Munchkins & Minty Fresh Moments: 6 months old!

How is it possible that my baby is half a year old today?! I'm sure it'll sound cliche, but it seriously feels like just yesterday I was going into labor! I decided to go back through Carson's pictures thus far (there are only, oh, a few hundred or so!). It's insane to see how much Carson has changed! - from the tiny, 5 pound baby to the bright blue eyed, chubby cheek baby he is today. I can remember so vividly each of the many, many pictures I've taken of Carson over the past 6 months, and I really didn't notice just how much he's changed until looking through all the pictures today.

Carson is still sleeping wonderfully - hurray! He typically goes to bed between 9 and 10 pm. Then he'll wake up to eat sometime between 7 and 11 am. It. is. FANTASTIC. (even though I'll still get up a time or two to pump during the night) Lots of times he'll even go down right away for another nap after that! He spends most of the afternoon awake, taking a cat nap occasionally around 2 or 3 pm. Sometimes Carson will take another 1.5 - 2 hour nap in the evening as well. Granted, he still doesn't have a set "schedule," but his routine usually falls within these windows. I have no complaints! I feel so blessed to have such a good sleeper!

Carson's eating is still terrific, too. I can't get over how much he eats now though! He's still exclusively on breast milk, except for an occasional bottle of formula if he cluster feeds beyond what I have stored. We haven't started Carson on solids like cereal yet...primarily because I'm having a hard time with it. Pathetic, I know.. But I love nursing Carson and if he's sleeping as well as he is, I don't see any extreme rush. But my goal is to try cereal once he has his 6 month check-up at the end of the month.

Nursing Carson are some of my absolute very favorite moments with him. He snuggles up to me and will look up at me with those light blue eyes, and my heart melts. It's like nothing else in the world can get to me in those moments. Anyone who knows me well knows I stress - a lot - and am often extremely overly-critical of myself. But when I'm nursing Carson, I think I catch glimpses of the person I actually am instead of the person I typically see myself as. And I swear, I love Carson more and more every time I feed him.

Lately when he nurses, he'll look up at me, stretch out his hand, and either play with my lips (as I kiss it to pieces) or my hair. It always brings a huge smile to his face, and it's just the best thing ever. Another thing I love is putting him to sleep when he's exhausted. In such instances when he's beyond tired, he's kind of restless and doesn't nurse as well. But as I hold him and rock him, he calms down, nurses, and nuzzles right against me. I just love seeing how relaxed he gets and how much he loves being in my arms.

Carson is great with tummy time now, and I can tell he's more aware of his arms and legs. He'll be crawling before I know it! He still rolls tummy to back really well, and he can almost roll back to tummy. He arches his back and gets about half way, but he still needs help to actually flip over. But by arching his back and using his legs, he can pivot his body in a full circle. It's kind of adorable. :)

I can tell Carson's sense of touch is developing more and more because of how much he loves feeling everything. His latest thing has been scratching at materials that make some kind of sound - like the leather of the couch or the material on his bouncer.

Carson's gut belly laugh comes out a lot more now. (Like right now with Daddy in the other room; officially my favorite sound ever.) Sometimes he'll get in such a laughing mood and I just have no idea what's so funny! And sometimes, when he's really worn out, he'll switch between laughing one minute and sobbing the next. I really love it when I wake up in the morning to Carson just giggling and babbling to himself. It's the best alarm clock ever. :)

He still can't sit on by himself, but he's starting to get the idea of it - he just tips either to the side or forward. But with support like sitting between my or Alex's legs, he does great! Carson sports my hip all the time now, though.

With a couple days of warmer weather lately (with the exception of snow last night - grr!), Carson and I got out for walks. He loves his stroller and being outside. I can't wait for warm weather to actually stick around!

His hair is getting longer. His thighs and cheeks, chunkier. His smile bigger and somehow even cuter (with two new teeth!). And his prior "kisses" actually more like real kisses now.

As unexpected as Carson's arrival was, I can't imagine my life any different. He came to our family at the perfect time, and he fills our home with more happiness and love each day - even when he has a crabby day. Even though I tear up a bit when I think about how fast 6 months has gone, I look forward to the years and then the eternities to come.

And of course, I wouldn't be me without including a million more pictures.