Six Months

With all the traveling and the business and the being away from the internet, I have not had a chance to tell you Peanuts so many things.  Looking back I'm not sure yet where to start, but in the mean time, Mister has reached a whole half year!  I had to take some time out of our trip to tell you all about the fun that is Mister at six months.

First of all, I have a whole post coming about the fact that Mister had a tongue tie fixed shortly before we left Virginia.  A whole post because it was that big a deal.  Since that momentous occurrence, Little Mister has been able to do this amazing thing: eat-for-the-love-of-goodness.
Now that He isn't half starved, and now that feeding Him is no longer an all-consuming, horribly stressful event for us both, He has stepped into the role He was destined for, free to be the Mister He has always been, inside.  Which is: The Happiest, Easiest Baby EVER.
Mister almost never complains.  He has to be way past due for a feeding, utterly and completely exhausted (sometimes not even then), or in actual acute pain of some sort in order to bother fussing about it.  The rest of the time, dude just sucks it up.

8 hours in a car seat? La-di-da, got His little crinkle toy, got His sisters' faces to look at, no prob.
4 hours in a backpack under the blazing sun, getting jostled around with wind whipping sand into His face? Sounds good, just along for the ride.
Sitting on a lap through an endless restaurant meal after skipping a nap? Hey, might as well enjoy slobbering on a nice shiny spoon.
Sleeping on the floor of a tent in 40 degrees?  Bring it on.

Mister loves getting His diaper changed, literally laughing out loud.  He loves His bath, laughing and splashing and gurgling even when the water runs into His eyes.  He likes being put down to sleep, He likes being awakened from sleep.  He loves being held, cuddled, and talked to.  He's happy to chill on a blanket with something to play with until you almost forget He's there.  He loves everything about His sisters and grins just when He sees them coming.  He laughs when there is wind on His face, when He sneezes in the pool, accidentally dunking His head under the water, laughs when strangers get all up in His personal space.  He's just a happy-go-lucky kind of guy.

On this trip, He has been ripped from any semblance of a schedule and dragged though all manner of environments, confined to His car seat a lot and forced to tough out hot sun, cold days, wind, rain, and even hail.  He's gone through it all with a smile almost continuously on His face.  He loves everyone, He loves just about everything.  And His favorite thing to do is laugh.  He just wants any excuse.  His sisters' antics, His parents' conversation, even thinking about getting tickled.  The world is just hilarious.

Now, on the physical front I don't have a lot to report.  After all, it's as if we have made a conscious effort to stunt His development by restraining Him in the car seat and backpack all the time for the last month.  So, He continues to do His push-ups, He still rolls one way OR the other, but hasn't put them together yet.  He scootches. but not very far.
He seems like He may be teething soon, since He chews on ANYthing like a labrador puppy, and produces enough drool to alleviate the draught conditions of any arid regions we may pass though.
He is finally growing some hair, but it's so blonde you can't really tell.  He has had His first sun and wind burns, but those are hardly milestones to celebrate.  
But while His body has been held back, I fear, by our travels, His brain knows no bounds! He has been learning plenty.  For one, despite having a constantly changing life, He has learned a lot about what to expect.  He recognizes His sisters and parents, He knows when He's about to be changed, fed, or put to bed.  He has learned how to use His own pacifier- studying it, giving it a good shake (for luck?), orienting it properly, and popping it in.  He thinks He can swim, getting His booty going like a porpoise in the pool.  He has moved on from raspberries to full-out conversations with various facial expressions and exclamations in the form of "da da daaa daaa ta t-t-t-ba baaaa goo!" And has a LOT to say.

He is hopelessly attached to His pacifier and to a little blankie that He likes to curl around and snuggle His face into when it's sleep time.  Other favorite toys include a little football toy, and empty plastic water bottles.
Yes, He is so happy that He's perfectly pleased to play with trash.  That's our guy.  Easy, sweet, happy as can be.  He has been such a blessing on this trip (and in life in general) because even when the going gets rough, Mister finds joy and laughter, and shares it with us all.  His joy and delight in everything  (or in nothing at all) becomes joy and delight to all of us, and He keeps us smiling and giggling.
How ever did we get along without you, Little Mister?  I have no idea.  But we're all happy we don't have to do it now.  Happy half-birthday my little son-shine. We love you.