Six Months

Earlier this week as we basked in the heat and endless prairies that are Saskatchewan, you turned six months old. I think you've travelled more in these first few months of life than I did for the first 18 years of mine. I expect one morning to wake and find you covered with travel stickers that have been slapped on you marking your time at each holiday destination. Sure, you may not have those exotic stickers adorning the trunks of 1920s travellers to Europe who may have returned home with images of Paris and London stuck to their baggage. But, baby, you got better. Buck Lake. Drumheller. Elbow. These are the bright lights and big cities that most other six-month olds can only dream of.


The world is your oyster. Or at least your sweet potatoe. This past month you've started eating solid foods. Let me rephrase that. You've started accepting solid foods into your mouth and then bllaaabbbbshhbbbing it all over your face. The last few days you have sharply protested being placed in your high chair with the tray covering your legs because...I shudder to believe we've even done this to you...because it DENIES YOU ACCESS TO YOUR FEET FOR MORE THAN FIVE CONSECUTIVE SECONDS. Eating oatmeal and applesauce is not enough for you. You need to simultaneously have food, your thumb, and a minimum of four toes in your mouth at any given sitting to avoid a meltdown no one has seen since denying Mel Gibson a martini.


You continue to amaze your dad and me with how adaptable you are to new situations. You readily explore anything new. Generally by shoving it in your mouth. You win people over time and time again with that infectious, coy little smile of yours. I've never yet seen you not smile at someone who took the time to talk with you, pinch those enormous cheeks or tweak your sausage toes. Time and time again we hear how happy you are and how easy going you are. These people obviously have not seen you once you've decided it is time for your bottle.


Jack, you are an amazing gift. For every month you've grown, you've helped me grow immeasurably more. It has not been easy for me to be a mom. I'm not a natural and I'm nowhere near perfect. But my love for you knows no bounds. As tired as I am each day as we put you to bed, I can't wait to see you again in the morning. As hard as it is to do the same things over and over each day, I can't wait for the next day to do it all over again with you. In just half a year, you've taught me more about myself than I've learned in the last five. You've made me a more patient, more loving, more understanding woman. All that in just six months? Just imagine what you and I will achieve together in the next six.


Love,
Your Momma