Dear Squirmy Worms:
YOU HAVE A TOOOOOOOTH!
Scratch that. You have TWOOOO TOOOOOOTHS!
You have been drooling and gumming on things for weeks now, and battling with some brief moments of out-of-character grumpiness, so we knew this was inevitable. We just didn’t know how quickly it would happen! We were in Nashville last weekend visiting friends and Kristin and I just happened to spot a little white nub on your bottom gum. And we saw a companion tooth ready to sprout up right beside it. You like to have the spot rubbed or to have nice cool things to chew on. I treated you to a little Orajel and you thought that was totally weird. Here it is a week later and both teeth have broken through the skin and you are being a pretty good sport about it most of the time, I have to say.
What a month we’ve had! You have gone from having thick dark hair at birth to being almost completely bald (except for your rat rattail) to now having a soft head of light brown hair (and, yes, a rattail). You finally went up to size 2 diapers (even if they are a little big on you) and are probably ready to have your cloth diapers adjusted to go up a size but your mother is putting that off until the last second because that shit is ANNOYING. You can still squeeze into some of your 3-month onesies but you are pretty much into your 6-month clothes now (especially when you have your bulky cloth diapers on). You’re eating more now and are often not satisfied — especially at bedtime — with a piddly 4 ounces. You’re much more happy with 5 to 6 ounces.
Nursing is still going well but you are now getting several bottles of formula during the week. There is just no way, it seems, for me to be able to pump the 15-20 ounces you eat while I am at work. And that’s OK. I do the best I can and you don’t seem to have a food preference as long as you’re getting fed. You still switch easily from bottle to boob and that is such a relief.
Speaking of getting fed, we tried peas this month! You were not too keen on them. Your grandpa thinks that’s because I fed them to you at 7 in the morning but I figure you don’t know that peas aren’t a breakfast food. I got it on video, look!
You also ate plenty more bananas this month, but I think you still aren’t sure if you like them or not. You’re still not quite sure what to do with food that gets into your mouth. You mostly act like you wish it would get out of your mouth and not by way of your throat. You spend a lot of time tonguing your little tooth nubs so perhaps learning to do the chewing and swallowing motions isn’t really at the forefront of your mind at this time. It seems like you prefer gnawing on whatever you can get your hands on. You like your Sophie giraffe that Aunt Vicki gave you and you like shoving stuffed animals into your mouth.
We’ve been doing sit-ups to work on strengthening your core. Mama should be doing these too to work on her “waist” since it’s hidden beneath a generous layer of blubber, but who has the time? You’re rolling over halfway now and are much more amiable during tummy time, and you can sit up with some assistance and for extremely brief periods by yourself, but then you just sort of fold in half and it’s kind of funny and then I feel bad for laughing. You like standing in my lap and looking all around the room and then checking back in with me and smiling big. You get a kick out of the kitties when they pass by and every now and then one of them comes close enough for you to grab, and I tell you all about how soft their fur is. You pretty much think your daddy is the best thing in the world and he returns the sentiment.
You’re a real talker these days. Your language is getting more complex and you’re speaking using multiple syllables and raspberries. I swear the other day at Kristin’s — the day after we found your toofs — you mimicked something Amber said to you. She kept saying “take it” to you so you’d grab a toy out of her hand and you mouthed something that sounded so close to that. And then you did it again! This is not like those people who think their dogs are saying “I love you.” This is really you learning how to talk! You are a real-life Furby! (I will pause for you to Google “Furby”. I am assuming “Google” is familiar to you despite our age difference.)
We’ve learned that you are ticklish!
Earlier in the month, the family came and helped us set up a booth at a local art walk. I was a little worried you’d get tired of the whole scene, but you were so fantastic and you loved being outside all day! You just chilled and sat in laps and watched the trees and the people. You only fussed a couple of times and that’s because you were hungry. So I fed you, you dozed for a bit, and then woke up curious about what you’d missed. Everyone was amazed at how laid-back you were. I kept wondering aloud what planet you were from because you are not of this earth. Seriously, you’re like this cute little observer alien who is just here to learn our ways. Which, yeah, I guess you sort of are.
You went to your first wedding this month! You should have gone to TWO weddings this month but we had a spell of the grumps shortly before Jen and Brian’s wedding, so we stayed at home so you wouldn’t be loud and grumpy through the whole thing. You were in much better spirits before Zach and Laurel’s wedding so you got to go to the zoo for the first time and see a polar bear swimming and eating fish. You seemed to think that was pretty cool (and mama did too). The whole thing at the zoo after dark felt pretty ritzy and mama would have gone to town at the cheese table but you were a little cranky there at the end and it was your bedtime, so we skedadaddled a little early.
We made our second trip to Nashville, as I’ve already mentioned, and you got to meet some more honorary aunts and uncles. You conked out and mama stayed outside to catch up with old friends, like old times. Except this time there was a baby monitor on the porch. We went to the Nashville farmers market and you just took it all in from your vantage point in the stroller. A couple of ladies at one stall just went crazy over you and you laughed it up for them. It was a whirlwind trip (they all are) but we will be back in the next few months to meet and see even more friends.
On May 2, your cousin Levi was born! He is a real cutie pie and you two are going to be good friends. You haven’t met him yet but you will once your aunt and uncle are settled at home and have had some time to rest and recuperate. You’ll probably recognize some of your clothes on him over the years because we are having SO MUCH FUN cleaning out the closet periodically and having someone to give all that stuff to! I hope some day you and Levi are good friends and spend lots of time on the farm together.
Yesterday we had a big day for your half-year birthday, and you went to your first museum ever: The Ornamental Metal Museum. We checked out all the neat metal pieces and the sculpture garden, and then sat there by the river for a little bit. It was pretty; I had never been before but had always really wanted to go. One of these days we’ll take you to watch the blacksmiths doing their work, probably when you’re in the thick of your banging-on-everything phase so you’ll be sure to appreciate it. Then later in the evening we went and had dinner at Amanda and Brandon’s and you got to hang out with your friend Eliza. We ate pork tacos at dusk under strands of white lights and I let you have a little bit of avocado. Lo and behold, you seemed to like it.
Looks like mama dropped the ball this month and took mostly cellphone photos. Oops! Oh well.
Of course I laughed and giggled and then found myself in tears when I saw Buds surrounded by the numerous frogs I have given him. I think cousin Levi is going to be plagued by dinosaurs but I just can’t seem to help myself. I don’t care what you do with the frogs at this point because that ONE picture told me secretly that though there is no room for the poor souls, you cared about my selfless frog offerings long enough to take a photo shoot. Love you sis and happy 6 months Buds!