Life is Good!

It's been a few weeks now since the last post. Things are going swimmingly in our house! Bedtime trauma is a thing of the past (thank god!). We have managed to get a nice little routine going so he's in bed between 10:15 and 10:30 and usually out like a light within 15 -30 minutes. Sometimes he even falls asleep in my arms as he's drinking his bottle. I cannot begin to describe what a relief it is to finally have a good sleeping routine! I'm still trying to inch him closer to a 9:00 bedtime, but if we don't get there, that's ok. I can totally live with 10:30-ish!

The solid foods thing is going pretty well, albeit messy. He eats a good amount of rice cereal about 3 times a day, but has recently taken to "helping" me feed him by popping his thumb in his mouth after every bite. This, of course, makes for a much messier dining experience. I find rice cereal pasted in all kinds of places (in the ears, in the hair on all different parts of his head, on the legs, on me, etc.). I find myself perpetually torturing the poor kid with stealthy swipes of a wash cloth, a wet wipe, or one of my spit-ladden fingers (I know, it's gross! I swore I'd never wipe my saliva on my kid but sometimes it's the only thing around!) Now when he sees me reach for the tissue box, he starts shaking his head "no" back and forth. It's kind of cute, actually :)

Growth wise, he's holding steady at a solid 19 lbs, 8 oz and about 27 1/2 inches long. He's a sturdy kid with really strong neck, arm, and leg muscles. He loves to grip my fingers and pull himself to standing. If I let him lean back against my legs, he can even stand without me holding his hands. He's also desperately trying to crawl. All day long he gets his chubby little knees into the position and rocks or manages to scoot backwards somehow. He knows how to get on all fours, but can't seem to figure out how to move anything once he's up there. Every once in a while he might manage to pop one knee forward, but since the front quarters and the back quarters don't seem to be communicating, he usually ends up flat on his tummy. It won't be long though and I'll be chasing him all over the house. I actually wonder if he might end up being one of those kids who sort of skips over crawling and works on walking first.

Emotionally, things couldn't be better. He is so content and happy about 85% of the day. He giggles and babbles in an incessant string of "da-da-da" and other gibberish noises. His little voice is music to my ears. He carries on "conversations" with me all day long. Everything is "da-da". I swear that yesterday I heard him say "daddy" but I couldn't get him to repeat it so it must've been a mistaken "da-da." He is so alert and intrigued by all the sights around him. It is really easy to make him smile and laugh, too. There is nothing more delightful than when that sweet baby face scrunches up and a hearty belly laugh sings out from his toothy grin. His face lights up and a coy smile slowly unfurls anytime he sees Brian walk into the room. I just love that! And if Brian happens to be holding him and I come into the room, I get that adorable open-mouthed smile. Usually, we're carrying on like buffoons making weird noises and silly faces (anything for a laugh!) but quite often he will light up just to see us, even is we aren't putting on a show.

We really seem to have settled in and gotten to know one another in these past several weeks. Although I know there are innumerable challenges ahead for us, I am so swept up in the sheer joy of the moment. I try to take each day one at a time and live for the here and now. The present is a beautiful place. Even the moments when big heart-wrenching tears are tumbling down his cheeks are priceless. Of course, there are times when I doubt myself and worry that I don't know what he needs, but I still wouldn't trade even one second of time that I've had with him for anything. Every day I find myself deeper and deeper in love with this little boy. He lights up my world :)

Well, I think I've waxed poetic long enough for tonight. I'll add a few pictures and then it's off to bed.