Dear Simon,

This week we celebrated your half birthday with a small bowl of rice cereal, signaling your official introduction to solid foods (we snuck you a bit of banana a couple of weeks ago, so that was actually your first taste). You have been watching us eat for a while now, and, of course, you know just what to do with a spoon. You are suspicious with your first tastes (it was especially hard to convince you to try pears), but you tentatively open your mouth for another bite and then another, and so it begins. A little side effect that we hadn’t prepared for was a return to stealthy pooping. Your daddy had to change an extraordinarily messy diaper yesterday--your second blowout of the week--and all I have to say about that is thank-you for timing that for when he was home.

I am beginning to understand why I’ve heard so many people say that six months is their favorite baby stage. You are getting to be so much fun--moreso every day, and I wouldn’t have even thought that was possible.

This month you discovered your feet. Most mornings I wake up to you contentedly playing with them, trying to get them to your mouth (because, well, everything must go in the mouth). You are figuring out your hands too--grabbing Mommy’s glasses is a big hit with you. You are so talented that you can even reach back and grab them when you’re sitting on my lap. Impressive, kid.

You’re not mobile yet, but I can see it coming because you are starting to scoot. If we put a toy just out of your reach, you will put your head down and pull yourself along with your arms/push yourself with your feet. Depending on what kind of traction you get, you can move a few inches at a time. Then you’ll lift your head up to check your progress and repeat. Lucky for Mama you are more interested in standing than anything else--and there’s no chance of you getting very far that way, at least for now. You love to stand in your exersaucer, or especially in your jumpy seat.

I love to watch you wake up from your naps. You are like your dad in that it takes you a while to shake off the grog. You kind of look around in a daze until you realize you’re awake, and then you always look a little frantic. I imagine that you are trying to figure out (a) where you are and, more important, (b) who is with you (see next paragraph). If you have had enough sleep, you are your usual agreeable self no matter where you wake up (Super Target, the library, the kitchen), but if you haven’t all bets are off. I think we’ve passed the stage of being able to take you anywhere, anytime. You don’t sleep through everything anymore.

You continue to be a cuddly baby, and the thing that really melts my heart is when you just need a little assurance that someone is near. Recently you were fussy on the way to Super Target, and Brook reached back and grabbed your hand, and you instantly--and I mean instantly fell asleep.  You nap best snuggled up alongside Mama’s leg on the couch--it’s the only time I get to blog (you are there now, in fact). You love when someone rides in the backseat with you or when Mama reaches over the crib rail to give you a pat at night, just enough to remind you you are not alone. I love that about you.

One of my favorite things about your emerging personality is that you are so observant. You will intently study a person’s face until she looks at you, and then you will flash that killer smile. It can be a little disarming. You will sit on your daddy’s lap out on the porch swing and watch the trees and the bugs and the cars go by for twenty minutes at a time. You are always gathering information, and I wonder how you’re organizing it all in that dear little head.

Perhaps most amusing of all, you have recently (re)discovered your voice and enjoy just yelling. A lot. Loudly. You don’t seem to be trying to communicate anything in particular--it’s like you just discovered that noise was actually coming from you, that you can control it, and you are delighting in the power. Once in a while you’ll stop and smile and give a little wiggle like you’ve just told a good joke and you want to emphasize the punchline. But mostly it’s just the yelling for yelling’s sake. It’s funny. (And speaking of funny, Mama got you to giggle, really giggle, once, but we think you’re saving the laughter as a regular habit so that I have something to write about next month.)

(This video is just a tiny taste of your “talking”; you go on and on and on. Also, the purple weirdness is why we had to get a new camera.)

You are such a joy. Mama loves you so, so much, little man.

Listening to the swishy swish of the dishwasher (I don’t think the word “dishwasher” is onomatopoeic in the strictest sense, but it’s close). Simon enjoyed his jumpy seat for a while this morning, and I actually got something done! Now, I wouldn’t call the kitchen clean quite yet, but it’s better than it was.
Planning to enjoy some corn from my uncle’s garden, some zuchinni from Brook/the Zachs’, and some blueberries from Super Target (and meatloaf) tonight for dinner.
Guessing that Simon will weigh 13 lbs., 4 oz. at his six-month checkup tomorrow. Jason has 13 1/2 lbs. We haven’t decided on a prize for the closer guesser (in other words, there won’t be one).
Wishing I had changed Simon before his last feeding. He’s asleep now, and I can already tell it’s going to be a full clothes-changing extravaganza when he wakes. Shoot.
Brainstorming various posts I need to write.
Missing Jamie, but enjoying her renewed blogging vigor this past week or so.
Thinking we should maybe have a bigger buffer between the end of watching Heroes and going to bed. We’ve been catching up on Season 2 a couple of episodes at a time, and I’ve been having weirdo dreams.
Folding loads and loads of laundry.

We’re trying to teach Simon to love books. So far, so good. He may need a little more direction in terms of primary purpose (but this is good too).

Recurrently dreaming that I am far away from home and that my only mode of transportation is a bicycle. (I have had these dreams since Simon was born. A quick Google search indicates that dreaming of riding a bicycle may signify a desire for balace. I’ll buy that.)
Drinking iced Toddy. Yum.
Wondering if the pediatrician has a flag on Simon’s file: “Warning: Crazy first-time parents!”
Enjoying reading about the adventures of little Kate.
Writing a bio so that Jason can finally launch our Red Bicycle site.
Reading A Clash of Kings, by George R. R. Martin, Atonement, by Ian Mcewan, and The Devil in the White City, by Erik Larson. (I’ve been inspired by Rebecca to start reading more.)
Remembering that I still have in my trunk four bags full of shoes and jackets that need to go to the People’s City Mission. (Brookos, who has mad skillz in organizatiion started me on a decluttering kick that continues slowly but surely.)
Realizing that the two cookies I ate for breakfast aren’t going to hold me until lunch.
Deciding how many more cloth diapers to buy this month (while Milkworks has them on sale).
Loving that my little boy is a cuddler and that he’ll still take his morning nap in my arms.
Packing the diaper bag for a daytrip to Grandma and Grandpa Morehead’s.

Jason and I started dating on a Wednesday (May 26, 2004).
Jason proposed to me on a Wednesday (January 26, 2005).
Simon was born on a Wednesday (January 30, 2008).
Last, least, and not at all in the same category, but still pretty good: Project Runway airs on Wednesdays. Season 5 starts tonight. I’m excited.

A couple of weekends ago, we went to Camp Calvin Crest to celebrate Jason’s Grandpa and Grandma Kliewer’s sixtieth wedding anniversary. It was really a blessing to be reminded of and see firsthand the rich heritage of the family I’ve married into--a family much like my own in many ways.

The reunion and conversations sparked Jason’s interest in his family tree (his mom had put one together for the Kliewer family), and, naturally, he found a relevant web application to play with. We have been busily entering history into Geni. It’s pretty straightforward--it draws your family tree--but if you’ve ever tried to draw a family tree out more than a couple of generations, you can appreciate how handy it is to have all the (cyber)space you need to spread out. It’s been fun scouring family history to enter as many birth, death, baptism, and marriage (etc.) dates we can find, I’m looking forward to picking my grandma’s brain when we visit her next month. It’s a little like putting together a puzzle, and as I’m sure Jason’s mom will agree, it’s more than a little addictive (I see you adding names and details, Mom). You can go all kinds of crazy, especially if you start adding families connected by marriage (e.g., my sister-in-law’s family or my cousins’ cousins on the “other” side).

It’s been super interesting to make connections either by dates or by relationships, Here are a few of the fun facts we’ve discovered so far:

Jason shares a birthday with my Grandpa Carlson (February 1)
Simon shares a birthday with his Great-Uncle Loius (January 30)
My Great-Uncle Lawrence was married on the day President Roosevelt closed the banks during the Great Depression (March 5, 1933)
Jason’s optometrist is also his wife’s great-uncle’s wife’s sister’s husband

Wondering how I might revive my (yawn) boring,boring blog . . .
Waiting for yellow Jell-O to set (watch Needs More Butter for details)
Washing (always washing) diapers (he’s in his fourth outfit today. One, two, three, Fourth!)
Admiring Charity’s new photoblog
ReadingLast Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv, a book recommended to me three times now
Dreading change, especially friends moving (stupid St. Louis)
Researching how to introduce solid foods
Listening to Liv playing outside
Thinking I really should straighten up before Community Dinner tonight
Wishing I had thought to start blogging earlier (munchkin calls)

Dear Simon,

Incredibly, you are already five months old! You are growing up so fast, kiddo, and the only reason I can tolerate that at all is because you just become more and more fun with each new day and each new discovery you make and each new thing you learn to do.

This month we took our first vacation as a family of three. We loaded up way too much stuff in the (borrowed) minivan, paid way too much to fill it up with gas, and headed out to Colorado to visit the Sittlers and the Classens. You were such a great traveler--you slept almost the whole time in the van, and if you were ever awake, you were your usual smiley, drooley self. You did get your first little sunburn the day we went hiking around. I felt so terrible about that, but you didn’t complain at all, and by the next morning it had faded away entirely. You are still too young to notice, but Mama and Shelli had a lot of fun counting all our boys and shaking our heads at the fact that we’ve been friends for twenty-three years.

You also went to your first sporting event--a baseball game. Now, as anyone can tell you, we Moreheads aren’t necessarily ones to enjoy the sports, but you tolerated it well. You entertained us by shouting over the noise of the crowd. And you saw your first fireworks but were unimpressed.

The only question of any real importance to you these days seems to be How can I get that in my mouth? You are learning to grasp things and are ever exploring your world by gumming it one object at a time. Often you’ll be holding a toy, and just when you almost have it in your mouth, you let go but continue to bring your hand into your mouth; inevitably, you let out a cry because the taste of your hand is not what you were working so hard for. It frustrates you, but, man, is it cute.

