Tripp :: Six Months Old

Holy Moly this was the fastest and most exciting month, ever!! Tripper boy, you had SO many firsts.... SO MANY! I know we always talk about how fast you are growing up, but this short span of your life has truly just been like a blink.... you have completely transitioned from a newborn to a baby... learning so much, observing everything, constantly changing and growing, babbling and becoming this little BOY who is the greatest little buddy in the whole wide world. Bug, we love you FIERCELY... so passionate and deep is our love for you, our desire for you to grow to be a man of faith and integrity, our hopes that you will live out all of your wildest dreams, our prayer that you never doubt the pride we have in YOU. Tripper, you make our day.

 

We don't go to the doctor until next week, but we weighed you on our scale the other day and you are already over 17lbs... chunk-a-monk, we love it! To put that in perspective, Eleanor only weighed 18lbs THIS Christmas (5 months ago, to date!). You are wearing 6-12 month clothes (mainly 9 month) and size 3 diapers. 

 So, on your 5 month birthday we decided to bite the bullet and try dropping the dream feed to see what you would do.... well buddy, you are awesome, you didn't even miss a beat. Slept from 7:45pm - 7:15am and have every night since (With the occasional up at 6:45am.. boo!).

 You still won't take a beloved bottle, so I am still very much your life source... Tripp, its getting old. Good thing you hang the moon, buddy. You eat at 7am, 10:45am, 1:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm. Some days you will only eat 4 times, so we are probably close to dropping one of the mid-day feedings!

 You have been staring down our food for about 2 months now, so a couple of weeks ago we introduced you to solids.... You are LOVING it. It has taken you a while to figure out the spoon, but now that you have got it you go nuts when you eat. We offer you solids at morning, lunch and dinner.... but your best feeding is definitely dinner. So far, you have eaten and LOVE oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, peas, squash, bananas, apples, pears and brocolli... I mean, you haven't met a food you don't like yet!

 You are still NOT the best napper, at all. I figure that we can't win them all, so we will definitely lose in the bottle and nap category. We try to nap from 9-10:30am, 12:15-1:15pm and from 3:30-4:30pm.... but it typically looks more like 9-9:45am, 12:30-1pm, 3:30-4:15pm.... a total of about 2 hours all day. That's ridiculous. AT LEAST YOU SLEEP ALL NIGHT (I keep telling myself!).

You have become quite the observer... my favorite is your hands. You literally put them in front of your face and study the back of it, your palm and your fingers over and over. Really slow and concentrated like you are completely fascinated. You have also found those toes.... making diaper changing quite easy (and funny!), because they are always in your mouth if you are on your back!

 On May 12, you rolled over for the first time... this was after weeks of Eleanor grabbing your shirt and flipping you on your tummy saying "Tripper, WOLL OWER!"

 On May 5, you sat up for the first time! (Yep, before you rolled over!)... sure you still have the occasional slump / fall, but you love the new-found freedom of sitting up. I feel like this has made you such a big boy.

 You are a lover. I knew this about you pretty much instantly... you love to be cuddled, snuggled, played with, held... you love our attention, but not in a "performer" way. You just love being noticed. We notice you, buddy. I hope you stay this intentional for all of your days. I hope you always wrap your arms around my neck when I hold you upright like you do now. I hope you always want your momma to know you.

 You have the best smile in the entire world. Your huge dimples just go back forever in your squishy cheeks and your eyes pop....

Here you are just going to town on those toes... who needs a pacifier, anyway??

 On Mother's day, you were dedicated at church. Such a special day for us... having our family and friends there to be charged with the awesome responsibility of shepherding you towards Christ. We promise to teach you, love you, protect you and pray for you buddy. You belong to the Lord, we know that full well.

 You are Charlie hung out for a little bit on Mother's day... but I am pretty sure you scared him... haha, look at his eyes! But seriously, can't wait until you two are running around making messes.

 We also put you in the swing for the first time this month... you LOVED it! I have a feeling that you and Eleanor are BOTH going to be outside babies.... if it is daylight, that is where you both want to be. Praise the Lord for long summer days... can't wait for the fun we will have. You also went "swimming" (as in, you sat on the first step and splashed for a few minutes) and just like Eleanor, you are a fan of the water!! My little fishies!

 Your baby blue eyes are getting more blue every single day. Seriously. They are the bluest, most striking eyes I have ever seen.... I tried to get a picture of you and daddy to compare. Look at your serious smirks. Y'all are cute.

 Eleanor asks to "pick Tripp up" or "I hold heem" about 100 times a day. It is hilarious because you love it and ya'll are pretty close to the same size. She just smiles and smiles and you just snuggle on up to her regardless of how uncomfortable it probably really is. You two are the best of friends and it is just the best thing in the whole world to watch.

 If we had thought that you found your voice before, we were wrong. You have definitely found your voice in the last few weeks.... it is ear-piercingly loud screams and oohhs and agghhs. Thankfully, they are all out of glee, but my word they are loud. It is typically when you are pulling my hair, playing with Sophie, eating your toes or kicking your feet.

 You are my favorite little boy in the whole wide world.

 Eleanor and Daddy's too.

 

We brought our your jumperoo a week or so ago and let me just tell you... you are a JUMPER! You can stay in that little thing for 30 minutes + sometimes just going crazy... it has also translated to a jumping motion (just like Eleanor) when you stand on our laps or we hold you... you love to bounce up and down!!

 You are insanely ticklish and have the best, deep gut laugh that we can get rolling... you also get it when we sing to you or when Eleanor shows you any attention. It is music to our ears and can make any rough day so much better.

So, our days are not perfect and we are often really, REALLY tired... but Tripper boy, there is not a thing we would change (Well, maybe a thing - read: bottle).  I will sound like a broken record for the rest of my life, but I CANNOT BELIEVE how gracious and giving our God is that he gave us YOU as our son. We are humbled, truly breathless when we consider the love that we have for you and Eleanor. We are so undeserving. But buddy, we promise to celebrate YOU all of our days. You are one of a kind, you are perfectly created, you are fiercely loved. Happy half-year, buddy boy.