Jacoby is Six Months Old!

I can't believe half of the first year is over already.  I only have one thing to say about that, and it's 

H A L L E L U J A H!

I know, I know.  I really ought to have a better attitude about the whole helpless baby thing.  Especially considering how long and hard we waited and prayed for this little guy.  And please don't get me wrong, I don't take for granted the fact that he is indeed HERE and healthy and cute as all get-out.  But boy-howdy, I'm TIRED.  This little guy is wearing me OUT.

I blame several things.  One, I'm out of shape.  But that's a catch-22 for me, because he is the reason I am currently out of shape and also the reason I haven't been able to get back into shape.  Two, I'm OLD.  Do not wait until you are 42 to have a baby unless it's the only way possible to do it.  I don't have the energy I used to.  I remember not too many years ago I'd get up at the crack of dawn and be busy, busy, busy all day.  By nightfall the house would be spotless, the groceries bought, the children clean and fed and a home cooked dinner on the table.  NOW, I sit here at 1300, just out of the shower, the house a mess and dinner is looming ahead with no hope in sight.  I lack the motivation I used to have, I think.  Or maybe it's not that, maybe it's just that I'm exhausted from having a little teeny baby in the house.  I've never had a little baby at home before.  I didn't retire until Jack was just past that stage so it really didn't dawn on me exactly HOW MUCH a baby sucks out of your day.  But one thing is for certain, this is indeed a cute little baby and he has been blessed with a sweet spirit and a family that loves him dearly.  As I type this, he is sleeping on my bed, because trying to unfold and drool on every piece of clean laundry on my bed has exhausted him.  

All right, little buddy.  Big things have happened this month in your development.  You started to hold your bottle by yourself, and now you won't let anybody hold it for you unless you are VERY sleepy.  I'm OK with that, it's a big step towards your independence.

You also sit up really well all by yourself.  You can almost sit up all by yourself from a lying down position, too.  You sit on this blanket for hours during the day, and it makes you pretty happy.  You play with your toys and holler at Jack if he stops paying attention to you.  And you smile.  A LOT.  You are a very happy and smiley little baby.  

Smiley and happy until the sun goes down, that is.  After that, all bets are off and you turn into a werewolf with insomnia.  You go to bed at 8:30, sleep till around 10:30, wake up again at midnight, then 3, then 5:30...  And you started out to be such a great sleeper, too.  And no, you do not take long naps in the day to make up for it.  You take two 20 minute naps during the day and THAT'S IT.  In your defense, that makes you just like both of your brothers.  Neither of them were great sleepers as babies either.  Jack sleeps like a champion now, but not when he was a baby.  He stopped napping at less than a year old and hasn't looked back since.  Justice woke every hour on the hour and didn't sleep through the night until he was diagnosed with a sleeping disorder at around age 6.  He sleeps through the night now, but only because he takes medication.  SO, what I'm trying to say is that you are a typical Mack baby and I'm dealing with it.  You mostly sleep in your crib, but typically at the 3AM wake up, you are done sleeping for the night and want to play.  I eventually have to bring you in my bed because I'm in no way shape or form ready to start the day at 3.  You typically fool around babbling next to me till around 5:30 then it's time to get up.   I counted the hours you spend actually asleep for a few days in a row, and the magic number is 8 for an entire 24 hour period.  I don't know how you do it.

When your little 20 minute catnap hits you though, it could happen anywhere you are.  You just fall out, and you fall out hard.  Doesn't matter where.  

Sitting up on Mom's lap watching Jack play soccer.

Or sitting in the shopping cart.  That's big news.  I despise lugging the infant car seat around until a baby gets big enough to sit in the car seat.  First, I refuse to put the car seat in the top basket, so it sits in the cart.  That leaves me approximately 6 inches of space to fit groceries.  Translated:  Not worth the trip.  But now you can sit up all by yourself, and that makes me very happy! It really increases your portability.  

And you still sleep with a burp-rag smashed up against your face, or whatever else you can find to cover your face with.  It makes me crazy.

On another note, I can't believe I took this picture this month.  You are wearing shorts and no sleeves in this picture, and today it's barely 40 degrees.  How quickly the weather changed this year!

You also learned to give kisses this month.  You love to kiss your Bubbie, and you love to kiss your Daddy.  Huge wide-open mouth drooly kisses that are really gross.  But you smile and think it's the greatest thing in the world to give kisses, so we all tolerate them the best we can.  It's no wonder we've been passing around a bad flu for months.  

The dogs also love to give you kisses.  You see Mimi coming and you automatically try and tuck your lips inside your mouth and shut your eyes.  It's hilarious.  You know it's coming and prepare the best way you can.  

You have a bigger frame than Jack or Justice ever did, and because of that you don't wear the same size clothes they did at your age.  And that's funny to me because I'm pretty sure I posted in an earlier birthday post that you had a small frame.  It also means I've gotten to do lots of shopping for cute clothes for you.  Boys are tough to shop for, but it's been fun hunting for things that are different and stylish.  

You are barely fitting into a size 9 months right now, and have a freakishly long torso.  Jack had that problem too, but his legs were super duper short.  Yours are not.  You weigh 20 pounds and you are too wiggly to see how long you are.  You've weighed 20 pounds for a couple months almost.  You lost weight when you had the flu and never really gained it back.  Even though you've slowed down considerably, you are still in the 96th percentile for your weight.  

You eat well.  No food allergies so far, thank goodness.  That's been a real treat since both of your brothers were allergic to everything for the first year.  You hate chicken, you like fish.  You hate anything green, and love everything orange or yellow.  I think most babies are like that though.  Green food=gross food.  Oh, except broccoli.  You love broccoli.  And you REALLY love this new thingie called Rice Rusks.  Apparently biter biscuits are taboo now and no longer available.  And that's OK with me because boy those things were disgustingly slimy and messy.  While these things have a nice little crunch, they practically melt away with little mess.

Your bottom teeth are all the way grown in and pretty cute.  I couldn't get a picture of your teeth no matter how hard I tried.  It's like you intentionally cover them up with your tongue.  Your top teeth are trying to come in now but it's not bothering you as much as the bottom ones.  Yet.  I imagine that will change here shortly.

You roll everywhere, and cover large amounts of territory.  I was folding laundry in my room and you rolled from the living room all the way into my room (about 25 feet) just to try and tangle yourself under my feet.  Jack didn't ever really crawl, he was a roller too.  So maybe you won't do a lot of crawling either.  

One thing is for certain.  You love Justice.  You demand his attention and want to be with him constantly.  As soon as he gets home from school you make eye contact with him and watch his every move until it's time for bed.  You holler at him if he isn't paying attention to you.  And you love to snuggle with him.

While Justice is your snuggle buddy, Jack is your playmate.  Well, you and Jack do your fair share of snuggling, too.  This is one of my most favorite pictures, ever.

You and Jack sit together all day long.  Playing with your toys, you watch cartoons together, and you talk to him nonstop.  Jabber jabber jabber all day long.  He has done really well with the jabber considering he prefers complete silence during the day.  

You guys are great wrestling buddies.  He's very gentle with you.  You wrestle for about 20 minutes, then you pull his hair and that's the end of that.  

 We love you little buddy.  And Mom's halfway through the first year.  Yee-haw!