6 Months

Six months old.

That's what Elijah is today.

He's not consistently rolling over, and the little man can't sit up by himself. In other words, he's not conforming to those milestone standards devised by childless pediatricians.

Now if he were my first baby, I would have already called the doctor and thumbed through baby books and searched the internet. I would have imagined one thousand reasons as to why he wasn't progressing like "normal."  Instead, I've only considered a few.

This chunky-hunk-of-love seems to be my easiest baby of all. He falls asleep on his own. He only cries when he's tired or hungry or, on rare occasions, when he wants to be held (rare because he's usually being held).

He eats well and sleeps well. He's happy.

So my first thought for his "delay" is simply that God is being kind to me, you know, stretching out what could be my final moments of this season of motherhood. When you're a brand new Mama, you can't wait to watch the show unfold before your eyes. But, when you've been there a few times, or you're keenly aware you might not be there again, you're delighted to take things slowly.

My Mom still hasn't held this little guy, but I'm hoping and praying that will change in April. In the meantime, I'm thankful for every grin and laugh and coo and diaper change and....

And I love that his siblings are still crazy about him.

Happy 6 months, Sarge!

The day after the birth (of my granddaughter) I was in the grocery store getting some vegetables and grains for the family. There were several mothers shopping up and down the aisles with young children in tow--many of them snarling and snapping at the over-lively, curiosity-filled, wildly energetic kids. I wanted to grab the mothers, embrace them, tell them, "Do you realize what you have done? You have given birth to a child, a child--this miracle, this wonder, this glory."
~Eugene Peterson


With love,
Trisha