dear little prince | five months

dear little prince,

five months, ridley man. you will be crawling any day now. and eating solid foods in a few short months. you are growing up so fast! and already losing some of your baby-ness. you are longer and leaner and stronger with every week. sometimes i stare at you in disbelief...you can look like such a teenager sometimes. i have flashes of what you will look like when you are three and thirteen and thirty. and i can't wait to see what God has in store for the years of your life. i pray that you are used mightily for the kingdom.

and speaking of mighty...my, are you strong. you have the cutest little man muscles. you sit up tall and straight (almost unassisted now). and the only reason i have to keep both hands on you when i hold you is to make sure you don't leap out of my arms with one of your wild head jerks. you spend most of your waking hours on your tummy, swiveling and turning and pivoting. you are on the move, for sure. you tuck your feet under your body and launch forward off of your toes. you grab the carpet or the blanket or whatever you can and either pull it toward yourself or pull yourself toward it. you are figuring it all out and learning how to use your body, objects around you, and even, your parents as means to reach your goal. you are determined.

you are in a major developmental leap, at the moment. it is incredible to watch your wheels spin as you grasp new concepts and understand your relationship to the world around you. you are grabbing EVERYTHING. (which has earned you the moniker, grabby mcgee.) you swat at everything. you smack the ground with remarkable force. you kick with such energy. you are a little microburst. waiting quietly as you observe and prepare and then...boom! an explosion of movement and sound. you get so excited about everything. you smile constantly. you squawk. you coo. you howl. all the sounds. you have your own voice but you also find it delightful to copy the sounds that you hear. you stare, and quietly, at first, mimic the tones. and once you are confident that you've got it, you go for it. and elinor thinks it is hilarious to match your sounds. so, as you can imagine, things can get pretty loud around here.

you are also firmly in the middle of the pre-teething phase. that fabulous time when everything is a soggy mess thanks to buckets of drool. saliva city, over here. outrageous strands of drool and saliva bubbles and all kinds of neat tricks. and since the world is your teething ring, everything in a one foot radius of your mouth ends up being sucked on our nibbled on...and thus, soaked. you are taking it all in stride, for the most part. you do have moments of frustration when you just yell. not really a cry. just a yell. like you are angry to be made uncomfortable or inconvenienced by things as unimpressive as teeth. and then, back to chewing and smiling. and speaking of everything ending up in your mouth: your chimpanzee-like dexterity and yogi-spine have allowed you to discover how tasty your toes can be. so, that is pretty amazing. sometimes i will find you happily sucking away on your big toe. a habit that i hope we can break before it becomes too unseemly.

you are a creature of habit. absolutely. and such a homebody. you love your routine. and you love your sleep. and can be quiet persnickety about that. i have to make sure that i swoop in and get you to your room and down for your nap before you become too overstimulated because you are not a happy camper when that happens. and it is such a fine line. you play hard. and then you give us a little window when your body starts to calm and prepare to sleep. that is the best time because you get extra cuddly and sweet. you melt into a sleepy little bundle and sigh contentedly as we go through the nap routine, which ends in your flirting with me after i set your burrito-ed body down in your crib. you coo and smirk and twinkle your eyes and then, sleeeeeeep.

it is such fun to get to know you better. your personality is really starting to shine through. and from what we can tell, you are all things wonderful. you are determined and strong-willed and confident. you are content and sweet and kind. you sure do love your big sister. you are such a charmer. and you get so jazzed when papa is around.

i pray that we will be able to match your energy and channel it properly, productively. that you will maintain a curious and bold spirit. that i will be able to engage you firmly and with grace. that the battles of the will to come will result in softer spirits and molded hearts. that your papa and i will teach you to discern and navigate this world carefully and thoughtfully. that we can instruct and model generosity of spirit and kindness and good manners. we pray that you will be a respectful gentlemen. that you would be a loyal friend. that you would be a diligent worker. that you would be a tough competitor. that you would be humble.

you are such fun, ridley. we thank God for your life and are honored to be your parents. it keeps getting better and better...

all our love,

mama + papa

there are a few more pics of our little prince, after the jump. some serious-faced outtakes from his five month "photoshoot" and other random shots from the past few weeks. and p.s. the first one you will see is all kinds of amazing: ridley with his staring eyes...totally flipping me the bird.