Six months!

Dear Isaac,



You are six months old today my baby! I can't believe we've made it to half a year already. The time has gone quickly, and some days it seems like just a few weeks ago that we brought you home from the hospital and marveled that you were ours and we were your parents.

You are such a happy baby. When you've had a good sleep, you wake up groggy and cuddly. After a few minutes you're ready to explore, swinging your head this way and that to see what's new. You smile a lot, especially when you see Daddy or me watching you as you play and explore your world. When we talk to you, you get positively giddy, wiggling and kicking and smiling that big beautiful open-mouthed smile we love so much.

You rolled from your tummy to your back early on, I think in early February. But after a few times doing that within a couple days you didn't roll over again for a long time.

Now you can roll over from your tummy to your back either way. That was such a struggle for you before and I think it was last week, you all of a sudden just "got it." It was so effortless for you, you simply rolled. We couldn't have been prouder of you at that moment, and thankfully Daddy and I were both there to see it.

You've been speaking to us for awhile now, saying 'ahh' in all sorts of ways. And a couple days ago I started to hear what I think is 'ga'. You love talking to us; yesterday when Daddy stopped in from working for the paper all day, you just kept talking to him. You must have been telling him all the fun we'd been up to while he was away!

You are obsessed with your hands: your left and right take turns in your mouth, alternating your fists, your fingers, your thumb and what we think is your favourite combo: thumb and index finger in there together. At night time when you're winding down you can be spotted in your crib clasping and releasing your hands as you stare off into space. Your hands are both a comfort and a distraction to you, an interesting pastime and a means to an end.

Your favourite toys are definitely Sophie the giraffe and your ball. With the ball you can lay on a blanket for a good 20 minutes sometimes just playing with it, passing it back and forth and putting what you can of it in your mouth. You also love 'Puppy', and open your mouth to try and fit him in whenever he comes near!


As for apparatus, you definitely love your playmat the best. Even when you're in a grumpy mood, if we put you on the mat you will smile and wiggle and kick and grab at the hanging links above your head. You are also enjoying the jumperoo more and more, and can kick up a fierce storm in there when you want to.

Your sleep patterns are sometimes good, sometimes not so much. Your ideal day is to be up for about an hour and a half, sleep for two hours, be awake for another couple hours, sleep for about an hour and a half and have a quick catnap in the evening before bed. It doesn't usually work out that way but we sure try! Often you have no problem falling asleep. It's just staying asleep that's the issue. You wake up crying and not wanting to be in your crib, but we're still working on that and are confident that things will slowly get better over time. You still wake up a few times at night to nurse which I'm fine with as I love nursing you and cherish our quiet moments together.

You still love nursing, and look at me and smile when you realize it's time to eat. You also love cuddling, usually with someone standing to hold you, not sitting!

In the evenings we have a very good bedtime routine that helps you to know sleep time is coming. You have a bath every night which you used to hate but now you enjoy. You play with your plastic keys, swinging them back and forth and bringing them to your mouth while Daddy and I wet your body and rub creamy soap into your hair. I take you from your bath to get you dressed for bed. Then either Daddy or I read three stories to you, always always ending in 'Hello Baby', by far your favourite book. You smile when we pick that book up and turn the pages. Then we pray for you. Then one of us sings to you a couple songs, always ending in 'I Love the Mountains' Discovery song.

You've taken to eating solids like a champ. You have now tried rice cereal, avocado, butternut squash and sweet potato. You are very good about keeping your hands out of your mouth for the first little while then before we reach the end of the bowl you've got your hands in your food-filled mouth and you make quite a mess! Daddy loves feeding you solids, it tends to be one of your special times together every day.

You are such a joy to everyone around you. We are all thrilled to know you and to see you grow Isaac.

There is so much more I could write, but that is at least a little bit about you at six months. We are so very thankful that you are our boy. Every day with you is a gift and I thank the Lord every single day for blessing us with you. Thank you for being my baby. I love you so much!

Love your Momma