It's Been How Long?

This kid will be six months old on Thursday. SIX MONTHS! I can't believe a half a year has just breezed on by. And how different life is! Shall we do a then and now?

Then:

I think Nate was about 2 weeks old in that pic. What a cutie pie.

And now:

Right? He's just his own little person now, isn't he? And he is, indeed, totally handsome. Can you spy his two, count 'em, two little teeth on the bottom?

It's so great to see his personality emerging. He is a very happy little (ok, huge) guy. He loves to talk and loves to make new friends. He's independent, but not a loner by any stretch. He likes peas and loves apples. In his pack of bath toys, he could care less about the tiger in the scuba mask, but goes bananas for the green and purple dinosaur (I keep meaning to get video of that -- he seriously gets a look on his face like he is in total and complete amazement that something so awesome exists in the real world). He loves his bath to the point that if he is so exhausted that he breaks down and throws a serious fit, you can just put him down on the bath mat, run the water and say "are you ready for your bath?" and, all of a sudden, he's smiling and squealing like the bath was all he's ever wanted in this world.

This weekend was pretty exciting for Nate. He had his first swim lesson at the rec center near our house. When the instructor told us the water was cold, I was a little hesitant. I thought he might tolerate it, but that's it. Well, hello Mr. Phelps. Our little dude LOVES the pool. Once he got used to it, he spent about half the lesson laughing and giggling, especially at his cousin, JD. I can't wait to go back next weekend. It was awesome.

Nate (and Mom) also met Nate's new cousin Mary for the first time. She is such a precious bundle of sweetness. It was wonderful to (a) be able to hold such a young baby again and (b) realize that Nate's not that helpless anymore. Soon enough, they'll be old enough that the six month difference in their ages will seem like nothing. That will be fun for them. See, they're already trying to hold hands:

N'aw.

We've got some milestones that Nate has been working on diligently. Just this weekend, he's starting to get the raspberry down. So, watch for flying spit when you come to visit. Seriously though, I love blowing raspberries at him, he always laughs or smiles. Now he can do it back. The other milestone he's working on his his unsupported sitting. See?

Ok, so he can only do it for a few seconds before he falls over, but he's getting much better. I can't wait to be able to put him down sitting up and have him amuse himself with toys on the floor. Oh, and he can start to play with different kinds of toys like rings and buckets and all kinds of stuff that aren't as easy to play with on his back. I love it.

I've lately been pondering life's little ironies that have seemed to crop up in our lives with Nate. Because of him, I'm now always awake early enough to eat the world's best egg and cheese sandwich, which is only available until 10:15 a.m., but I can't eat the cheese now because Nate can't have the dairy. Most importantly in the amusing ironies category is the fact that Nate shares a birthday with his great grandma Anne, but he has the world's craziest hair (Grandma Anne had a serious thing about hair).

Here's one last picture, for good measure: