Random reflections at 6 months

Asia is now well past 6 months. The "firsts" are piling up and she is an ever changing baby, sometimes on a daily basis. The name Daddy, once a novelty somewhat foreign, has fully settled on me. Overall she has been fabulous and exciting to watch and experience her growth. We are so excited to see what comes next but on the same hand we wish she would slow down so we could absorb it all.

One thing not mentioned from our trip to Bermuda would be taking her swimming. As some may know I was a swimmer as a kid so to be in the pool with her was great. She loved it. Kicking, splashing, smiling and even trying to put her face in the water. I was so proud to see how she took to the water like a pro.

A notable milestone would be the beginning of solid foods. That is a bit of a misnomer as pureed yams isn't that solid. Nonetheless she has taken to eating very well. The cute unprompted mmmm mmmm mmmm noises that follow make it even more rewarding to feed her. Kayt has been impressive with taking on the task of preparing all of her food. We have been buying organic vegetables and her food bill is almost as high as ours! Her faves are the orange veggies, pears and apples. Zucchini is understandably on the bottom of the list.

Asia is a very happy baby. She smiles at the drop of a hat. In fact she will give a whole body smile as if her little body can not contain the happiness inside. She giggles and laughs readily and when she gets really excited she will "squeal like a little girl". Very cute even if it may pierce the ear drums.

Baby talk. I cannot wait to hear her voice. She is now at the nonstop babble stage no real surprize if you have met her parents. Call it proud father syndrome but I am sure she has started to relate words to things. When she is upset she will say "nay nay nay" or call for "Mum Mum Mum". There are times when she sees me she will whisper "dah dah dah" or shout "DA DA DA" I may be reaching with this one but when she is in the high chair she will call for a "Ba ba ba" I know too early to talk but we take for granted how amazing the skill of learning to talk is. Each consonant she learns she will practice as if to show off and say "look what I can do". Thanks to Aunti Keli, she has even learned that she can click her toungue.

Then there's teething. At four months we were certain that she was going to teeth early. The drool was turned on. Bibs became part of her outfit and she would chew on everything. Over two months later the drool is still like a faulty faucet but those elusive teeth that still haven't come!

When kayt and Asia were in Bermuda without me for three weeks I was worried that she wouldn't recognize me. I remember the first look she gave me when she woke up from her nap and Kayt brought her out. It was a look as if to say "Daddy! there you are! I missed you". This past week end Kayt went to her parents for a visit and even after a day of not seeing me she gave that same look. Nothing could melt my heart faster or be more rewarding than that genuine smile and joy that she emulates when she saw me last night.

She has also been sleeping through the night for quite some time. Last week she got sick and did not. She couldn't breath and we felt so helpless watching her knowing what she was experiencing but not knowing how to make it better. It brought back memories of the late night feedings. We forget so soon the lack of sleep and the not knowing what to do, the crying, etc. In fact we both shocked ourselves that the thought of another baby has even crossed our minds. As recently as a month ago that was out of the question. I believe God programmed us to forget in order to "be fruitful and multiply". For the record the thought only crossed our minds once. Mum, we are not trying. We have not fully forgotton yet.

I will leave off there and try to write more often so I can grab these moments before they too are gone. My reflection on what it is like to be parents is that love cannot be contained or measured for it increases exponentially as we grow in our relationship.