Happy Half Birthday, Henry!

Happy Half Birthday, little man!

I'm pretty sure I say this every month, but month 6 brought so much change and development.  So much has happened, that I can't possibly cover it all, but I'll try to hit the highlight reel.

1.  Your first two teeth came in!  I will take a moment to brag on my little guy, because I have always heard how awful teething is, and you made it through without fever or excessive fussiness.  We were surprised when we discovered your teeth because you had been acting so normally, aside from all the drooling :)

2.  With the advent of teeth, Mommy has started weaning you off of breastmilk.  You are quite the little biter, so we have started feeding you almost exclusively with bottles.  You did not take to this transition very well, and were quite finicky about which bottle you would drink out of, despite the fact that you had been drinking bottles since you were two weeks old.  We went through 4 different brands of bottles before we settled on the fifth brand, Tommee Tippee.  It's amazing how much of a different it made.

3.  You know how to reach for things.  You have figured out that if you want something, you can reach with your hands and get it yourself.  Whatever you reach for inevitably ends up in your mouth, unless it's connected to a stationary object, which brings about #4.

4.  You are beginning to show frustration.  You are learning cause and effect, and when the results are not what you expect, you whine or cry to show your frustration.  If you want to put something in your mouth, but it doesn't reach, you whine.  If you get stuck on your belly and have a hard time rolling back over, you cry.

5.  You can now roll both ways!  You've been rolling from back to front for several months, but you developed the new trick of rolling from front to back.  This makes tummy time so much more enjoyable for you.  Daddy was home with you when you rolled from front to back the first time, and he said you did it so fast, it was as if you had been doing it for months!

6.  You LOVE to eat!  So far, you have had rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash and apples.  Your favorite is green beans :)

7.  You love to go on jogs around the neighborhood with Mommy or Daddy.  We haven't tried very long runs with you yet, but you really enjoy the scenery for the 30 minutes or so that we're out and about.

8.  You've started really playing with your toys.  Your favorite toy right now is a set of links that Mommy put together for you.  You hold them in your little fingers and enjoy shaking them, and of course, putting them in your mouth.

9.  You aren't quite sitting up on your own, but you are "tripod-ing" for several seconds at a time.

10.  You are quite the talker!  You can say all of your vowel sounds, but can also say w's, b's, m's, y's, g's.

11.  You have learned to blow raspberries, and you seem to always time them perfectly when Mommy or Daddy are in the middle of a conversation or we're in a big group of people.  I have a feeling you will be grow to be a little comedian.

12.  Your favorite thing to chew on is your sock.  You absolutely love pulling them off and putting them in your mouth.  It grosses us out, but you absolutely squeal with delight when you do it.

We love you more and more everyday and are so excited to watch you grow!

Love,

Mommy (and Daddy)

New Year

Oh the new year...

Let's get real here.  I do not make resolutions.  Those that know me REALLY well...like well enough to make it past my social filter...know that I am not much for holidays.  Especially American holidays.  Honestly, most of them are dumb.  Thanksgiving?  Dumb.  Yes, let's give ourselves an entire day to gorge ourselves as if us Americans don't do that all. year. long.  

Any-who....Really, people, January 1st is a day just like any other.  All of these resolutions being made might last a week; a month if you're really optimistic.  For those of us that go to the gym year round, January is THE WORST.  You can't find a machine and have to deal with crowds which is enough to scare an introvert like me into staying at home.

About all New Year's Day is good for is some good football.  Except this year...when the Fiesta Bowl just shouldn't have happened at all.  I've mentally crossed it out and will just anxiously await the fall 2014 season.  Did anyone see that coming?  Really?!

We could follow this kid's lead and turn our New Year's resolutions into a New Year's REVOLUTION.  That would be productive.  What do we want to revolt against?  Miley Cyrus?  A&E?  The polar vortex?  (Insert any national hot topic that is currently lighting up my news feed in place of actual news that matters.)

Ok, sarcasm aside....I really do enjoy January and the first 3 months of the year in general.  Somehow, fall is always a CRAZY time for us.  And it all culminates in the most stressful time of year....Christmas.  Come January, our family can settle down, take a breath, and recharge for the rest of the year.  We can reflect on the past year and mentally prepare for the year ahead.

I like to think of January more as a month of reflection instead of resolution.  It's a great time to mull over the happy times, and try to learn from the not so great times.  2013 was a big year for our little family: JP and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary, and one short month later, two became three.  It is a HUGE adjustment to add a new little one, but one that I wouldn't take back for anything.

I'm not sure if being a new mama is the real culprit here, but I blame a lot of things on it.  I am more sentimental (still not much, but more than I was.)  I am much more emotional (especially things like birth, death, etc.)  And everything seems like a MUCH BIGGER deal than it really is.  Trivial decisions regarding Henry's life seem so insurmountable because it involves THE REST OF HIS LIFE!  OMG!

That being said, there are things that I am hoping to be better at moving forward.  These aren't one time things, they are commitments that I am hoping to make for a lifetime.

1.  I have been reading this blog a lot lately, called Hands Free Mama, and it makes a lot of good points about parenting that I would love to model.  I want to use kind, encouraging words with my children, rather than always pushing them to be the best at every single thing possible.  I know this will be a struggle with my kids, because it is a struggle for myself.  In my constant effort to strive to do better, I rarely appreciate the good in anything I do.  I don't want the same for my kids.

2.  Although I have come to terms with the fact that my body may never look like it did pre-Henry, I do want to get back into running.  I love it.  I miss it when I take a hiatus.  I would love to run a half-marathon this year.  We'll see.

3.  I want to read more.  I am a read-a-holic.  I have read substantially less since Henry's been around, so I am trying to set aside time every time for me to read.  Even if it's only 15 minutes, it's something small that I can do for just me.

On my list:
The Black Count
Gone Girl
The Monuments Men
Reconstructing Amelia
Scripture and the Authority of God
Becoming Myself
What Alice Forgot
Lean In
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
The reason I Jump
The Eternal Wonders
I Am Malala
The Circle
The Lowland
Three Little Words
Silence

Man that's a lot of books.  Don't you worry.  Don't underestimate the degree to which I am addicted to reading.  Honestly.  This list won't last me the year.

So there you have it, folks.  A short, but sweet list of my "non-resolution" New Years Resolutions.