It’s been a wild month, with a boy that is cheeky, hilarious, curious, and that has figured out that life is so much fun when you’re making a run for the dog’s water dish when mama isn’t looking. Life is on it’s way to getting out of control in all the best ways. Emmett has officially been out in the world as long as he was in, and it really puts a marker on the last year and a half of my life.

A year and a half ago I could go out to happy hour, accountable to no one but myself, and not worry about drop off and pick up times. Or not have to worry about rationing my time to make sure I got quality snuggles in, or balance dinner, bath time, maybe a story all within 90 minutes before it went from happy baby, to meltdown central.

I remember the last uninterrupted happy hour I went to before Emmett, the last beer I had, where I was, talking about Superbowl and Snapchat, that it was pouring ass rain outside  January of 2017. 2017! I do miss those purely “me” moments, where I was in complete control of my own life, with no one to answer to, but having this little guy to devote my time and energy to, is the best possible trade. I mean c’mon, how can you resist those blue eyes, chubby hands, and BABIES IN FLANNEL?!

This month he threw us for a loop with our first visit to Urgent Care. Baby x rays that cleared him of, what they thought was pneumonia, “only” to be an ear infection. And then to have it come back with force this week has been a real drain on our sanity, nerves, and sleep. We were just remarking how we missed out smiling boy, that he didn’t seem quite as happy this last month, but who could blame him with all those hurting going on? But when he is on the mend, when he is feeling good, the laughs, giggles, and cheeky baby boy smiles light up the world. Just in case he needs me, I am always willing to let him fall asleep on my chest, with his fuzzy little hairs on his head within kissing distance, and his chubby hands wrapped in mine.

At officially 20 pounds, he is right in the middle percentile wise for height and weight. He’s on the move, and can’t sit still for a second. (Getting these pictures alone was a feat!) He squeals when his dog licks his hand at the dinner table, crawls all over the house just to pet his dog (even if it is more grabbing and pulling Huck’s hair), and loves making a “run” for the dog dish if I forget to pick it up. Opening and closing doors and kitchen cabinets is another favorite activity, so I need to remember to put the child locks on, and give him his own drawer in the kitchen with baby friendly non-breakable (HA!) stuff.

When doing something naughty, Emmett is a dead giveaway on himself. You can hear him laughing the whole way, and you can hear his little chubby hands slapping the floor in the kitchen as he hustles as fast as he can to get in whatever trouble he can. His little slappy patties just make me laugh at every turn.

And he has sprouted his fourth tooth, too. Slow down little guy. Slow. Down.

His favorite game is tipping over when we sing “I’m a Little Teapot”, and he will tip himself over before the song ends if we let him. Daddy’s hat is fun to play with, and the curtains in the living room are his favorite for peek a boo. Emmett goes between a tight 6 month clothes size to 12 months, and we are working on solids foods, but it is a slow process for him. Oatmeal is his favorite food, and he has figured out that the milk going in the warmer at dinner means more oatmeal, trying to get out of eating his veggies if it means the oatmeal happens faster.

How can I not fall to pieces at every snuggle, and every laugh. He’s growing curious, opinionated, and funny every day. He is the best of both of us.