Weird

I think it's gotta be weird to be a baby. Not that they know any different. As Noah becomes more aware of the world around him, I wonder all the time what in the world he's thinking. And, how is he thinking it if he doesn't have words yet. Yes, he finds ways to make his basic need(s) - being fed - known. He smiles and laughs and cries and groans and moans and hollers. But still...

Then there's the being man-handled and carried everywhere. We've long thought that he can't wait to be mobile. So does he think it's fun or annoying to have to be carried or moved to every new place? And the diaper changes and clothes changes - there's just no autonomy. Add to that the cold hands and wipes this long winter. Poor boy.

It's a long time yet before we know what's going on in his head to any degree. I'm just so curious what's going on in there now.

MMMM

We're not sure he's happy being on video. Which is a shame, if true, because he's so cute!!

This isn't his most enthusiastic eating, but it's good to get his "mmmmm"s recorded.

Noah Laughing

What makes him laugh the most is being tossed in the air! This was a close second and easier to get on the Flip.

Happy 6th. month, Noah Maxx!

Wow! Our boy just turned six months old and he's cuter and funnier than ever! Yes, I know that I'm being prejudiced, but if you can spend some time with him, you'd feel the same way too!

Noah Maxx has been nothing but a pleasure to be around, and it really sucks for me to be at work for most of the day, not being able to play with him and even getting to change his poopy diapers!

I know that most parents cannot wait to have their children grow up, but I for one am enjoying Noah Maxx's babyhood! It's really true when they say that children do grow up fast! Already he is starting to look more and more like a toddler and less and less like a baby! Could it be the extra week that he spent in my belly?

I wish that you could share in the chocolate cake that your other mom made, but I am sure that by the time that you could, she'll make you another one for you to enjoy! Speaking of food, I cannot wait until your teeth come in so we could share! All those months of talking to him about what I've had for meals while I was pregnant with you sure has made their impacts!

He loves being in the kitchen, not only to eat but to look out the backyard. He also loves being tossed in the air and laughs heartily when we'd pretend to dance! The concentration on his face when he'd watch us cooking on the stove just tells us that he's taking notes for when it's time for him start cooking!

I hope that he'll always stay as curious and funny even when he's a grown up!

6 Months Old!

Our little Noah Maxx is six months old today. It really does seem like he's been with us for so much longer! But I'm glad that it doesn't feel like time is flying by.

While many of the big milestones are coming up in the next six months - teeth, crawling, walking - he's started to look like a little boy and not a baby. He's so long and skinny. And he's just so darn cute.

And he couldn't be a better kid. I'm so very thankful he's not a fussy kid. We spend most of his awake time chillin upstairs. He goes from one type of chair to the other to tummy time to his bouncy chair. I love watching him take in the world.

He's taken well to solids. He's had bananas, avocado, apple sauce, the purees are sweet potato, butternut squash, carrots and peaches. He loves the carrots as long as apple sauce is mixed in. We'll eventually try mixing the green beans with apple sauce because he didn't like them at all plain the first time. Next we'll add some peas to the mix.

He loves to sit in his high chair any time we're in the kitchen. He does NOT love it when we're in the kitchen without him!

While it would be nice if he'd sleep a little later most mornings, he's sleeping ten to twelve hours at night, so we can't really complain.

We feel so lucky and blessed to have him.

Past Future Present

I've been pondering for a few days just how much time I spend thinking about the past. I think about people I used to know, be close to, that are just gone now. I wonder how they're doing, what they're doing. But probably more than that, I spend a lot of time thinking about my life, the things that have happened in it and so on. It's like if I can just review it all enough, think about it all enough, I can make it all make sense, can form a coherent narrative out of it.

Then the other day I realized that's not so great. There comes a point where I need to say ok, the past is past. Be done with it. And there are things I've done that with. It would be better if I started focusing on the future.

Last night I had an amazing thought. The reason I don't focus on the future is because for so long I've been scared of it. I'm not sure when that started. I know I felt that way back when Nerdstar was in Iraq. I didn't handle it well, all the worrying. It was hard to think about the future when on any given day she could get killed. (She had a couple of close calls.) Then there was a hard transition for us when she came back. Then we moved, and moved, and moved. Even now we don't know how long we're going to stay here in the DC area.

Another big reason I didn't always like thinking about the future was that I could never be sure we'd ever have kids. And thinking that might never happen always made me so sad.

So, now life is pretty good. We have a decent house, we have our Noah Maxx, our relationship keeps improving.

Now maybe I can retrain my brain to let go of the past and maybe even let go of the future, or at least not dread it.

I can say that in the past six months I've gotten much better at just being in the moment. I can sit with Noah and feed him, or watch him play and just be content.

Haircut #2

For the second time in six months, we shaved our boy's head. He's still got a really dry scalp, and with all that hair we couldn't moisturize it very well. Besides, cute as it was, his hair was out of control! Now we can focus on his beautiful face!




Poor boy, he was so tired he feel asleep on the floor while playing. So cute! He's at that stage where he's rolling over and moving around while sleeping in his crib. Now if he'll just learn to roll from front to back and stop being so frustrated.