Happy 1/2 year little man!

Oh Matty boy, you are six months old! Do you know how much fun you are becoming? Such a smiley guy. I love being with you and watching you marvel at the world around you. You get so excited when something new is presented to you, your mouth opens widely, you kick your legs, and reach as hard as you can with your arms to grab whatever new item has caught your attention. Your joy is contagious, thank you for bring such happiness into my life.

You had your six month appointment today, and holy cow Matthew, you are one tough cookie! The nurse came in to administer your 4 shots and I prepared you for the pain by wrapping my arms around you and holding you as close as possible. As the first shot penetrated your little thigh, you flinched, but didn't make a sound. The second shot came quickly after the first and it made you whimper a little and kick your leg, but as your Dad stated, it seemed as though you were thinking 'what is this annoyance and why does it keep happening?'. The nurse applied a band aid to your left ham hock and then quickly stuck your right ham hock with the other shot. At this point you were getting angrier and you started fussing, but not screaming. By the time the last shot was given you were crying more openly, but as soon as the band aid was on I swooped you up close to my face and started to shush you, and lo and behold: you shushed. Little man, you only cried for about 3 seconds; that was simply amazing!

We learned today that you are in the 90th percentile for height and only the 50th percentile for weight. The equation can be broken down as such:

string bean + cottage cheese cheeks = Matthew

Right now you have such a social personality and I hope that you keep that outgoing nature forever. You have a smile ready for anyone you meet, though sometimes it takes just a little coaxing to come out. Since Momma is somewhat of an introvert, and your Daddy was a little shy guy, it surprises me that you are so willing to flash your two pearly whites all the time. I know that things may change and you may become a little more hesitant around strangers, but right now it's great that you grin no matter what the circumstances.

And yes, in case you were wondering, your little ham hocks are delicious. I love to eat them with a side of baby toes. Muy bueno!

Bottom lip chewer

Matthew has now discovered that he has a bottom lip and he loves to chew on this lip. The face he makes while chewing is priceless, a combination of 'deep in thought' and 'old geezer man'.

Mr. Sandman is apparantly on vacation

My boy has decided that naps are no longer necessary and instead likes to vigourously rub his eyes and roll around in his crib (screaming occasionally), for approximately an hour and a half, give or take.

*Mr. Sandman: GET YOUR BUTT BACK TO OUR HOUSE PRONTO.*

He loves me

It is really hard going out at night now that there is a 17lb person in our lives (that statement deserves a big 'no duh'). The other night we ventured out for ice cream with friends and it was literally a race against the clock to eat our ice cream, socialize for more than 3 seconds and get Matty home and in bed at a decent time. As Jim says: 'Now I understand why people who have kids disappear, it's all about the kid's schedule.' Never a truer statement was uttered. I used to think how I wouldn't be one of those disappearing parents, I was still going to go out, still going to socialize, still going to have people over for dinner. Now? I can't imagine a more nightmarish situation. {Excuse me while I eat a nice big slice of humble pie.}

Putting Matty to bed can sometimes end up being a bit...tiresome. Most nights he goes down easily, without too much fuss. However, there are the nights that turn into Screamfest 2007, and those are always a little (heh, heh) more challenging. Apparently last night was a screamfest, but thanks to the awesomeness that is my husband, I didn't have to attend. Friends of ours were going out to a comedy club, and Jim insisted that I go with them and join in the festivities. It was such a good time, I had a blast while I was out and while I missed my boy so badly, I also relished in the fact that I was not constantly checking my shirt for baby throw-up or doing my best to figure out why my 5 1/2 month old is screaming his head off when he should be sleeping. I love my husband, he really is the best.

Hitting the slo-mo button

I swear all I did was blink, maybe I blinked for a second to long, but when I opened my eyes everything seemed different. My boy can roll over now, and he has started sleeping on his stomach at night (insert Alleluia chorus). He has started to eat rice cereal, once a day and today we are adding another serving of the gloopy goodness. It seems very likely that he will soon sit up on his own, and I swear he looks bigger this morning than he did last night. I completely understand why people say the first year passes by in the blink of an eye, because I'm pretty sure it was just yesterday that I was wondering when this kid was FINALLY going to fit into a 3 month sized onesie. (In case anyone wonders (um, probably not, but anyway), the child is wearing 9 month onesies, so really I shouldn't have worried.)

There are moments I try and seer into my mind, like the times I am giving Matty a bath and the way he kicks his little legs, and purses his lips together with total concentration. Or like this morning, when Jim was holding him, they were sitting at the dining room table and Matty reached out with extreme determination and grabbed the toy that was in front of him, without dropping it on the floor (I am submitting his application to America's Got Talent as I type this). And just yesterday I had Matty on his little play mat in the kitchen while I was fixing something and realized that I needed something in the living room. The child was on his back when I left and when I came back he had rolled almost all the way off the mat, much to my utter surprise. He was absolutely FINE, though he seemed a little surprised at himself.

Let's see. What other bits of information that are only exciting to momma or daddy can I write about? Matthew is obsessed with watching either Jim or me take a drink. In fact, Jim has started letting Matty take sips from a cup to get him used to drinking. There are times when I am feeding Matthew and he will sneak his finger into his mouth at the same time he is eating. I look down and realize that my boy is trying to maximize his potential by doing double duty sucking, and when I take his finger out his mouth he happily goes back to nursing. Really, the whole process is quite endearing, and makes me realize my son is even cuter than I thought possible.

The days are passing by way too quickly, and yet I am excited for each new day that I get to spend with Matthew. Life is good, even if there is no slow motion button.