6 Months

Happy half-birthday to my sweet baby boy!!  I can't believe it was half a year ago that little Collier came into our lives!  More than ever I am cherishing these precious moments with a little baby.  He is no longer an infant, and before I know it, he will be a toddler.  It seems like just yesterday I was feeding Isabelle her first solids and cheering her on as she learned to crawl.  I know too well how fast it goes by, and as much fun as it is watching children grow up, and looking forward to their next milestones, I sometimes wish time could stop.  Right. Now.

 Collier is such a delight, mostly happy and giggly, very active and loves to bounce in the bouncy seat (seen here), kicking his right leg over and over (little future soccer player).  He has been known to laugh out loud while bouncing up and down - I can already see the difference in activity between boys and girls!  We even got a Johnny Jump-up for our little bouncing boy, something I never thought to have for Izzy. 

My sweet boy is FINALLY sleeping through the night (sometimes with a feeding either an hour after we put him down at night or a few hours before he gets up for the day around 7 am, but he snoozes right through them, so no complaints here).  Since the day he was born, this baby has been hungry!  He eats much more (and more often) than Isabelle ever did, which I think is partly why it has taken him so much longer to sleep through the night.  We had several attempts of highly stressful CIO (that's crying it out for those of you moms with perfect, sleepy, easy babies:) starting at 4 months, and this stubborn little fellow (known to cry for almost 2 hours - agony!) made it clear that he just wasn't ready for a long stretch.  So I changed my way of thinking, realizing that he would not be a small baby that I could nurse or hold, sleepy in my arms, in the middle of the night for very long.  Amazing how changing one's expectations and learning to appreciate little things can bring such great peace!

This little guy was not what I'd call an "easy," laid back infant and he had his fair share of fussy days and purple cries.  But he learned his days and nights very early; just a few days home from the hospital he was awake much more during the day than at night.  Everyone always commented on how "alert" he was as an infant - even his pediatrician commented on his alertness at one of his first appointments!  To this day I am amazed how long he can stay awake during the day, sometimes up to 5 hours with barely a fuss!  (I must admit the thought of a non-napping 18 month old downright frightens me!). But now he really is easy-peasy.  He usually soothes himself to sleep with barely a whimper, happily drains a bottle 5 times a day, and hangs out wherever he's placed.  He just goes with the flow.  This is the wonderful stage that I was dreaming of 3 months ago!

There is not a person Collier meets that doesn't comment on his gorgeous eyes!  Since his birth, those big, bright eyes are probably why people called him "alert," and they are still one of his most striking features.  But that smile is really what melts his mama.

At six months, Collier is just about the sweetest thing alive - he is now at the point that he cries less than his big sister on a daily basis (Izzy probably has an average of 5 mini and monstrous tantrums a day!).  He is so close to sitting up without a spotter - a period that I am greatly looking forward to!

Crockett provides great entertainment for both Collier and Isabelle these days. 

Crockett really is the best dog a kid could have.  Softest mouth in the world!  I swear I would let her babysit. 

Can't get enough of that smile!

You think you know love when you have your first child.  And then you have another and the love that's compounded between the 2 of them is greater than you could possibly imagine.  Isabelle couldn't be sweeter with her little brother.  She still loves to come greet in the morning or after naps, loves to help change diapers, bathe, and even feed baby food.  I have started to notice a little possessiveness with baby toys that were once her own and now passed down to him, so I know we are entering the wonderful world of learning to share with a sibling. 

Father's day was a great celebration of all the special dads in our life.

I don't know many dads quite like my husband.  He's a dad who spends the majority of each and every day caring for a toddler and baby.  It is certainly a joint effort between the 2 of us, but I rely on him for so much in our household.  He is a true SUPERdaddy!!  I don't know many moms who feel like they could leave town for a week at the last minute with fully capable daddy in charge of 2 kids, without leaving specific instructions with schedules and day-to-day routines.  I could!  And I just might!

We started off with brunch at the Barksdales. 

Brun and his grandbabies!

Little blue-eyed beauty, Sutton

Doting Ellie

We later spent the evening with the Prudens.  I would have taken some pics with my dad, but of course the 2 minute period when my kids were awake, happy and picture-worthy, my husband and father were much more interested in golf. 

I am so very lucky that my children will be raised by a father that is as devoted and loving as my father has been to me!