27 Weeks

Micah is 27 weeks old! Notice his shirt - "I heart Aunt Heidi". Our big highlight of this coming weekend is a visit from Micah's Aunt! He's clearly excited to see her, and loved getting the chance to show her that he's big enough to wear the onesie and flexible enough to grab his toes. It should be a fun weekend!

Celebrating Half a Year with Micah

Micah's been with us for half a year. We've been his parents for 26 weeks. Just today when I picked him up at daycare, there was a tiny baby sleeping in a crib. The baby couldn't have been more than two months old. He was so tiny. And here I was picking up a 20 pound Micah who smiles and coos and reaches for things and is content to be carried on my hip rather than in my arms. It's not only how quickly he's growing that suprises me, but how quickly I forget how little he was not so long ago. But enough of my mini-trip down memory lane - it's a lane that isn't long enough yet to even really do that. So enjoy the picture and have a good weekend!

Learning to stand on his own

Micah's not yet crawling, but he's already working on standing! The piano is a Christmas gift from Aunt Heidi and he really seems to enjoy it. Today I sat him on the floor to practice sitting, but Micah kept looking longingly at the piano so I took his cue and stood him up in front of it. To my amazement, he was able to stay standing holding on to the piano. I couldn't believe it. Of course, he hasn't completely gotten the hang of it yet. (Lest you think I'm being sadistic in taking the picture while he has fallen over, I had already pushed the button to take the picture when he fell into the piano. These digital cameras aren't instantaneous unless you pay the big bucks!) Here he is getting cocky and only using one hand to stand.I included this one because thought it was so cute how intently he seemed to be studying the "music" on the piano. To me, one of the greatest things about being Micah's mom is not knowing his future and watching him figure that out. The not knowing may bother some people but I love it. Maybe he'll be a piano player or a scientist or a veteranarian or a poet or a teacher or a social worker or president or a stay-at-home dad or a pastor or an accountant or a photographer or one of a million other possibilities. And God blessed us with the gift of watching his future unfold. It's an honor to be able to love him as he grows.

Clothes call at week 25

Apparently Micah had a long day of drooling and spitting up at daycare today because he went through every spare outfit that the daycare had for him. He went to school in the outfit you see in the top picture. Maybe it's a little preppy, but we can't help it. He looks so cute - more like a little boy than a little baby, which is crazy to us. He came home in this "Risky Business" ensemble. Well, it's only "Risky Business"-like if you think Micah looks like Tom Cruise (we think he's cuter), and you're willing to substitute a Discovery Point (his daycare center) t-shirt for the button-down, and a diaper for the tighty whities. By the way, this week's shoutout goes to our friends Bill and Heather, who had a baby boy today. Micah has a new playmate! Colin McClellan is healthy and we're so happy to meet him. Congratulations to Bill and Heather, and to Cade and Maddy who we know will love their new little brother!

Playtime

Because of our crazy schedules, we cherish weekday evenings that all three of us are at home. This evening, after a quick power nap, Micah was ready to play so we decided to do a little more of what we've been doing - easing him into getting to know the dogs and vice versa. First Micah hung out with Samson, practicing his sitting up. Then he decided that this laying down thing that Samson was doing looked pretty good. Now it's Heinz's turn to get in the action. Sometimes we feel like when Heinz looks at us, that we know he's thinking, "Remember when it used to be just the three of us? Before that big crazy yellow guy and this little drooling guy came to mess it all up?" But he was very tolerant of Micah laying on him...and even drooling on him. A little happy standing up time. Check out the chubby baby thighs! And after you roll around on the floor and play with the dogs, you have to have a bath so that you can suck your thumb again. Isn't that the way it is for all of us?

Becoming a Big Boy

Micah met yet another milestone on Monday - a big boy carseat that will stay with him for years until he no longer needs a seat at all. Our friends Bill and Heather are having a baby any day now, and we promised them Micah's infant seat. He's only a couple of pounds away from officially outgrowing it anyway, so we figure that someone else could get some good use out of it before we might someday need it again. This seat looks like it fits him better - except maybe that belly!

