Will at 6 Months

One thing I have learned about babies is that it is almost impossible to accurately record the real "firsts." Everything is a process; I have a hard time determining even when they truly have cut their first teeth. I have settled on relaxing precision in favor of approximation. So, at 7 months old, I can look back and describe what I have witnessed during Will's 6 month of life. The photos were taken between April and the end of May.



During month 6, Will began sitting up on his own. He is still not to be entirely trusted with this feat and will often face-plant if I don't keep a close eye out. But still, the child can sit. Mastering this skill is one of the most welcome milestones for me.

Will has been very busy getting to the places he needs to go. He does not crawl on all fours yet. His movement is much more akin to a tiny baby seal on land. He is very quick at it. It is an image I will never forget. One morning I put him on the living room rug with some toys and then dashed off to get something else taken care of. I turned to see how Will was doing and saw that baby seal drag-pushing himself around the corner and into Andrew's room to go get toys. That little picture described much about little Will. He is independent about getting things for himself; he knows that Andrew is the master slave driver; he must either wait his turn to boss me or just help himself. He never bosses. One of the most endearing and fascinating things to me is discovering where a baby would like to go if only he could get there. I love that Will wants toys and he knows where to get them.




His favorite toys are balls. And balloons. Today he played with hard boiled eggs. Anything round and Willsie is happy.




Will is carrying on the tradition begun by his brother of insisting upon stumbling around on two feet while I clutching my fingers. I hate this stage. Other mothers dread the day their baby will be on the hoof, but I truly cannot wait. It is the day of my salvation from the hours upon hours of breaking my back acting as a human walking stick. Andrew used to shriek when he could feel me trying to pry my fingers out of his tight grasp. Will complains, too, but is a lot nicer about it. Thanks, honey.

Will also likes to push the limits on how long he can keep awake. What happened to my perfect sleeper from a few months ago? It is a curse I brought upon us. I only ask that the boys pay us back for all these hours of lost sleep by being investment bankers later.



Willsie still smiles all the time, laughs at Andrew's every move, particularly the ones that make physical contact with him, and babbles. He loves to take baths with Andrew, tackle Andrew, roll on Andrew and watch Andrew. He eats a lot better than Andrew did. His favorite food seems to be peaches with rice cereal. He seems to have relaxed his policy of freaking out when I sing, but has now is experiencing stranger anxiety. He will not let others hold him. His hierarchy of favorite people is very obvious. After me and Brig (a distant 2nd), he likes my mom. He will let Papa hold him if absolutely necessary.

Will is over half-way to a year. Another six months and he will be well on his way to being more of a toddler than a baby. It just goes.