five months

Dear Matthew,

Today you are five months old. You are a happy boy who has developed that entertaining habit that entails me glancing at you only to realize that you've been staring stupidly at me for who knows how long, grinning widely, the drool trickling down your chin. You shriek with delight when I notice you gazing, then look down, bobbing your head bashfully now that you know you've been caught. You giggle frequently, both when something you're watching strikes you as funny and when you are tickled (and you are extremely ticklish). You love to play Patty Cake and laugh happily as I help your hands through the motions. You've rolled over once or twice, though not on purpose, leading me to sometimes wonder if I'll ever have a child who masters that milestone.

Today is the first day of autumn. With the changing of the seasons comes runny noses and others minor illnesses, and you unfortunately have not been immune. I thought you had by some miracle escaped the yucky stomach flu that was passed through the rest of the family earlier this month, but just as everyone else had fully recovered, you, too, fell victim. Unlike the rest of us, though, this bug didn't do much to hamper your personality, which helped comforting you through it a little more pleasant on my part. Now, you, like the rest of us, are dealing with minor sniffles, but again, it doesn't seem to be anything that you'll let get you down.

Today, to mark the arrival of fall, we went apple picking. It was a mostly sunny, warm day, and the orchards were lovely. We gathered a quarter of a bushel, which, though it was the smallest quantity we could purchase, will be more than plenty for our little family to consume. But we will have your help in doing so, now that you've started eating solid foods. So far you've dabbled in apples, bananas, plums, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocados, and mixed grain cereal. You've enjoyed everything except the avocados, but plums seem to be your favorite. Feeding you with a spoon is an incredibly messy endeavor, thanks to how devoted you are to sucking your thumb. Sometimes with each bite I feel like I'm racing against your thumb to see which of us will reach your mouth first. More often than not, your thumb wins.

Today I love you, Matthew, just like I've loved you for your last five month's worth of days, and just like I'll keep on loving you in the days to come. You bring such joy into our home, and our family would not be complete without you, my sweet, sweet baby boy.

Love,
Mama