Food, Glorious Food

It was a busy couple of days for the Black family. Micah hit three major milestones this weekend! 1. He ate his first real food - other than rice cereal. He must not take after the Williams side of his family because we gave him peas and he actually liked them! 2. He finally figured out that if he took his thumb out of his mouth, he could roll over from his back to his front instead of just getting stuck on his side. That was really cute until 4:15 this morning when he woke up crying because he couldn't get around to his back again. And it still wasn't cute at 4:50 when it happened again. Or at 5:10 when it happened a third time. By the time it happened at 5:45 I was really unhappy. But then just as quickly I was back to being grateful because this is the first time in a long time that Micah has woken up in the middle of the night. Normally we get twelve hours so I won't complain. And we are glad about the rolling over! 3. We think he's beginning to cut teeth. We know, we know, we've thought this before. But this time all the signs really are there AND he's loving his frozen teething thinger, which he wanted nothing to do with before. We'll keep you posted because we know it's fascinating to everyone. :) This first picture was taken on Saturday and it's Micah playing with his toy that suction cups to his high chair. Little did he know the peas were coming... In the midst of food. This was how he looked when he first ate them - he wasn't sure what he thought, but he quickly grew to like them and ate as much of the container as I would let him. This is what happens when you sneeze while you're eating peas! I took this one today, otherwise known as "peas, day 2". It took him a little while to warm up to the peas again, but once he got a couple of bites down, he remembered that he liked them. Here's Micah and Daddy sitting together on Sunday evening, and Micah is happily sucking on his teething ring. It really seemed to soothe him. Whether or not he's actually (finally) teething remains to be seen, but at least Daddy and Micah got to hang out.

Our version of "24"

It's the end of a long day and I'm pretty tired but I couldn't miss posting the weekly update. What the expression on Micah's face is saying in this picture is definitely, "Why is that crazy guy flashing that bright light in my eyes so soon after I wake up?" (Daddy took the picture this time - I forgot that when I loaded up this post originally!) Micah's a little dazed, but still looking all cute. He can't do it for long periods of time, but sitting up is really going well for Micah. This is a toy that Micah got for Christmas from my family and here he is playing with it on the floor by himself. What makes this picture really cool is that I put him on the floor like that and then he held the position long enough for me to go into the other room, find the camera, and get back to take the picture before he fell over. There's nothing he won't do for those noises that toy makes!

Micah and me

Sometimes when Micah and I are hanging out, I just grab the camera and start taking pictures. I took a bunch this afternoon in between his naps. He's sleeping a lot lately, which we know means he's growing and growing. Pretty soon he'll be ready to crawl around so we're enjoying the baby moments while we have them. Here's a little giggle. I love this one of him staring off at the wall. This is from the weekend. We were practicing his sitting up, and this one to me looks like he's sitting on a chair at the beach all relaxed. Really he's trying to balance, but I like my version better. Also from Saturday. Notice the huge line of drool coming from his mouth... And finally, this one clearly says, "No more pictures, Mom!!" So I'll oblige. Until Friday, that is!

Another Friday, another picture

The Steelers may not have made it to this weekend's Super Bowl, but they are still champions with us. Actually, Tim saw this picture and commented on how often Micah is dressed in Steelers outfits for his weekly picture. His outfit isn't Steelers, just his bib, which he needs to wear constantly now because he drools constantly. So just a heads up that you may be seeing an Eagles picture sometime down the line. Here's Heinz wishing that he would be allowed on the furniture. Neither of the dogs has ever been allowed on the furniture, and it's a rule that has served us well, especially since they're so large. It means that Micah can sit on the furniture now and we don't have to worry about a dog knocking him over. Micah's grown increasingly aware of his dogs, and he smiles all the time when he sees them now. It will really be fun to watch their relationship develop over the coming years.