. Whenever you see something interesting to you, you work ever so hard to get to it, like your big brothers' blocks...we have to be extra careful you don't get his smaller toys into your mouth. For this reason you are put down a lot less lately! I haven't seen you work on getting that little bum up in the air really yet, but I'm sure it won't be long before you're crawling and cruising all over the place! Oy. Time for Daddy and I to babyproof and get a gate for the stairs.

You seem to be getting strong little baby abs and can pull yourself about halfway to a sitting position, but you're not super ambitious about sitting up on your own just yet...I think you're more interested in crawling. I sit you up in "tripod" mode sometimes, with your arms in front of you, but you topple over after a few seconds. I got you one of those thingies to help you sit up, a Bumbo, thinking you would love it. Yeah, not so much...you arch your back and cry after a minute or two. You're not a big fan of it just yet. Its ok, you'll be sitting up before long. Mommy's not worried at all. =)

The times you do try hardest to sit up is when we put you in your bouncy chair or swing....those are becoming old hat and you quickly become impatient with them now. Mommy is thinking I'll take the hint and put those away in the next day or two. (Which is ok because between you and your brother our living room is overrun with baby and kid stuff! Although I'm a little sad to part with your swing...you used to love it and it was the perfect, safe, cozy spot to put you where I could see you while I did things around the house.)

You looooove to stand up. You've always had these strong little legs and even from very early on you liked to be held in a standing position. You plant those little feet and stand up straight and tall, like you're standing at attention...its cuuuuute. I put you in your big brother's old Exersaucer for the first time a few weeks ago. WHOA, that was a lot of stuff for you to look at, wasn't it? You're really starting to get excited about toys now (*so cute), especially anything that rattles or is crinkly or chewable, but after a short while in the Exersaucer all those noisy gadgets and toys are a little too much for you, aren't they? You're still a little wobbly in it too, so I think that makes you feel insecure. It'll grow on you!

You discovered your toes quite awhile ago now and you're always fiddling with them. I love it, oh I love it! I don't know why simply watching you grab your toes and trying to get them into your mouth is so delightful, but it just is. I can barely get your diapers changed anymore because you're always trying to pull your little legs up and get ahold of those toes!

You have big time food envy, oh my goodness. When you watch me and Daddy and your big brother eat we can see the longing in your eyes....I've started feeling mean eating in front of you. If we hold you while we eat you sometimes lunge for whatever we're stuffing in our mouths, or for those red plastic cups we often drink out of...you think those are way interesting! Earlier today you flailed wildly after Daddy's cup and knocked it right out of his hands, sending red Crystal Light flying everywhere (including all over Daddy and yourself!) Pretty soon Mommy will give you some rice cereal or baby food to try. (Mommy doesn't think that stuff is all that impressive, but who knows, you might love it!)

None of your teeth have made their big appearance yet, but we can kind of see those two little bottom teeth lurking under the surface. There have been days and phases where you've been cranky and gnawing on your hands and drooling like crazy, and an experimental dab of Orajel on your gums would calm you right down. So, I suspect those toofers are coming in...that's no fun, huh bud? One or two nights last week you weren't sleeping so well because I think your gums hurt, and I felt bad for you. (And for me. I was tired.)

Speaking of which...you're not a terrible sleeper, not a great sleeper, but somewhere in between. You had me fooled awhile back when you slept almost clear through the night a few times, except for maybe one feeding around 4 or 5 am...I was hoping that would become habit, but alas, you're still waking up several times in the night these days. Thankfully you fall right back to sleep after a diaper change and a quick feeding. Sometimes I'm so tired and you're so snuggly, I fall asleep with you in the glider for the rest of the night, until you either wake up again or daylight starts to creep through your windows! I think I need a less comfortable glider. (Or, you could start sleeping through the night! Please oh please?!)

You are such a sweet baby. Really, so sweet...everyone thinks so! You're generally happy except when you have good reason not to be: when you're hungry or possibly teething or tired or in need of a diaper change. Its a very rare thing for you to be fussy without a good explanation. You're easy, just like your big brother was. Boy, am I lucky to have such sweet, well-tempered babies! Or, as I remind myself, not just lucky, blessed.

You're so handsome these days (you always were, but moreso than ever!). We're pretty sure your eyes will be brown like your big brother, though sometimes we detect a hint of green. Your hair is turning blonder and getting longer. But don't worry, I won't be cutting off any of your sweet baby locks anytime soon. You don't have those funny long wispies that your brother did. Yet. Your bald spot on the back of your head (which was never really that bald) is growing in again and you have a long fringe of dark hair at the nape of your neck, just like your big brother did. You look more and more like him all the time...when I look at photos of you lately they look like they could be of your big brother!

