Six Months

Dear Jonathan,

Last week, on May 3, you turned six months old in the sky somewhere between Portland, Oregon and Narita, Japan. Everyone warned me that the time would pass by all-too-quickly, and I believed them and have done my best to savor every minute. Even so, they were more right than I could have imagined.

You are the sweetest little boy, and as you learn to communicate more and more effectively, we grow to appreciate and understand just how sweet you really are. You have the most contagious laugh and charming smile, although you like to make people earn both. You are calm and easy-going, with the happiest disposition (except when you're hungry, more on that later). You fall asleep anywhere as long as you are in my arms and you never complain as I take you in tow all around the world. You try to be happy when someone talks to you no matter how sad you really are. You worry about other babies when you hear them cry, even if you can't see them. You sleep well at night, play well during the day, and it seems that no crisis or problem is bad enough that a long hug with Mommy can't fix it.

You love food. You watch carefully as Grandpa eats his steak or Daddy eats his hamburger. You take glasses or water bottles out of my hands while I'm drinking them and put them to your own mouth to take a drink. You actually drink from a water bottle or cup really well, and you think you are way too grown up for sippy cups. The saddest I ever see you is when you watch me make you a bottle and then think I'm not going to give it to you because I put it down to wash a dish first... total heartbreak, more sad than when you got your immunizations. When you started eating solids a couple months ago, it was a spectacular revelation to you and now you want to try everything. You love carrots, mangos, cereal, and applesauce. You want to eat my salads, sandwiches, tortilla chips, and stir-frys so desperately. As soon as you can eat them, I will be happy to share!

Your favorite toys right now are: a little plastic yellow car with buttons that make car sounds; bright-colored plastic chain links that you chew on, pull off of things, drop into things, and throw around; a plastic shark baby toothbrush/teether named Sharkie; and most of all, your Curious George book. You love books and being read to in general, but you smile from ear to ear and gasp with delight when we get Curious George out to read with you. That being said, your absolute favorite toy is your thumb. You love to suck your thumb. Your favorite shows to watch on YouTube are Sesame Street's Will I Am "What I Am," "Elmo's Song," and "1234" by Feist. You think anytime Grandma gets out her IPad she will play your shows for you, and you're usually right. You love music of any kind, especially classical music. You're content to "play" our piano for a very long time, and you love to look at sheet music or books of music.

You love to be outside, especially swimming or looking at trees. You can play in the swimming pool for hours, literally. You love your bath time too, and always have. You love for me to sing to you, and for us to play on the floor together. You sit up by yourself really well, and you can stand with some help for a long time. You've had no use for tummy time until last week when you saw your friend, Sage, crawling and now you are on a mission to do it yourself. We can already tell that you are very tenacious.

Most of all, you love your family. You get a giant smile on your face when Daddy comes home from work, and you seem to never tire of cuddling and playing with me all day. It's a good thing, too, because I never get tired of it either!

You are amazingly brave when you receive your shots, even the Doctor was surprised by how hard you tried to not cry and how quickly you got over it. You got that from your Grandma. You're very tall and you love being around people, just like your dad, but your facial expressions (especially your smile) are from Grandpa and me and no one else.

I love you so much, Baby Bear. You have brought me more joy than I could ever put into words, and I'm so grateful Heavenly Father sent you to me.

Best Friends Forever,
Mommy