Half way there.

I glowered at the number staring back at me as I was weighing myself this morning after eating the last slice of apple crisp my mother-in-law insisted I take home (though I didn't put up much of a fight), cursing the 5 lbs. that refuse to shed themselves. It has been 6 months and I am well beyond the "I just had a baby" stage. As I started to give myself a half-time pep talk it suddenly hit me...

my son is 6 months old today.

We somehow have made it halfway through the year, though I still feel like it was just yesterday that we were making the trip home from the hospital. Nothing clarifies how quick time truly flies like watching a baby grow up, day by day. The days turn to months, the months to years and suddenly before you know it you are being guided to your seat by your son, dressed in a suit... waiting for your replacement to walk down the aisle. Ouch.

I know, I know... they have to grow and you have to let them but sometimes I look at Wyatt and I just want to go back in time. He is already reaching a stage where he doesn't enjoy being cuddled. He wont fall asleep in my arms anymore and I am beginning to think he loves his pacifier just a bit more then me. He is sleeping in his own room now, in his own bed, and all night long. I tried to cuddle him in our bed the other night, but he forcefully resisted, grabbing my eyebrow with his tiny, but Iron man like grip until I cried mercy. He knows what he wants and is slowly learning how to get it.

He is beginning to pick up the sign language. Though he isn't signing himself yet, I can tell that he understands the motions when I sign them. He gets a big smile and starts bouncing around when I sign 'Milk'. Bryan finds this one humorous (the motions imitate milking a cow, squeezing the hands open and closed) and is constantly pestering Wyatt with it. He closes his eyes and relaxes when I sign 'Sleep'. He opens his mouth when I sign 'More' and leans forward. 'O' means cheerios, a new experience he got to share with his cousin, Morgan. Its refreshing and exhilarating to see something that started as a boredom buster for myself is actually turning out to be useful. We have been working on 'Mommy' and 'Daddy'. Bryan insists on changing the sign for 'Daddy' because he thinks the one assigned by the ASL looks stupid (hold hand open and bring thumb to forehead). He instead made up his own, in which you hit yourself in the chest. I tried explaining that more then likely this will backfire and will make Wyatt look like he has a learning disability (imagine a 12 month old hitting himself in the chest repeatedly). I continue to do it the correct way... well see who wins.

We are also working on mastering the sippy cup. I started out giving it to him empty a few weeks ago just so he could get used to holding it. He quickly mastered that and was throwing it around the room in a few hours. One day I put some water in it so he could see that there is something inside of it, not thinking he would get any out, since technically they aren't supposed to have water until 6 months. I looked up from mopping the floors, only to find he had the sippy cup in his mouth properly and was guzzling away. *gulp* I guess that's what I get for underestimating my own son!

I remember thinking when we first brought Wyatt home- "This too shall pass...". He would be awake at midnight and I would remind myself that this will not last forever, someday he will sleep through the night in his own bed, and then someday he will want to spend the night somewhere else, and then someday he will no longer be sleeping in the bedroom downstairs... but instead in a dorm room across the state. The moments pass by too quickly to not enjoy every one of them, even the ones that take place at the wee hours of the night... or the early hours of morning.

Happy halfway baby boy... thank you for making the last 6 months the best 182.5 days of my life. We love you more then anything in this world... even Grandmas apple crisp.

Forever and always my baby you'll be.