My baby is 6 months old. Where has the time gone? I know it's cliche, but really, I know it was just last week we brought him home from the hospital. I remember when there was still 12 inches of empty space above his little head in his car seat. Now his feet stretch past the edge and his head sits so much higher. I still remember the first night he came home. Crying and crying til 4:30a as Pete & I hunched over his bassinet unsure of what to do. He ended up on Grandpa's chest for a couple hours that wee morning so we could rest. I guiltily cried myself to sleep hoping Canon would awake in the morning, knowing in my heart God that would protect him, but fresh in my hospital head that babies should only sleep in "safe" places! Well that went out the window when for 72 hours I got maybe three hours of sleep and my entire body was in the type of pain only new mama's know about.
I also remember crying for three weeks straight at the drop of a hat. My mom's mopping floors? Tears flowed. I leave Canon at home with Pete for the first time to go buy shoes at Target? Cried at the stop sign 100 feet away. I don't miss that, but I do miss his tiny little hands measuring no longer than my thumb, his sweet wrinkly just-born-toes, his dark brown hair that shortly fell out, and his deep, deep blue womb eyes that hardly ever opened those first few weeks.
Now he's a giggly, babbling boy who has favorite toys, would jump 'til dawn if we let him, and loves to have his diaper changed. He can sit up with little assistance, loves to do his baby push-ups in the morning, and loves scruffy Daddy kisses. He has a belly laugh that is undeniable, wills eat absolutely anything you put on a spoon, and is the apple of our very eyes.
With this season of Christmas coming upon us, I can only now fully realize the true reason of the season and what a great miracle the birth of our Savior was. Props to Mary for having Jesus in a CAVE, ALONE, with the smell of MANURE in the air. Seriously. I would have been throwing hay and screaming, but somehow in my mind, I don't think that's how Jesus came to be on this earth. It would have be so neat to witness all the animals lowing, knowing instinctively to behave. Even they worshipped in this way! What a beautiful baby boy he must have been in Mary's arms, eyes wide and so in love with his young mother. A joyful chorus must have escaped her lips, as does every mother's when a babe is place in her arms. I hope they have big screens in heaven, because that's one I'll be sure to watch over and over. Did the sheep baaaah or were they silent? How about Joseph? Was he nervous and pacing about, unsure of how to support Mary? Or was he appointed a supernatural loving calmness from the Holy Spirit? Oh to have been a horse fly on the cool wall of that cave.
With all this in the back of my mind this season, I want time to slow down and this sweet little boy to stay little forever, but I also can't wait for the future. To think of what next year will be like at this time is a fun thought to entertain for sure. To picture Canon silently fixated on twinkling lights and maybe even hear him say "Oooooh pretty" will stir such a magical spirit in both of our hearts. To see him help Pete pick out a Christmas tree and follow his short chubby stature as he runs around pointing at them all... seeing his face as he tastes his first candy cane.... letting him help his mama count down the days to his Saviors birth with an ornament advent calendar, I can't wait.
But for now I'll take the snuggles. I'll hug and kiss and cup this sweet baby boy in my arms and I will him to stop growing but just for a moment. I treasure his gummy two-tooth smile and the spirits he uplifts with his demeanor. He is such a blessing to our family and so darn cute it's impossible not to fall in love. I'll forever relish in his tight morning anxious-hungry hugs and two-sneeze coos always followed by a smile. Sneezing is only a fun pastime for so long right?
I hope you too remember to cherish the little things this season. The magic and wonderment of little ones, the joy of their parents and grandparents, the nip in the air, the warmth of the fireplace, and the sound of carols. As the song goes,
Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year.
Merry Christmas to you and yours this season.
Love,
The Randalls
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