Nathan is 6 months!

     Whenever I was pregnant with Nathan, everyone told me that time would fly and that babies grow up so fast.  This statement was usually followed up by them telling me how old their "baby" was.  Usually, their "baby" was in their 20s or 30s.  By the time I was over 41 weeks pregnant and gigantic, I remember thinking that based on how slowly time was passing at that point, that saying that "time flies" must just be a cliche thing that you say, but isn't necessarily true.  Well, as I peek in on my sleeping 6 month old and I think about all that has happened in our lives in the past 6 months, I realize that all of those well-wishers and advice-givers, were right.  Time flies.

     In 6 months, our lives have completely changed.  While we loved Nathan overwhelmingly from the first moment we heard his wail behind that big blue sheet and held him in the OR,

I have found that I love him more and more every single day.  As he grows and changes, and he interacts more with us and with his environment, I find myself thinking often that is so much fun being his mom.  Yes, we have many challenging days of no naps and some nights of waking up all the time, and days of me thinking "what in the world am I doing?  I have no idea how to be a mom!" Those moments almost always are followed by a sweet smile from Nathan, or a precious snuggle, or an exciting milestone moment for him, and I realize again how that God's grace is bigger than my uncertainty of how to parent, and that I am incredibly blessed and grateful to have this sweet, joyful baby in our lives.
    Nathan is changing every since day it seems!  We are just loving watching and cheering on all of these changes.  While we were in DC last week, we were playing with him on the bed and couldn't believe it when that little guy was laying on his stomach and pushed up on his hands, got up on his toes, rocked a few times and lunged forward.  Since then, he has loved further discovering this new skill.  Gone are the days of laying him on the floor in his room with some toys and hopping in the shower.  I figured that out yesterday when I laid him down with a mound of toys, and after a few minutes or not hearing him (never a good sign) I found him scooting his way out of his room.

He is also continuing to be more solid at sitting.  We have the occasional crash but he is getting much better at balancing and grabbing for toys.

He loves music, riding in the jogger how without the carseat, chewing and grabbing anything and everything,

and most of all, people watching!  He is such a curious baby and thrives on being out and about and discovering new things.  He also has two teeth now and just started solids!  Some of these are out of focus, but they are so funny, I had to add them.

He can't decide if he loves them or hates them.  He opens his mouth wide when we offer them and then shudders, gags, and blows raspberries until his food is everywhere.  At least he is enjoying himself, I suppose!
     We can hardly believe it's been half a year already and are so excited to experience many other  changes with Nathan as he continues to grow up.  We continue to be overwhelmed by the blessing of this little boy in our lives.  Being a parent is by far the most challenging and the most rewarding thing we have experienced thus far and know that those feelings will only grow as life moves forward.    

 
     Nathan, buddy, we are so thankful for you and the joy your beautiful smile brings to our lives.  We continue to pray that you will grow up to be a man of God that loves Him above all else, that you will never know a time when you don't know Him, that your joyful spirit will never fade, and that God will give us grace as we learn to parent you.  Happy half-birthday, my little love!