Eden is 6 months old

Dear sweet Eden,

I can barely believe its been half a year. It went by so quickly. The saying rings true- the days are long but the years are short. Because you are such a good baby, sometimes I also feel like the days are short too. Especially on days I have to work- I can barely squeeze in enough time to be with you and the boys.  I know you are in good hands though, as Candy, your nanny truly adores you like you are her own grandchild.

Six months means you are getting more and more excited about interacting with us and you are more intentional about what makes you happy and not so happy. You are so very sweet and smile all the time. I recently read something that says babies at 6 months cry up to 2 hours a day. I imagine in a day you cry for a total of 15 minutes maybe?

Our days start around 7:30. You’ve been throwing us for a loop with your sleep schedule and this month, we celebrated Thanksgiving, with 15 family members in our house Wednesday to Sunday. You did not find that exactly appealing as while they were here you were not up to sleeping through the night. We figured it was something to do with your noticing the extra folks in your space and hoped for improvement. It came for a week or so- you were back on schedule, but then became unsteady again. Oh, the fickle ways of your sleep schedule.

Naps though continue to work out super well. You usually take two, 2-hr naps and sometimes a third that is about 30 to 40 minutes. You can sleep in your crib well for these naps, but admittedly, we often hold you and take a nap of our own. We are not supposed to- we are aware. But I honestly can’t get enough of rocking you so long as I am not exhausted. You are such a sweet baby.

After we are up, we head to get dressed, and the moment the boys hear us out of bed they are there to greet you. They continue to adore you, and as I write this I can hear Collin’s voice saying “Hi Eden!” both boys’ warmest characteristics shine around you- they are kind and gentle, loving and quiet. I love seeing it surface in their usual rough-and-tumble routine of 2 boys 18 months apart.

Then we head down to breakfast. You usually sit in your swing, but you are certainly getting too big for it. You can hear the battery struggle to move it as you sit there. You look up at the mobile and catch the stars as they move around. You are content as we get the day started and we narrate breakfast to you. The boys move quickly to get ready for school, and you are gleefully entertained. They always make sure to spend time making you belly laugh, or to hold you and offer you some of the toys you prefer.

At six months you aren’t eating breakfast yet, but you would like to. Anytime I am holding you and I am taking a bite of a bagel or English muffin, you are leaning in, mouth open, anxious to get a taste too. We are holding off to introduce breakfast until 7 months or so, but right before Thanksgiving we did introduce your first food, which as you might expect, you loved. This month at your check up you weighed in at over 17 pounds, in the 64th percentile and you are in the 95th for height.

Your first taste was of sweet potatoes, a fitting first for the Thanksgiving season. At first you weren’t entirely sure about the texture, but once you figured it out you wanted more. You cried the first time I emptied a jar.  And since then, there was no looking back. You have entered the realm of flavors with reckless abandon- enjoying all of them. Sweet potatoes, pears, kale, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, strawberry, carrot, oatmeal, banana, you name a first food- you’ve probably tried the pureed version.

But dinner is a long way away from breakfast, and in our usual routine you seem to know it. You stare longingly at the boys and my breakfasts, daydreaming of the days ahead when you will get your own. After a few songs and breakfast finishes we head upstairs to make beds and get dressed. You nearly always lay on their beds while I orchestrate the routine of getting dressed. You are fascinated with what they are doing all the time.

They get dressed, eventually, and play with you on your play mat while I take a turn at getting ready for the day. In these 15 minutes they dote on you- adoring your smile and coos. You chatter with them, telling them all about your expectations for the day and they play along, narrating all of your sounds with words. Collin always reads you two or three books and when they can, they both try to engage you in play. Lately it has been with the Elephant ball popper, which they find hilarious and you laugh intensely at their wide smiles.

All too soon, I’m ready for work and the boys are ready for school and its time for our day to part- you get lots of one on one attention from Candy, playing again often on your playmat or on cold days in front of the warm fireplace. She talks to you and carries you around in a whirlwind of activity as she does laundry and dishes and floors, and all the other things we are so thankful for. Mostly though, she loves being with you, so we feel especially blessed to have her in our lives.

In this window you take two naps- the first right when we leave, going down around 9:15 and usually it’s a 1.5 to 2 hour nap, and then about 2 hours from when you wake, you take another, waking up to your dad, who also adores you. And the feeling is mutual. Whenever you see him your little face lights up. He’s especially good at talking to you and playing with you and I think he really enjoys that time from 2:30 until 3:45 when you both go to pick up the boys because I haven’t returned from work yet.

At 4 the boys re-enter the scene, and you are always glad to see their faces, as they are yours. Then the chaos of many chores, activities, homework and reading begins, with you at the center. I come home usually around 4:30/5 to join the mix and we figure out dinner. Then at 5:30 you enjoy your dinner and always end up in the bath each night afterward. You enjoy it so much that you find ways to push the spoon across your face and on your arms, and in your hair until you are wearing much of the leftover food.

Baths are still a favorite for you. You love the warm water and you like to watch us pour it from high up as it lands on your hands and wrists. We moved you to a bigger tub last month and you seem to be enjoying the new found freedom to sit up and play while you are in the warm water.

After bath we start to wind down for bed, jammies, stories, snuggles with Lamby-kins. At 6:15 I usually feed you one last time and begin the process of rocking you to sleep. I adore holding your sweet face as you drift off to sleep, as every night I am reminded how lucky we are to have you in our lives, and how privileged our family is to be safe, warm, well fed and nearly worry free when so many other parts of the world are suffering so much. Every night I stare into your little eyes and give thanks that you live in a part of the world that I don’t have to question your wellbeing and safety everyday and that your development is so well protected with all of the fantastic adults who care about you in your life. Then you drift off, and I snuggle you into your crib where you sleep until we hear from you around midnight because you spit out your Nuk. We pop it back in your mouth and cross our fingers you’ll sleep until 4 or so.

This month, aside from our routine, you mastered more milestones. You are able to sit up unassisted now and you can roll to and from something that you desire. You love to chew on your fist, or our knuckles or try to bite our faces in the most innocent way. You love to get your hands on my hair and pull and you would chew Sophie’s face off if you could, I think. You celebrated your first Thanksgiving, where 15 family members came over the river and through the woods to see you and you’ve increased your social interactions so much, you love to watch and try to interact with the other babies at ECFE.

In short, you are a sweet miracle. We love you and we can’t wait to see what 7 months will hold.
Off we go to another month ahead.
All our love
Momma and Daddy