six months!

Samuel turned six months old yesterday. And, right on schedule, I can feel the newborn fog lifting. He's completely de-blobbed and personized (you know, when babies stop being just cuddly little armfuls, and have turned completely into alert, engaged human beings?), and so much fun! And we're regularly having only one wake-up at night to nurse. And I feel like I'm finally figuring out how to take care of two kids. Like, there are days now when I spend one-on-one time with Sam and one-on-one time with Brie . . . ON THE SAME DAY. Up till now it's been a little bit more like one day was a Sam day and one day was a Brie day . . . but now it feels like I get to see Brie and Sam (and Adam!) every day, and everyone's still clean and fed at the end of it. Such a good feeling. (Doesn't much feel like anymore than that gets done, but still . . .)


And, it has been discovered that Samuel really can roll over. Not that we've seen it happen. But when you always, always, always put your baby boy down to sleep on his back, and he wakes you up whining, and you find him tummy-timing it in his crib, well, unless there are Rollover Elves in the house, you have to assume that he's figured this thing out.

He doesn't crawl or scoot yet, but he routinely ends up otherwhere than where he's been put, by bold combinations of reaching, falling, and twisting around, usually in search of a toy he's thrown just out of his own reach (way to make your own challenges, son!).

His babbling is largely made up of hoots and squeals; it's very emotive stuff, and the most common vowel is "ooo!" But I heard a "ma!" out of him today, I did!

He loves crinkling paper. He still likes having soft things thrown at him. "This Little Piggy", "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and "Pat-a-Cake" have all been big hits. Peach sauce literally makes him shake with excitement (I kid you not, at the Young Moms' group today, I had to assure folks that he wasn't having a seizure, he just REALLY likes his food). He tolerates stroller rides well, but really would rather be carried. He doesn't want Brie stealing his toys, but he does like her playing with him. His dad fascinates him. So do fans. He likes singing. He's pretty sure that everything in the whole world exists to be grabbed and stuffed in his mouth. I've actually carried him around and had him stick his arms straight out the whole time, the better to grab any random thing we walk by. He has blue, blue, BLUE eyes, and his light brown hair is finally getting thicker. He's hefty, but not fat, and he has the most beautiful little boy hands I've ever seen. And he's tall. His belly laugh beats anything you've ever heard, but you really have to work to earn it. Smiles come more easily, and they take up his whole face.

Happy birthday, Sam!


-Jess