Happy Half Birthday!

Aaron is six months today! It is quite difficult to fathom how much has happened in the past six months. And it is getting increasingly difficult to recall how life was prior to our big bundle joining the family. Alan likes to change my computer desktop to a pregnancy picture every now and then and I take one look and marvel... that belly was actually me, that what I am holding in my arms came from that belly, true testament to God's power and majesty. I think that if a second pregnancy is in my future (we do hope for that), that it could possibly be a little more fun. There is a decent chance I won't over analyze so much and there is new meaning now to the "light at the end of the tunnel" and "keep your eye on the prize," because I have a "prize" to show for the last round.

I thought another general update was in order considering a couple of months have come to pass.

Sleeping...
He pretty much sleeps about eight hours at night time and takes four to five naps a day, ranging from one to two hours. He sleeps full time in his crib in the nursery now and has had only a couple of "where am I?" moments that required consoling.

Eating...
See previous post. He still gets mommy milk six times a day with the addition of a "solid" food meal in the afternoon.

Likes…
My Camelbak water bottles. He thinks they are the greatest, followed closely by his new sippy cup. Anything that has a soft rubber tip that he can chew on and suckle from like a rabbit.

Lying on our bed and staring at the ceiling fan. Lying anywhere and staring at any ceiling fan will do.

Walks. He takes them very seriously. Occasionally, toward the tail end of our nightly walk he will start making some random noises as he chews on a burp cloth, without which he never leaves home.

Lamby. He is a small, sky blue lamb that squeaks and rattles and came from a friend of mine in Houston that is his second best friend, to Blue Bear, of course. Did you know that a lamb is a sheep that is less than a year old or without teeth?

He also likes to sit in his bouncy seat and stare up at the unlit spirally bulbs and wave his arms in the air. While he is wildly waving and squealing, we like to pretend that he is communicating with his home planet and he is receiving messages.

Then there is the television. Against all of our efforts he still would gladly give up eating, conversing, and even the spirally bulbs if he hears the sound of the TV, at which point he will strain his entire body into a half moon shape in attempts to find it.

He also loves to look at people upside down. He will hang off our laps and turn himself sideways, then pass you a huge grin as though seeing you in this manner makes you different and slightly more appealing.

The trunk of the tiny stuffed elephant that came with is bouncy chair. He often sucks on it and Alan commentates for him, “Why is this thing not producing milk?”
Holding things. We get the mail everyday on our walk and he loves to hold it while we walk from the garage to the house; his face says, “I am carrying out a very important mission.”

Baths. More specifically kicking his legs so that water splashes out of the tub onto me. I think he just likes kicking his legs in general. We have previously referred to this as “bicycling.” He especially likes to bicycle when the surface he is kicking makes a noise, even if it is the sound of his heel on a hard surface.

Pens, phones, remotes, or anything else that is colorful, dirty, pointy, or could somehow inflict pain if mommy was not paying close attention to what our quick little turkey can get into. Amazing that he is not even mobile yet and he is already quite crafty.

His Jumperoo. He is pretty good at converting his potential energy to vertical momentum. I am working on getting him a walker to test his forward motion as well.

Stories. Right now "Moo, Baa, Lalala" is his favorite, but he'll go for anything that is fun to look at and involves silly sounds and voices. This is where the stories happen...
Daddy's singing. I have failed in all attempts to replicate this, it seems Aaron see right through me. I have, however, successfully managed to get a few minutes on video. Unfortunately, for you, this is not public material, as it may forever damage the reputation of my burly husband. I happen to think it is very manly and sexy to watch him sing to our son, however I would not expect you to hold the same opinion. If you are curious it ranges from opera to nursery rhymes, oh yes the raw talent exceeds all imagination.

Dislikes…
Clothing that squeezes his head as we put it on. He still holds his breath and turns a slight shade of red as if his toes are getting pulled off one at a time.

Being woke up too quickly or loudly. For all of his toughness and stubbornness, he still needs a gentle and quiet arousal, or he will make you aware of his discomfort. A successful wake up...

Getting his neck folds washed. I have to aggressively hold his chin up in order to wipe the waddle area and he just doesn't like it. I don't blame him for feeling this way, but he has already started storing leftover food in there and I cannot support that.

New discoveries…
Axis deer. A family of about eight visit our backyard every day, sometimes twice a day. Aaron is now able to see them through the window and will watch so intently that he often forgets to blink.

The garbage disposal. As I was holding him the other day I flipped the switch to let the garbage disposal run for a couple of seconds and he stared down at the sink with a look of concern as though a monster was going to rise up out of the drain and get him.


As you can see, cliche aside, he really is our bundle of joy, a true gift of God. We have so much fun and love every minute that we share growing, learning, and playing with our Aaron Joseph.