Open Letter to Desmond: 6 Months

Dear Desmond:

Wow.  It's been 6 months already!  I can't believe it.  You are growing up so fast.  I've already had to change out one set of clothes for the next size, which makes me unbelievably sad.  Even though I'm not looking forward to you starting to crawl.  Our house is so not baby friendly and as inquisitive as you are, we're going to have to hide absolutely everything.

Everybody remarks about how curious, alert, inquisitive, awake, smart, brilliant you are.  I'm not tooting your own horn, but it's true!  You have a way of focusing on things for minutes at a time (hey!  That's really good for a 6-month-old!) and your eyes are often fixated on things that fascinate you, whether it's a face, a toy, out the window, etc.  You are using your hands constantly and can easily manipulate any toy you pick up.  You've been doing this passing hand-to-hand for a few months now, but you are really getting good at it.



You found your feet at 4.5 months and often put your toes into your mouth.  Your thighs are major chunk right now.  Sometimes, I worry about your burgeoning weight (ha!), but I tell myself that you're supposed to be kind of thick and that I'm just used to seeing you all long and lanky.  But not anymore!  Your double chin blows mine out of the water.

Your hair is growing in. It's a really unique (kind of weird) color; I call it khaki, most call it blonde, but I swear that it's brown in some light.  Your eyes are the same: they're definitely brown, but sometimes they look as dark as mine and other times it's more of a healthy poop brown.

You are able to sit up all by yourself now and only fall over occasionally.  You started sitting up at about 5 months, but I had to be near in case you fell.

It makes me really sad, but we started weaning you already.  You have a very healthy appetite and eat almost everything that me or Maria make for you.  More about that to come later.  You are also a huge flirt, smiling up at any woman who looks over at you.  You seem to have a preference for older ladies and for black ladies.  They all love you and you seriously make their day.  I, in turn, love all of the attention you get...they've gotten us several perks so far, such as a later check out time and more snacks on the plane. 

In conclusion, you are turning out to be such a wonderful, expressive little boy.  I miss you so much more when I'm gone than I used to and the face you make when you see me, and the face you make when I kiss you all over your face, and the face you make when I tickle you are what makes me fall deeper and deeper in love with you.  Even though I'm seriously sleep-deprived, I wouldn't trade you for all the sleep in the world.

I love you.