Another new trick you’ve been practicing is getting the star at the top of your playmat to bend to your will. You yell at it until Mama or Daddy switches it on; then you just happily kick while your bud the Star flashes at you and plays a tune that gets stuck in Mama’s head.

You are holding your head up steady, which has totally transformed tummy time--you practically like it now. You love to sit up (soon you’ll be doing it on your own!) or especially to stand--so many different perspectives to explore!  You are just about to laugh, and you are thinking about rolling over (check that. In the time it’s taken Mama to get this letter finished, you have started rolling from your tummy to your back. What fun you are having showing off your new skill!).

Simon, you have the most amazing, engaging smile, and you share it freely, although overall you are a pretty serious little fellow, You are becoming more observant all the time, and I love watching you study your toys and especially people. You are a great kid, and your daddy and I say every day how thankful we are for you,

Mama loves you, little man.

This pretty much sums up how we three have been celebrating this Independence Day so far. Happy 4th, everybody!

Dear Simon,

Where in the world have four months gone already? I think this month you have changed more than any other month. Every day you interact more with the people and objects in your world. It used to be that I would look forward to times when you would sleep so that I could get a little rest. These days, I can’t wait until you wake up so that we can talk. Sometimes I even wake you up, though that doesn’t always go well for me.

This month, you were baptized. This means that you are a member of God’s covenant family and are entitled to all of the blessings that entails. We know that God’s spirit is at work in your heart, and we pray for the day that you profess your own faith in Jesus Christ. Until then, you will be surrounded by people who love you, both at home and in the church. And these people want you know that God loves you, and that you are ultimately His child.

You also had your baby shower (finally), which was yet another reminder that so many people love you. They brought many wonderful gifts—cute clothes (which you are already growing out of), books that will make you the smartest boy on the block, and all kinds of fun toys. Your parents might grumble every now and then that the house now looks like a tornado tore through a baby store, but we’re incredibly grateful for all of the support and care that has been shown to our family over the last few months.

One of my favorite new things that you started doing this month is the Full Body Hello. If someone walks into your line of sight, you will kick your legs, flail your arms, and wiggle your middle, and flash that smile that can be seen from outer space. That you are so happy to see me almost makes up for the fact that you are becoming more independent every day. You like to be on your back and kick. You’re still a bit of a snuggle bug, but not as much as before. You like to sit up, and you have much better head control, but you’re still pretty wobbly, so it looks like you’re agreeing with everything everybody says.

You also have become quite social. You do a lot of “talking” and sometimes your conversations with the ceiling fan are quite spirited. You have started smiling at yourself in the mirror, or maybe you’re smiling at two mommies. Either way, you are very engaging.

You still manage to keep your parents on their toes. In the early months, you had your guerilla pooping skills. Nowadays, you’re a bit manic. One minute, you might be screaming at the top of your lungs, like the whole sky is falling. And just when we’re about to execute Emergency Baby Pacification Plan #258 (which often entails pulling over to the side of the road and soothing you), you’ll suddenly keel over in mid-wail, fast asleep.

You still bring lots of joy into our lives, and I don’t think that’s going to end anytime soon.

Mama loves you, little man.

We’ve just returned from a short trip (long weekend, really) to visit friends in Colorado. Simon was a delightful travel companion, and we all enjoyed our first vacation as a family of three. As always, I’m all inspired after spending time with the Sittlers, and I’m itching to end my long blog drought. However, I’m more delerious from lack of sleep and road-weary than I am inspired, so this bitty entry will have to remain a teaser for tonight.

Dear Simon,

I’m a little late with your letter this month. What’s worse, I don’t remember all that much about this month. You see, it’s all kind of a blur because you started smiling, and that’s pretty much all I can handle. You started off tentatively and unpredictably. I would spend most of my days hovered over you, camera in hand, begging you to smile and shooting hundreds of pictures trying to catch that fleeting grin. Now, though, you smile just about every time you are awake, and that just makes me go all weak in the knees. Oh, and then there’s the cooing. Don’t even get me started. When you talk to me, everything goes all blurry and I just about black out from the cuteness.

You are doing everything a little bigger and and a little better this month. You stay awake for longer stretches. You sleep a little longer and A LOT better. You like your baths better all the time.

You can and do sleep anywhere. And that’s mostly nice, but at the same time, I just can’t wait until you wake up so that can talk to you again.

And did I mention that you’re smiling now?

You still have a bit of drama in you, kid. Either you’re all-out happy or you couldn’t care less. These next two pictures? Same kid.

You’ve also started to interact with objects around you more. You have a musical cow on your bouncy seat that you think is so funny, and when it gets stuck (the same place every time), you cock your head as if you can’t figure out why the music turned into such an annoying sound. And we’ve started working on textures--but I don’t think you really get it yet, because you seem to like your soft, soft teddy bear and your daddy’s scratchy face just the same.

You are a great kid, and I am loving every minute of getting to know you.

Mama loves you, little man.

Hey, does anybody know of a co-op type farm near Lincoln? (Brenda, I’m looking at you.) I would like to look into buying fresh, buying local as much as possible this year.