6 months old

This little guy is 6 months old already (& two days... I'm a little late in posting...)

Don't you love his party hat?

It's hard to believe, I know. It seems like just yesterday that we were making the B.I.G. announcement that we had a little peanut in the oven. Now he's 6 months old and already making havoc. Just in the last week or so he has been more active than ever. He loves to shake and reach for toys and papers. He loves paper. Ripping it, chewing it, eating it. Long gone are the days where I can set him down for a minute or two and leave the room. He always gets himself into something. And aren't his little cheeks to die for? Ah, he's such a cutie!!

I must say that time goes by so quickly. I have enjoyed each and every moment of motherhood. My goal will always be to embrace this little guy with my love and take time out of my day to laugh, explore and talk with him. I will admit that working has been difficult some days as I feel like my plate can only hold so much. It is my personality to say "yes, I'll be there", "yes, I will do that for you", "yes, you can count on me". I've had to throw in a couple "no's" every now and then to make my life a little more manageable. Truth be told, I probably need to throw in a couple more no's, but I will get there and am taking baby steps.

If I have learned one thing in these past 6 months, it is to relax. When Casey's mother came to visit about a month after Caden was born, she helped me a lot around the house and tending to Caden. I would watch her lull Caden to sleep and calm him down when he wasn't happy. She made it look so easy and really taught me one of the most important things about motherhood I have learned to this day.... If I relax, it helps Caden relax. It does no good to get all worked up when Caden's worked up, it will only make it worse. I have taken that with me throughout these first 6 months and it has really worked. Caden now goes down to sleep in a snap and if he's fussy a little entertaining does the trick.

I must say I am still coming to grips with the fact that I'm a mother. It's good that motherhood comes in stages. It would be weird if we were given a 2 or 3 year old that we would have to potty train from the get go. It would be even weirder if we were given a hormonal teenager that disputed everything we said. I am so thankful to be a mom and I couldn't ask for anything more.