6 months of happiness

6 months, my dear! that makes almost half a year, and we are enjoying you more than ever!

you are so fun-loving and ever curious about this world that surrounds you. everything intrigues you - you reach out for everything that is strange to you, including your toes :)

your smile, as always, is my highlight for every morning. it is not difficult to make you smile - you are such a happy boy :) how we pray it stays that way and you will learn to rejoice in the goodness of the LORD as you grow :)

my dear baby boy, you are growing so fast that you leave mama and papa breathless sometimes :) there are just so many milestones that you have made and we would have trouble recalling them all if not for the help of photos and videos. you have learnt to roll back and forth - it's your main mode of transportation now. suddenly, your world has expanded and you have realised how there is so much more to explore as you roll here and there. even in your sleep, you are practising and more than once we have found you awoken, calling for help as you wake up stuck on your tummy. thank God for a new skill accomplished so skillfully! there is little we have done as parents to help you attain these milestones. little by little, somehow, you just progress and amaze us :)

you have also learnt to sit for brief seconds on your own, using your hands as support. everytime we carry you and place you in a sitting position, you squeal in excitement as though saying, "wow, the view here is so much better! what took you so long, mama and papa?" 

as your awareness of your surroundings grow, it seems like the separation anxiety is setting in. papa says it's because when we are out of sight, it seems like we cease to exist in your eyes. i have always been exasperated by how "sticky" you can be - just taking a few steps away from you can cause you to protest. however, putting myself in your shoes - if God were to seem to forsake, and stop proving his love and existence to me, i think i would be very much devastated too. and so, i patiently stay by you, and pray that one day, you will realise that many others do love you too and i, as a mother, am more than happy and committed to stay by you and take care of you. this reminds me of how God has promised that He "will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." Heb 13:5

this post comes late because it has been such a hectic mid year. we went for church camp in JB, and we took your very first plane ride to penang! wow! thank God for this privilege to fly to penang, where you met your great-grandmother for the first time. it truly warmed my heart that you could be used by God to cheer her spirits at such an old age. she is 93 this year. mama is truly thankful that she has been granted more time by the LORD, so that she can meet you. 

we started you on your solids! you just cant wait to gobble them up :)

we can see your little tooth peeking out on the bottom left side of your gum. is that why you have been waking up so often at night? the possibilities of why you don't sleep well confound us. at times, mama is tempted to search for answers - maybe you are overtired, or undertired, or maybe its the solids. maybe i should shift your nap later, or earlier, etc. at the end of the day, i really just need to let go... pray that God gives us wisdom to decide what to do, to learn to pick up your cues and to give you what's best. 

the faster you grow, the more we want you to slow down. we know fully well that this year will fly by and before we know it, you will no longer be a baby anymore. so day after day, we just want to treasure each moment God gives. the sleepless nights, the poop, the fussing n trying to get you to sleep - these all will pass. but that will mean you're growing up. so we will bear with them as much as we can, trusting that God's grace is sufficient for each day.

we love you so much, little ezra boy.