Six Months

Happy hiker
Originally uploaded by bedlam2317

Saturday we celebrated Jack's six month birthday. It is so hard to believe that he has been in our lives for half a year. In some ways it feels like time has flown by, and that he just got here yesterday. But it also feels as if he has been here forever, that our lives never really started until he came into them, and that things are just naturally complete with him.

8 years ago, before Robert and I "officially" started dating, he picked me up and took me to see the sunrise, at my request. Unfortunately, he didn't really know a good place for us to watch the sunrise, so we wound up basically in the middle of a forest with no real view of the sun as it rose into the sky. However, it was on this particular occasion that he finally got up the nerve to ask me out on a date, making the event one that I will always cherish, regardless of the view.

The morning after Jack was born he and I shared a similar sunrise. Looking out the window of the hospital room, before any guests arrived or his father awoke, we watched the sun rise through the trees and buildings outside the hospital. It certainly wasn't the most picturesque of scenes, but it is one that I will never forget. Holding my son as the world awoke for the first time with him in it was more special and beautiful than anything I could have hoped for in my life.

And somehow, every day since has managed to be more wonderful than the last.

He amazes me constantly by learning new things or showing me a new facet of his personality. I can already see that he is tender and caring like his father, and he definitely has a sense of humor. He studies people just as I do, and he seems to understand our basic emotions by our expressions and actions now. He also models behavior like crazy. I can make a noise or a facial expression one time, and a few days later I'll notice him practicing it.

Six months. Looking back six months ago, I can't imagine how I woke up without going to him, seeing his arms outstretched, ready for me to hold him. I can't remember not hearing his laughter and seeing his smile every day, making even the most difficult days bearable. Most of all, I can't think of our family without him. To be cliche, he completes us. And each day we have with him is a day of blessing and hope.