6 Months

Dear Jack,

You are 6 months old! 1/2 of 1 year! We are incredibly in love. Over the past 6 months you have changed so much, so often, and so quickly! I'm having a hard time remembering life with you as a newborn (eat, poop, cry, sleep...ah yes I guess I haven't forgotten).

You are 16 lbs 11 ounces, 27 inches tall, and your head is 43 cm. "Tall and slender, just like mom and dad". Obviously Dr. Fink hasn't seen mom or dad without clothes on. You're right on track with weight and height, nothing to worry about. Dr. Fink said breastfed babies tend to level out their pounds as they become more active.

Speaking of breastfeeding, you still love it. Secretly, so do I. Really though you love eating of all kinds! You typically only nurse in the morning and evenings unless I'm home with you all day. Then I think I like you to nurse more than you like to nurse. As long as it's food you don't care where it comes from. You eat an assortment of foods too! New foods this month are: zucchini, green beans, peas, prunes, corn, bananas, peaches, apples, and pears. Guess what? There isn't a single food that you turn down. This makes me happy; eating your vegetables makes dad happy.

You are working on 2 teeth. We can feel them in your gums, but they are yet to poke through. This causes you lots of pain and causes us lots of sleepless nights.

Nights. You are still waking up in the middle of the night. We've tried everything to get you to stop, well almost everything. We won't let you Cry It Out. I'm just not ready for that yet. So until then, we groggily stumble into your room, give you a bottle, and put you back to bed. I guess it's really not so bad. Plus, we love how you snuggle in your rocking chair half asleep.

Bathtime. We have a great time bathing you. You have an even better time getting bathed! Splashing is your #1 game. Dad looks like he's been swimming with his clothes on by the time the 2 of you are finished. Your second favorite bathtime activity? Chewing on a washcloth. In turn, bathtime requires 3 washcloths, one for you, one for soaping up, and one to cover you up. Oh your 3rd favorite activity? Peeing EVERYWHERE.

Speaking of peeing, you wear a size 3 diaper and have for sometime now. Actually, I'm assuming you will for awhile as well.

You love to stand. More specifically you love to stand AND move. If you had the body control I'm convinced you would walk. Forget the crawling. But since I mentioned it, you are not too far off. Every so often you push up on all fours and wiggle around, but you can't quite figure out what's next. I'm ok with that, we haven't finished babyproofing yet!

Generally speaking you are a happy baby. That makes mom and dad happy parents! So thank you. Thank you Jack for such a great month and a wonderful 6 months. We really are blessed with the world's best gift. Thank you for making us smile. Thank you for making us laugh. And even thank you for keeping us up at night. Most importantly thank you for making our family of 3 a perfect family of 4.

Love always and forever,

Mom and Dad