I realize I'm a bit late on this, but I've been keeping notes-by-month in an unpublished post until I have a chance to write it all out and add pictures of my oh-so-handsome little man. =)
Sooo...
Everett, is six months old!! He is happy, he is healthy, and he is REALLY loving life.
I'll start at the end... Everett's six month visit to the pediatrician fell at the end of his sixth month. Much to my disappointment, he still isn't sprouting like I had hoped that he would. I was SO sure that he'd put on some weight in his sixth month because he'd be nursing almost exclusively. I drank TONS of water, fed him every 2-3 hours, and ... nothing. Well, not
nothing. He did gain a few ounces, putting him at 16lbs/2oz and 26 inches. That means he's now in the 20th percentile. In and of itself, not at all troubling, but a little hard for my heart to take when I know he was in the 95th percentile the day before I went back to work. He's set to start food in a few days though, so perhaps that's what he's been waiting for. =)
The month brought more laughter, tears, and miles in a car seat than a baby could ever hope for or want.
Christmas Eve was SUPER special as we worshiped with our church family as a family of four. I plan to share more about Christmas at some point (hopefully, maybe?), but I did want to share a little here also. Christmas Eve was the first time we all dressed up as a family - we even had someone take our picture since noone was wearing nylon, tennis shoes, or a shirt with spit-up on it. Monumental occasion, I tell you!
Caroline had a very special task that night.. to light the Christ candle symbolizing the pinnacle event of the Advent Season. As she lit the candle, the congregation read from Isaiah 9... As I heard our entire church family professing God's Word (the same Word that my Heavenly Father spoke into my heart when I sought His guidance as we prepared to name and raise this child), I was overcome with emotion. To hear those sacred words that God gave me for our son, and to see our precious Angel Caroline concentrating with such reverence as she lit the Christ candle... Well, I was filled with a love and gratitude and joy that will last for all my days!
We had quite a blizzard roll in on Christmas night, so leaving for Texas on the 26th was a true reflection of how anxious we were to get home to see our family and friends. Along our 3000 mile journey, we sang and sang...
and sang in an
attempt to get a real laugh out of him. Other than one brief laugh when
I was letting the ants march across his tummy at my dad's in NRH,
there's been nary a chuckle. The kid is really, really happy... but
obviously not inclined to share any belly laughs with us.
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| Loving his Razorback had from AlPal! |
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| Ready in their Razorback gear. |
He was a super trooper everywhere we went... except for sleeping. Spending so much time in the car, in hotels, in friends' homes, at the hospital, and with grandparents provided lots of attention, but not much consistency in sleeping arrangements. He still goes down very well right at 8pm, but now he's waking up at 11p, 1a, 5a, and 7a. Makes for one tired Mommy! If we were at home, I would have let him fuss a little bit to put himself back to sleep, but I didn't feel comfortable with that approach while we were guests in other people's homes. So.. now we're looking forward to getting him back on a reasonable sleep schedule in his 7th month!
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| Hey, guys! Remember when I used to take naps? |
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| Hahahaha! Yep. I don't do that anymore. :p |
The lack of sleep certainly didn't keep Everett from enjoying time with friends, cousins, aunts & uncles, and ESPECIALLY grandparents! Unfortunately, because I was in Waco with B for much of the trip, we don't have as many photos as I would have liked. The times we were able to spend with our families was SO precious - Chris and I have continued to reflect on how joyful we are to have had the opportunity to let Everett spend almost two weeks with the most important people in our lives. We so desperately want them to know him and love him and have a meaningful relationship with our sweet blessing baby!
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| Watching the cars go by from the ICU waiting room. Everett was SUCH a little light, and coo'd and smiled at everyone in the waiting room for the entire weekend. |
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| Cuddles with Ducky at the hospital |
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| Everett playing with Granny and the iPad |
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| Ready to drive away! |
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| Cousin time on Ladeeda's front porch. |
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| Nibbling on Kayce's homework while she does her pre-India homework. |
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| ALWAYS has smiles for Granddad! |
Do these sweet little koozies count as his first boots?! I think so! =)
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| Snuggles for Mommy were pretty rare while we were traveling. |
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| Loving his koozie boots! |
Everett had the chance to watch Johnny Football and the Aggies win the CottonBowl - much to the delight of Granddad! Little PorkChop spent most of the day drooling and chewing on his toes - his favorite activities by far. (Still no teeth, and no real indication that he'll have any anytime soon.. which is fine with me because I *love* the no-teefs grin.)
One of the most monumental events of my own life intersected with Everett's first holiday season. B's cancer journey ended, and her eternal celebration began, as 2012 came to a close. That meant a special surprise for Everett... his first trip to Arkansas! He came along as we took the "B and Stanton Tour of Looooooove". I don't have all the photos, but Everett was able to tour the UofA with us, and even attended his first Razorback basketball game.
While he wasn't a fan of the loud music during team introductions, he
did enjoy the lights and animation on the scoreboard. He also took a
bottle of formula from me for the first time. He didn't love it, but he
didn't stomp his feet and refuse to take it either. It's good to know
that - in case of an emergency - he will take a bottle of formula.
We arrived back in Indianapolis only a few hours before we all headed back to work/school/daycare. The end of 2012 also signaled the end of my intermittent maternity leave. When we returned on January 7th, I went back to work full-time and Everett started his 5 day week at daycare as well. I managed my meeting schedule to make the days shorter for the first week, and Everett didn't seem too torn up about it. After all, five days of daycare means five days with Miss Jacquie.. and I think Everett is
just fine with that.
