six months old

Hello Elliott. You are six months old today, and I can hardly believe how fast this time went by. You hear people say that all of the time, but when you have children and you can actually watch them grow each week, when you can see that physical record of time, it is amazing. And I love the changes, Elliott. You are an incredibly beautiful boy, with eyes that are so huge they are almost startling. You are teething, and your nose is running, and you are not necessarily calm, but you are something along the lines of accepting. It's like you're older than you are. You know this is something babies have to go through, and so you go through it. You are unlike me in this way. I know that I have to go through something, but I fight it all the way, thinking that this fight will change the outcome, though it never will. I remember when I was in labor with both you and your brother. I thought, I can't do this. I don't want to do this. And I fought it and thought this would take all of that pain away. But I got through it, and I can do more than I sometimes think I can. There are many things I love about you, but the one I find most endearing is that when you are really happy, you don't quite laugh; instead, you make this Donald Duck-esque squabble in the back of your throat. It's so weird, it's perfect.