Thad is 6 Months Old

 

This post is a little bit difficult for me to write, because 6 months old is both a wonderful and a sad thing at the same time.  What an absolute blessing it is to have had 6 amazing, healthy, wonderful months with you, Thad Campbell - but at the same time, it is a milestone that reminds me how quickly time passes.  I feel as though I was holding you in my arms for the very first time just yesterday, but in reality, that moment was half a year ago.  It has been an absolute gift for me to give birth to 3 healthy little boys, each so unique and special. As babies, I had the privilege to hold each of you in my arms, comforting you in the middle of the night. And now I look upon this picture, above, and am so thankful that you three have each other to hold on to.  It is my prayer that you will always be close.

As I go back through these pictures of you at 6 months old, I am amazed by how much you grew in one month.  Here you are as a young 6 month old....

 

...and here you are as an almost-7-month-old wearing the same outfit as above.  My! How you have grown!

 

At 6 months, you sat in the high chair for the first time.  Before you were quite content to lay on your belly on the floor and watch all of the activity around you, but now in the high chair, you seem to enjoy the change of perspective.  Many times, I will put you in the high chair while I'm cooking dinner, and you love to sit and watch.

Enjoying some time with Poppie and GeeGee

And here you are in the jumper-roo for the first time.  Bubba was quite excited for you to try this out!

Happy Thanksgiving, Thad!

Welcome Home Daddy

Bo has been doing some volunteer work for the church and had to travel one weekend in October - he rarely ever travels for work, and the boys thought flying on a plane was a big deal.  So in Bo's absence, we planned a little surprise.... 

Working on a sign for Daddy

And here we are riding the shuttle to the airport.

 It was a bit embarrassing when the shuttle driver pulled over and asked where I was going pushing a Double Bob stroller, carrying a baby on my chest and a gigantic "Welcome Home Daddy" sign.
Me: We're walking to the airport. {duh}
Shuttle Lady: Oh no you're not!!!
Me: {ahem} what do you mean?
Shuttle Lady: You see all these orange cones?!!!  You see all these construction signs?!!!  You ain't walking nowhere!!! Hop on the bus!!!
Me: I, um, have a huge ass stroller.
Shuttle Lady: Hop on the bus!!!
Thank you God for the two strangers who immediately popped out of the shuttle to help me. Absolute angels, I tell you.  One guy looks at the Double Beast, I mean Bob, and says, "we used to have one of these things" and like riding a bike it all comes back to him, collapsing it into it's smaller beast size.  It takes a bit of grunting and shuffling, but they cram it in the handicap storage area.  I grab the boys; we squeeze past a couple of sweaty snickering passengers, and like that the bus takes off for the airport. 

I went dark with Bo's phone calls as he was boarding for his return flight, because you know, if a little surprise is good, a huge surprise is even better.  At the time, it seemed like a genius idea....

"What's that you say?  Daddy's flight was delayed 1 1/2 hours!!!?"

Oh crap.
I only brought two packs of fruit snacks.

So here we are, all four of us stuffed in the family bathroom while I nurse the baby. 
This was the tipping point of the whole trip.  I completely expected the Bigs who have forfeited a nap, to have a major meltdown. In public. Simultaneously. But instead something crazy happens for the very first time in the history of ever:
they go with the flow.
Even Wade has decided that he's willing to play the ipad with the image upside down. Amazing. 

Bribing with Cheetos paid dividends.

We walked around every single baggage claim at least 4 times and rode the elevator at least twice.

But this was worth it.

 

 

And this.

 

Thad is 4 Months Old!

 

Oh, Thad!  We love you so!  Happy 4 month birthday little one.  We celebrated your big day by going to Tweetsie Railroad.  We had a blast riding the train, but it was C-O-L-D! I held you close in the bjorn the whole time, and you were such a trooper.  We are so thankful for an adaptable and easy going third child!

 

 

 

 

Here you are with Aiya doing a bit of equestrian research.  You love to be on your belly and will simply hang out and watch what everyone else is doing around you.

Sometimes we get lucky and have a nice quiet bath, but usually we have a bit of help.  Bath time is truly your favorite part of the day, and as soon as you figure out that I'm undressing you for your bath, you start shrieking with joy! We do a little chant: "It's bath time BABY!" And I dance your naked little body to the sink while you kick your legs and squeal.  It's my favorite part of the day too.  As you can tell from this picture, you're ecstatic.

 

Your brothers can't keep their hands off of you.

And SURPRISE! You rolled over on 10.10.14 for the first time - belly to back!

This one is more...

more complex

more challenging

more rewarding

more responsible

more imaginative

more frustrating

more interesting than I ever thought a child could possibly be. 

McCord at 2 years old was quite possibly the hardest year Bo and I have ever had, but we all made it through, and there on the other side was a fascinating, remarkable 3 year old.  And now here we are another year older with the usual 4 year old challenges, but every once in a while we get a glimpse of this old soul as if he is an old man. 

Tonight after the boys were in bed, I made my way upstairs to wash clothes in the laundry room which is adjacent to the boys' bedroom, but I stopped before I got to the top of the stairs because I heard Mc singing.  He started participating in choir at church a few weeks ago, and it's not unusual to hear him "practicing" when he thinks he's all alone.  How I wish I could have recorded his sweet little voice singing his heart out to God in what can only be described as a stream of consciousness prayer interspersed with the days of the week and a few nonsense words.  It went something like this:

"I love you, I love you. Thank you for my cousins and my friends..."

A few days of the week were sung - not necessarily in the right order. Then,

"And God, can you please tell Santa Clause thank you for Catfish [my very special buddy whom I sleep with every night].

A few more days of the week...

"And thank you for my Batman castle. And all the parts that go with it."

...and then things got a bit muffled here, but I'm fairly certain I could make it out,

"But there's just one thing I don't understand, God. Why can't you just kill all the mosquitos?"


Absolutely delighting in the gift of hearing what's on McCord's heart, and half-crouched on the stairs, straining my ear to the crack in the door, I cried a happy, humble tear at the gift of being a mother. 

The days are long, redundant, and thankless.  And sometimes, many times you feel as though you've made a mess of things.  But every now and then you find yourself holding your breath, a heap of dirty laundry, and a tender moment.  And it makes it all worthwhile. 

Catfish and Batman