To Tyler, at 6 Months

Tyler,

I love you!  Your Dad and I agree that we love this (st)age.  Though your Dad is starting to wish that you would sleep through the night for me almost as much as I do!  He has started making your right-before-bed bottles into rice cereal "smoothies" and it's helping, a little, but you are a growing, hungry boy!  If I needed to wake up at 4 am, I wouldn't need to set an alarm, you are precisely tuned!

You really are a big boy too!  Baba happened to dress you in this outfit today, your brother happened to wear it for his EIGHT month update photo shoot.  I am told you will be my linebacker, but for now you are my cuddle bear.

Your feet get cold when you are sleeping, like freezing cold.  Changing your diaper, while you cried for your bottle, in the middle of the night Tuesday, I finally decided to put socks on you under your pajamas.  As I was putting them on, you strained your neck to sit up a little and looked at your feet; you immediately stopped crying.  I'm not sure if you thought I was crazy or if I solved a problem for you!

You are really strong, especially your little abs!  If you are inclined at all you can get yourself to practically sitting up, and then roll over.  You started rolling over on October 7th, just days after your five month birthday.  You went from back to front, and you did it with no witnesses for days!  We would stare at you for 15 minutes without any action, walk away for 1 minute, and come back to find you on your belly!  It wasn't until October 25th that you went from your belly to your back, and you still don't do that often.  Now, when Timmy decides to help you roll over, you keep complete control of your neck, and it's a little game for you both.  Sitting up unassisted is the next milestone to look forward to!  You and Timmy will really be able to play then!

You love Timmy!  He keeps you entertained.  You watch him all the time and you smile and giggle at his antics when he is entertaining himself.  Once he realizes you are laughing at him, he will repeat the action over and over until you lose interest.  He calls you TyTy a lot when he is talking to you.  He snuggles up to you all the time to tell you he loves you.  Sometimes I worry he is pressing on you too hard and I ask him to stop and be more gentle, he will tell me, "But I need to hug him!" He loves you so much.  He brings you toys, and squishes your cheeks, and when you cry in the car as you try to put yourself to sleep at the start of our commute home, after saying, "Here we go again..." he helps me sing to you.

Daddy loves to cuddle with you.  He will hold you against him, with your head against his, and you will happily leave it there.  Sometimes you push your head against his, he says you are head-butting him.  Daddy is turning into the solid-food-feeder and the tubby-giver.  He gives you a lotion-y massage after your tubby which he says makes you smile and laugh the whole time.

Mommy loves laying down with you to give you your bottles.  It is the perfect chance to feel like I'm being productive while doing nothing but relaxing and loving on you.  I love to lay on the floor by you and watch you play with your toes and take in your surroundings.  You like to grab at my locket or touch my hair.  Your cheeks are perfect for kissing!  You are my sweet, sweet, content baby boy.

Happy 1/2 year Tyler!  I love you!

Mommy