Many Months

I cannot understand how pregnancy seemed like the longest nine months of my life, yet these last (almost) eight months of William's life have flown by before I could even catch my breath. When I look at the pictures that my friend Charlotte took of Will when he wasn't yet four months, I am again taken back by how beautiful he is, and how often he is changing. 

In October, we went to a pumpkin patch and Will donned his first Halloween costume for trick-or-treating at the mall. He is the cutest astronaut in the universe!

What doesn't change over time is Will's personality. When he was seven months old, another dear friend of mine, Taylor, offered to take Will's portraits in a studio and to shoot family Christmas pictures as well. As if I didn't take enough pictures already... But Will loves the camera!

In these last few months, I have made an effort to follow blogs, take advice from friends, and really make the best of every moment I have with my son. My son. Those words still sound so strange. I want Will to have fun and to learn every day during his childhood, and I want him to know that when I'm with him, I'm with him. He has my full attention. Despite living with what I used to think was a mild case of OCD, I have enjoyed allowing Will to take part in various sensory experiences. We have played with finger paint (on the high chair, I might add, which would have caused the pre-mother in me some serious anxiety). Yes, I stayed with him every moment to make sure none of the paint went into his mouth or eyes. We started with "What do red and blue make?" Then, we ended up mixing all the colors together.

I have taken a couple of "sick" days this year when I was really yearning for some extra time with Will. On one of those days, I posted a sick day blog but I didn't post any pictures of all the fun! We played with pots and pans, stacked rings and blocks, went to the store, read books, and played in a makeshift ball pit. I bought a ball pit set and poured them into the playpen. Will rolled around in the balls, held one of every color, tried to put them in his mouth, and of course, laughed.

One of my favorite times was our spontaneous trip to Green Key Beach. My mother, my husband and I took some beautiful shots of Will's first experience with sand. You can see the amazement on his face. We also pushed him in the swing--which he loved. Even though the weather was a little chilly, it was an absolutely glorious sunset. 

Another day after work, I decided to repeat the beach trip. This time, it was just Will and me.

The other night, we put food coloring into ice cubes and let them melt in water in a container on his playmat. Will loves playing with bath toys any time of day--he is definitely a water baby! It was fun to watch him try to catch the ice cubes!

Everything about my son amazes me. He is happy all.the.time. Literally. Everything and everyone can make him laugh. My favorite aspects of his dynamic personality is his sweet spirit when he first wakes up and his belly laugh. He is also a huge fan of sticking his tongue out.

He started crawling--small movement at first--a couple of weeks ago. This last weekend, he decided to take off. He also cut his first tooth. I am grateful that even though I had to go back to work when he was four months old, he has saved each and every milestone for my husband and me. At our home, he is turning into quite the little rambunctious climber.

It's hard to believe we are about to celebrate our first Christmas as a family. 

It's hard to believe that I, Shannon, the one who said she'd never be a baby person, the one who cringed every time she heard a baby cry, the one who struggled her whole pregnancy, the one who never changed a diaper, the one who feels like she doesn't have a crafty gene in her body... has become a mother. And most days, I hope, a good mother.


I have realized many things over these last many months. But one of my major realizations is that I finally understand the phrase "You're gonna miss this." Because I know I definitely am going to miss this. Every little bit of it.