Obviously, this is shaping up to be one of those blogs I barely write in. I'd like to change that, but finding the time is very hard. I work full-time now, on top of caring for Kathryn, Josie dog, Jared, our home, etc. It's hard, but so far it is what works for us.
Kathryn will be six months old in a few days. Because I see her every day, I can't readily see how much bigger she is, until I look at newborn pictures. Then I feel all wistful for when she was tiny, but amazed at how she is growing.
She hasn't popped out another tooth since the first 2 showed up in month 3, but she's feeling pain from them, for sure. She gets the occasional fever, doesn't want to eat, is fussy, etc.
She's starting to be mobile. She's an expert sitter, roller, and is getting up and rocking on hands and knees. She moves herself backwards and can turn herself, but she's not moving forward yet.
She has a strong grip and if she can see it, she wants to hold it. She turns things in her hand to see what they will do. She also shakes things and watches them.
Kathryn's not babbling with consonants, yet. She vocalizes, but with vowels, like "aaaaaaah", "ooooo", ehhhhh", and growling.
She scratches her head a lot, and pulls her own hair, and then cries because she hurt herself. She loves to stand up in her bouncer, while holding hands, or bracing on an object. I feel she'll be an early walker, but a late talker.
Kathryn's not a big cuddler--she doesn't want me to just hold her and not do anything with her. She'd rather be engaged in an activity or a game. But when she sees me, she usually gives me a delighted smile that says, "you're back! let's play!"
Yes, it's wonderful being a mom. Yes, I love Kathryn so very much. But I think all moms, if honest, will admit that this is really hard work. A new person dropped in your lap as a part of the family, that needs to be fed, bathed, changed, played with, read to, nurtured, rocked to sleep. This is part of the reason mothers are so amazing and deserve respect. They handle this new person with such love and grace, giving of themselves--be it time, sleep, money, sacrificing that shirt that now has poop stains, picking boogers and wiping butts.
Call your mother and thank her. She's amazing. If your wife is a mom, tell her how you respect her and how incredible she is. And if you're a mom....believe it. You are awesome and fantastic.
