Six months, already?

Sam

I can’t believe I’m writing this already, but this week we are celebrating Sam’s half birthday.

Six months. Holy cow.

And for Sam’s six-month birthday, we are also celebrating all the milestones that have come recently.

It’s amazing to me, after we moved past the newborn phase around three or four months, how fast he began changing, daily.

He lost all of his dark hair and is a blondie now. His eyes, which I was convinced would be dark like his dad’s, have only gotten lighter and lighter. They are almost a translucent blue when he’s outside.

I know there is still time for some of that to change, and I know he’ll be a spitting image of his father eventually.

But for now, I’ll take his blonde hair and blue eyes that make him look a little like me.

Sam loves all baby food. Fruit and veggies have really helped him fill out and have the squeezable cheeks and legs every momma hopes for.

He also loves bath time now. Bath time is one of dad’s jobs, and they have a lot of fun.

He has now decided it’s time for him to turn the pages when we read books.

He is really getting some mileage out of his bouncer and his exersaucer now.

He calms down when his dad sings, “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” and gets excited when I sing “This Little Light of Mine.”

And his changing table is still one of his favorite places to be, except for in the middle of the night when he wakes up hungry.

Man, does that boy love to bounce. Even when he’s not in a bouncer, he prefers to be bouncing. Even in my arms. We usually bounce as we walk anywhere.

In bigger milestones, he is successfully rolling from one end of the room to the other, making me question why I even put down a blanket for him to lie on.

He can mostly sit up on his own, though he wobbles sometimes.

He’s very curious and loves toys with buttons and lights.

Sam got his first tooth this weekend, and that’s definitely a cause for celebration. He’s still been a very happy baby, but teething does weird things to babies. It’s nice to the see the fruits of his labor of drooling, gnawing, waking up often, and not always feeling the best.

The kid has got a big, infectious smile that he’ll share with just about anyone. Though, he is becoming quite the momma’s boy and will reach for either of his parents when he can see us.

He loves to be outside, and just stepping out the door usually makes him forget whatever it was he might have been mad about.

He has had a cold every month since July and two ear infections. That’s been the biggest eye opener as a mom. There really is always something going on, which really messes with getting down a good sleep routine. Ears, cough, teeth – you name it, it’s always something.

But it’s all worth it to see his progress.

I love watching him play and learn and grow. The progress he makes at this age is just unreal. And we love celebrating with him.

This whole parenting thing is a whirlwind, that’s for sure.

Just this weekend, we were enjoying our relaxing Sunday morning together as a family. And suddenly I stopped and smiled, and Matt asked why.

I stopped and smiled because it was moments like that, like Sunday mornings as a family, that we prayed for and looked forward to for our three and a half years of battling infertility.

We always enjoyed our Sunday mornings as just the two of us, and we would often think about how much better it would be with little ones.

And it’s everything we imagined.

And every time I stop and smile, thinking about those moments we prayed for, for so long, I also stop and think of those dealing with infertility today.

Every once in a while, someone on our prayer list lets us know that they’re expecting. And I cry every time. We just had one of those moments this weekend, where someone said God has blessed them with a little one.

But my list of friends struggling with this journey is still too long. I think of how strong those people have become and must be for one another. It’s exhausting, all-consuming, and easily the biggest challenge of our lives so far.

These people still get my prayers every day. I pray someday they get to experience the blessings we have. And whether they do or don’t, I pray they can see God working in their lives through it all.

I can’t wait to tell Sam what a greatly anticipated blessing he has been to us and to teach him compassion for those going through any struggles.

For now, we’ll watch him grow and develop into a happy, sweet young boy.

And now, it’s time for six-month shots, a change to the next size of wardrobe, and a photo session. And, who knows what else he has in store for us.