Ham in the Highchair

My son is like me (oh dear). He lives for the limelight. Thrives in it, really. And apparently there is no stage like his highchair. High above the ground, in his big green throne, he lords over the dog and finds himself right in the center of his subjects’ parents’ affection. He’ll do anything for a laugh—a reward so simple and easily provoked and yet so coveted. And we graciously indulge him. Well, we can’t help it, really. Needless to say, we always look forward to our next meal with this guy, as we never know what he’ll cook up for our entertainment.

To My Darling Burke: Five & Six Months

My goodness! Can you really be six months old already? Time sure does fly, little one! What a wonderful six months it has been...and it just keeps getting better and better. You have really started showing us just who you are--your personality is developing daily and you never cease to amuse us with your silly antics!

 

That open mouth, slobbery smile has become your trademark. And those 2 little bottom teeth have really come in now. You also have two new residents in your gummy little mouth, as your top two center teeth are poking through your gums. Your right one came in just before you turned 6 months old and the left one followed the next week. Unfortunately, you have been in considerable discomfort due to teething, which breaks Mama & Daddy's hearts. We hate to see you suffer, but do what we can to help. The good news is, you won't remember even one moment of the terrible rite of passage. 

A week or two after you turned 5 months old, we decided to try introducing you to baby rice cereal just at dinnertime. You were still waking up for a feeding at that point, and the doctor told me to cut it out. So we thought that maybe a little cereal would fill your belly enough to make it the whole night. And it sure did! Ever since that first taste, you have eagerly awaited each meal and the anticipation of the next bite usually makes you very impatient! No sooner have you taken one bite when your mouth is open wide awaiting the next. At first, you tried to feed yourself--which I should have expected with you. You love to do everything yourself--you're very independent. Since you started eating food, you have consistently decided to sleep an average of 12 hours at night, which is amazing! You're a 7-7 kind of guy. Since that first taste, you have now tried butternut squash, carrots, peas, sweet potatoes and bananas. So far, you have enjoyed everything you have tried--all homemade!! 

 

Developmentally, this has been a busy and big two months for you, little man! You started to sit unassisted for short periods of time (like 30 seconds max) around five months. Since then, you have gone on to sit for minutes at a time by yourself, and you have learned to balance yourself when you start to wobble over to one side or the other. There are still times when before we can blink you've fallen over and knocked your head good on our hardwood floors (Mama & Daddy are REALLY sorry about this, Love!). It's times like this that we wish there was just a little bit of carpet in our house. Just recently, around six months, you have started to chase a toy from a sitting position to your belly/hands and knees. Just one step closer to crawling! Speaking of crawling, you have also learned how to get yourself pushed up onto your hands and knees. While you can do this, most of the time you're still trying to swim across the floor (kick your legs, wave your arms, and make lots of noise with great effort) and quickly get frustrated at the fact that you're going nowhere or backwards away from the toy you're trying to reach (or the dog...because you love to try to get him too!). 

Other firsts for you these past two months include:

 

Swinging on the swing at the park near our house

 

And picking out your first Christmas tree!

It has been another fun two months! We are so excited about each new day with you, Burke. We love you so much and continue to love you even more each day. (This is the miracle of parenthood that hopefully one day you'll get to experience). We can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas with you in just a few weeks! You are the cutest little elf we know!

Love,

Mama

 

Just the Two of Us

As the birth of our first child gets closer and closer (3 weeks to go!), I find myself wondering whether I will miss just the two of us. I sometimes have nostalgic moments, maybe even a little sadness, thinking that things will never be the same again. And yet, I am so incredibly excited to meet this creation inside of me. To be a mama. I can't wait. But what about us? Will we still find time for date nights, romance, and that quality time that we both so desperately need? Everyone tells me that you don't remember life before children once they are here. And I think I understand. Life before Ben is very fuzzy for me. A few fleeting and peripheral memories float through my mind every now and again. But for the most part, I have a hard time even remembering the names that go with those faces I sometimes see in my mind's eye. So I think I get it.

I love my life with Ben. I wouldn't wish for any other life. I am one lucky wife and soon-to-be mama! God has truly blessed me with a wonderful, caring, gentle husband who doesn't let a day go by without telling me at least a hundred times that I'm beautiful and that he loves me.

Ben often tells me to take more pictures of us together. That we won't have any pictures to show our kids some day. To memorialize our youthfulness. ;) He often says that we never take pictures of us. So, I decided to look through old pictures from when we first met in the Summer of 2007 to the present time and see whether he was right. What follows is our journey in photos. And I think he's wrong. While we may not have a picture of us together at every event ever attended, you will see that we have strong evidence to prove that we were once young, beautiful and in love! :)



Our engagement dinner (4 months after we met)!





He may not want our children to remember every picture. :)



New Year's Eve 2007-2008 (Ben was having a mustache-growing contest with my brother, hence the hideous facial hair).







Our Wedding Day. August 9, 2008.

Phillies Game!



Dog, the Bounty Hunter and Beth, his buxom wife...



Punta Cana


 See? Told you he was wrong. We've had a lot of fun times these past few years. And while I know that we'll continue to have fun and enjoy our life together, it is about to change. But in an amazing way that I can't even begin to fathom right now. One thing that won't change...no matter what life may bring, I'll never stop loving this man!