You're a big boy...at each of your doctor's appointments you've usually measured somewhere in either the 80th or 90th percentiles for height and weight. Your 6-month appointment is in a couple of days and I'm very excited to see how much you've grown! ***Post Edit: You were 17 lbs 13 oz (57th percentile) and 27.5 in long (84th percentile). The doctor said you are "tall and husky" and that your growth is "phenomenal." Yay for a big healthy boy!

Boy are you a talker. You have definitely discovered how entertaining your voice can be! Sometimes you make low growling noises, sometimes you blow raspberries when you're bored or impatient or mad, and sometimes you screech for fun. Seriously baby, you can drown out the TV. But I love listening to you experiment with your little voice.

Your big brother is very, very interesting to you. No matter how fussy you may be, if I lay you next to him for story time, you don't make a peep except to giggle. (Those story times with you and Tommy are some of my favorite times...you really watch me and study my face while I read.) I think you really love your big brother. And I know he really loves you. He is so sweet to you and is always delighted in all the cute things you do, just like mommy and daddy. He always says, "Let me see that boy!" and loves to hold you, though he asks me to take you back pretty quickly these days because you are heavy! He loves trying to make you giggle and was pretty pleased when he made you laugh a week or two ago by playing "Peek-a-Boo!" I can't wait to see the good friends and playmates you two will become.

Other random tidbits...I would say you're a binky baby, but not quite so much so as your brother was. You always fiddle with your binkie, popping it in and out all the time. I think its sooooooo cute. You are incredibly curious about remote controls and calculators right now. What is it about boys and buttons? And this last month you took your first trip to the Zoo and came on your first sight-seeing trip up the Alpine Loop with us....we go every year in late September or early October. I was so excited to put you in the adorable "Gnome Sweater" that I got as a gift for your brother. Beyond cute.

I love you little baby, more than anything and everything! You are my beautiful, beloved boy and are nothing less than an angel sent to bless my life. You make me want to be stronger, work harder, and see life in a sweeter light. Just like the song says, I will always, always love you.

A Beautiful Song for a Beautiful Boy

"In My Arms"

by Plumb

Your baby blues

so full of wonder
Your curly cues

your contagious smile
And as i watch

you start to grow up
All i can do is hold you tight

Knowing
clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe
in my arms
Rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe
in my arms

Story books are full of fairy tales
of kings and queens

and the bluest skies
My heart is torn
just in knowing
you'll someday see
the truth from lies

When the
clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe
in my arms
Rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe
in my arms

Castles they might crumble
dreams may not come true
but you are never all alone
because I will always
always love you

When the
clouds will rage and
storms will race in
but you will be safe
in my arms
Rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
But you will be safe
in my arms

in my arms

A TidBit from Tommy

One day last week I chose to make a very rare excursion away from the house with both children, by myself.

A very big deal. I avoid going out while outnumbered as much as possible.

But I just had to get out of the house. I'm practically a hermit anymore, but I had hit my limit. It was one of those days that I didn't care how difficult it would be with both kids.

I just had to get out.

Getting ready took forever, like it always does for such trips. I hadn't even left yet and was getting a little exasperated and impatient with all the tasks still at hand. Thomas sensed my frustration and said "Mommy, you gotta go insane now!" (Or something of the like).

My child knows me all too well. I apparently use that phrase a lot.

So, "Yes!" I said, "I'm going insane!"

And my three-year-old asked, hopefully and sincerely, with a face full of innocence...

"Can I come?"

=)

2 Years and Counting...

...that I have been blogging.

Woohoo, happy birthday blog!
(well, happy belated birthday...October 2nd was the big day.)

Wow, 2 years go by fast.

I was looking back through many of my old posts and thinking,

1. How adorable my little Tommy is, and how much he has changed in these couple dozen months.

2. How absolutely rotten I have been at blogging during 2009.

I keep trying to talk myself into giving myself a break about #2, because I was busy being pregnant (and crazy about nesting) and then had my 2nd baby in April, which has obviously made life much more busy.

But that makes me all the more sad...so much has happened, and I've been awful about recording it all. I've written so little about sweet baby Jacob on here in his first 5 months. I keep thinking I can catch up somehow, but time is scarce these days, especially uninterrupted time to get to the computer and write. (And downloading/going through my kajillion photos is a whole 'nother story.)

Ah, well. That's one thing I am consistently trying to teach myself these days...that sometimes (or most times, rather), it can't all be done.

=)