6 Months Old!

Our little J.T. is 6 months old now.

Time has gone so fast, and yet I honestly have a hard time remembering what we did without him! This little guy has completely stolen the hearts of our entire family. Chris and I love to just watch him. He is so expressive and funny. He is different than his brothers. The boys love to talk to him and play with him. He watches them earnestly - wondering what fun thing they might do next to make him laugh.










E.R. talks to him, brings him things, and also likes to make him smile. He thinks she is just about the funniest person ever. Which she is.


I joke with Chris that we are like Abraham and Sarah, and J.T. is the joy of our old age. He quickly points out that we aren't 100 years old. Or childless. True - but sometimes it feels like we're 100. And he truly is a blessing to us.

He gives the greatest baby hugs, complete with neck-squeezing. Sometimes it is hard for me to wait for him to wake up from his nap, because I miss him so much. I felt the same way when G.J. was this age. I secretly sometimes did wake him up, just to be able to play with him. I felt the same way with M.C. but was so tired and busy with a toddler that I let M.C. sleep in peace. I wish he had done the same for me at night!!

So J.T. is growing every day - about 23 pounds now. He is just sitting up, and is now trying new foods.

I can't believe how different our lives are from this time last year. I had so much anxiety about pregnancy, birth, and another newborn. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself how absolutely wonderful J.T. is. I shouldn't have worried at all.

So J.T. benefits from being the youngest of this crew because there is always someone to entertain him, or help him find his pacifier. (We had thought that maybe our family's legacy of paci-addiction had not been passed to J.T., but he realized how essential they are to his happiness at 5 months old, and has never looked back.) He is learning the skills needed to assert himself to get what he needs in the busy life we lead. He will be a master at soccer, baseball, and basketball by the time it his turn to play.

And once again, I get to watch my amazing, kind, funny, loving husband take care of a baby. When G.J. was born that was the thing that surprised me most about how Chris and I changed. I loved Chris more than I knew was possible as I watched him with our tiny new son. There is something that deepens and grows in your love for a spouse when you see them change diapers and wipe spit up off of their face. That same something deepens and grows even more as you see them helping a child struggling to read, or mediating a neighborhood conflict with your teary child at their side. It has nothing to do with biology, but everything to do with growing together in the hardest role of your lives. Chris is a master at loving his kids, and I am reminded of how much I love sharing this life with him as I watch him with J.T.