Fake chicken of course...

The paw

*Quick note about the previous post...the car seat is indeed facing rear. I am sitting next to him in the back seat, so it looks like he's facing forward. Rest assured it was installed by the firepeople in Greensboro. 

The paw.

I love it.

What is it? It's the little hand that tightly grasps my collar when I pick Wyatt up, say hello with a kiss, and, I'm wearing a shirt from work. It's the little hand that sits flat on my shoulder when we're walking around the house together, and he's slung on my hip. It's the little hand that grabs my ribs when we're walking around in the ergo together, and he's conked out. It's the little sloppy, often cold and wet, miniature set of fingers that reaches out for my nose when I stick my face in the car seat to make him giggle.

That's the paw.

And, I love it.

You know you're growing up when...

You get a new fancy big car seat

Long Hugo

Back in the days before Wyatt was born, we inherited boxes upon boxes of adorable outfits that looked more like doll clothes than human clothes.  As I folded all of his little outfits (something I haven't done since), I couldn't believe how tiny they were!  It was then that I started paying attention to fashion design for the very wee.  So many of the onesies had pretty bizarre sayings on them, as if the person that designed them came from a land far far away.  A place with little exposure to our language and culture.  For example, one pj set was adorned with cars and trucks and the exclamation "Traffic!".  Really?  We're celebrating traffic?  (they've obviously never driven in Denver at rush hour).  Another onesie had a giraffe on an island with the word "Jungle!" on it.  Are there really giraffes in the jungle?  And whats up with the giraffes anyway?  They're on like 90% of our baby clothes and toys.
So I hardly paused when Gregg was dressing Wyatt one day chuckling over the latest outfit.  Gregg read it aloud, "I love Long Hugo".  tee hee.  Long Hugo?  Wait, what?  Who's Long Hugo?  I took a closer look, saw yet another giraffe, and in my sleep deprived state it took me longer than it should have to figure out the mystery...

Ode to the mammaries

Before Wyatt and I both forget, I wanted to send out my appreciation for the wonders of breastfeeding.  At the risk of sounding incredibly hokey... I never even imagined how wonderful breastfeeding would be.  And I'm not just talking about the science of it, that alone is truly amazing.  What I'm appreciating now is how precious that time with Wyatt is.  It insures these big blocks of time every day (and Every night) to watch this sweet little boy, up close and adorable.  He's so perfectly happy and peaceful when he nurses.  His little hands flit around patting me with supreme joy.  He gets painfully excited when he knows its time to nurse, he'll sort of whimper/chuckle with impatience while I get ready.  Once he gets going he'll close his eyes and make sweet little happy noises.  Or sometimes he'll make really Big noises.  When he's really hungry Gregg says it sounds like a wildebeest devouring a gazelle.  And after he's had his fill, he passes out in the most helpless little milk coma.  After nursing I still hold him upright to ease his reflux, so in the quiet of the night I sit alone and watch him, his mouth agape, body limp and soul happy.  Those sleepless nights aren't really that bad.  Someday we'll all be sleeping through the night (right?), and it will be a little bittersweet.

New adventures for the taste buds

 

So Wyatt's been pretty adventurous when it comes to trying to new foods and eating solids. So far, he's had bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, and rice cereal. Amy practices with him all day while I'm at work, and, when I get to sit down with him at the dinner table I'm amazed by the new skills! Granted, most of the food ends up either on his lap, his hands, or, his chin, but, when he gets his little mitts on some good sized chunks, into the mouth they go! He really gets excited when we simply strap him into the chair, and, his little feet and legs go absolutely CRAZY with excitement. He smiles, giggles, and, puts his hands up like "let's go!". He started drinking water out of a sippy cup as well, which is pretty neat.  He also knows which end of the spoon goes in his mouth when he grabs it himself. He has his mother's brains that's for sure.

Time to play catch-up

When you add up all of the things that have happened to our family over the last 6 months, it's quite a mouthful. Here's kinda how things have broken down for us:

1. Wyatt's Born in June
2. My beloved Grandmother Anne Cohen passes away at the age of 97.5 in August
3. I (G) get a new job offer in October
4. We decided to move to North Carolina to accept the job offer in November
5. We purchase/are under contract on a house in December
6. My beloved Grandfather Moses Harry Cohen passes away at the age of 99.5 in December
That's quite a lot to pack into six months, no? And on the "life event stressor scale", it's the top 5 things that will stress you out...all of 'em. However, our little family has made it through all of it thanks to our friends and family. We love and are thankful to you all.

So, let's catch up to where we are today, shall we? Wyatt had his six month check up at the doc on Tuesday. He's just about doubled his weight since birth, and, is a fraction of a hair under 17lbs. His napping skills have improved dramatically, although, we're still exposed to the occasional 20 ("kitty") or 40 ("cat") minute nap. We're slowly working on getting him to continue to sleep longer stretches at night, and we seem to be accomplishing that, albeit in steps. Baby steps. At the same time, we're working on getting him to put himself back to sleep once he wakes up. He's getting very good at it, and, the intervals of awake time are getting significantly shorter (except for that 1-2 hours at 4:30/5am...that's a tricky one).

He's taller now too, so, he's growing out of his clothes quicker. Amy bought this awesome shirt one day, while out with Abel & his mom Sarah. It's pretty 70s looking, and the first person that came to mind was the guy that played "Larry" on Three's company...

 Maybe it's the collar?

Also, we've started solids. It's so funny to see how excited he gets when we eat, and, he gets even crazier when we put him in his high chair to eat. Here we are after our first sweet potato experience. He ate this stuff up more so than any other food he's tried so far. He also has worn it a lot more...

Regardless, our little family is thriving on the changes and we're very excited about the things to come, while, at the same time, we're also keeping fond memories of those that may have passed away this year close in our hearts.