6 Months

Parley is 6 months old! His 1/2 birthday was on Thursday. He tried some squished up banana to celebrate. He was very interested in the plate and spoon but made a face like the banana was nasty. We'll keep trying though. We got some baby cereal to try next. I love this little boy so much and am proud of how much he has grown. I love seeing his personality more and more. He's ticklish and so curious and loves to snuggle but only on his terms. He's become much more expressive with his language. He doesn't know words yet, but he really understands tone and is able to get his message across pretty well. He has the softest fuzzy little head (which is actually huge compared with the rest of him), and he seems to get much bigger every day. 

These last 6 months have been beautiful and sacred and stretching. It's been wonderful watching our little boy grow. 

In his first month, he was so tiny and delicate. All his clothes were too big for him. He wasn't gaining weight like he should, and we were worried about that and went to the doctor a lot. He was so sleepy and would fall asleep eating, and we'd try to wake him up so he would eat more. He didn't understand night and day one bit, and we would be up at night a lot. I listened to so many audio books. It was really, really hard, and I was so tired. A lot of people took care of us. Both our moms came to help us and were just wonderful, and a lot of people brought us food and visited us. People at Goshen did so much so I didn't need to worry about school. Nikki took care of everything and made the whole world go round while still doing his school and work. I finished my semester that month but had already done most of the work before Parley was born. Through all this, I was just in awe of our little boy. Nikki was too. It changed our whole world to be parents, and we were blown away by how much we loved our precious son. 

In Parley's second month, Nikki was still taking care of us, but I started being able to do a bit more. I started going to church, helped give Lili a bridal shower, and went to Goshen 5th grade graduation. Everywhere we went, Parley was very popular. I loved showing him to everyone. I also started my job at Lily and Thistle and interviewed people for my thesis. Parley would still sleep most the time, and he could sleep anywhere. He also ate so often! He was gaining some weight, which made us so happy. We got into more of a routine together and had lots of special times snuggling. He hated evenings. Around 7 he would scream and scream. Poor kid. Nikki was the best at calming him down. 

In his third month, Parley started opening is eyes way more. I love his beautiful eyes! They were kind of blue then, but they're brown pretty consistently now. We loved outdoor baby and bath time. We had a family reunion, and he got blessed. We also started having our neighbor come over to visit. Everything was done with Goshen and our classes which felt nice. We went on a walk everyday and were just happy with our boy. 

Parley's fourth month was his travel month! He went to Fairfield and Starr Valley and moved to Tallahassee. He loved spending so much time with family and was an angel on the plane. He was becoming more and more curious about the world around him. He always wanted to face outward. He was able to play more than ever before. He seemed interested in books and would smile more and more often. He still loved being outside. He was also getting better at sleeping at night. Usually we'd wake up twice every night, which isn't bad. Moving was a big deal, and he handled it so well. He was excited to get his own room, I think. 

Parley's fifth month was a huge one for me. I became much more independent. I was able to take care of Parley and cook and clean all by myself! I had been very heavily relying on people around me, especially Nikki, ever since Parley was born, and it felt so good to be able to do more. Nikki still helps a lot, but when he's busy or gone, it's okay. We got settled into our new life in Florida and had a lot of fun. Parley started rolling over and playing with toys! 

And his sixth month has got to be the best month anyone has ever had. The three of us have so much fun together! We have a good routine going with Nikki's school and my work and Parley's eating and sleeping and all of us playing. Parley has a lot of personality, and I love to see it. He loves being upright and is getting better at supporting himself. He makes all kinds of noises and faces and is just delightful. 

I'm so proud of our boy and excited for lots more months together. We've had a special week together and loved General Conference. We wore matching shirts to celebrate! We are so grateful to belong to a church and worship a God focused on families! My two boys are the biggest blessing I could ever imagine.