The first half-year
So the little man is six months old
last Monday. (I updated
our picture, which shows, among other details, that my personal
grooming has
not improved much since he was born.) It’s amazing to compare
the tiny newborn
bundle of April with the chubby-faced chap we now find ourselves
nurturing.
A lot has happened in six months, but our first parenting steps have been relatively fuss-free. Carolina and I are very lucky that Jasper is so calm and easy-going. He takes to new experiences with minimal concern: his default expression is nonchalent observation, quickly converted to an irresistible smile the moment anybody pays close attention to him.
He’s taken to grabbing at people’s eyes, noses and mouths if they are silly enough to come close, then laughing at the exaggerated reaction he gets. All kinds of things make him laugh – there seems to be no method to this. One day coughing will make him laugh, another day it will have no effect at all.
He’s a typical boy. Throwing him up in the air, dragging him around the floor or pretending to rough him up are the things he enjoys most. This weekend, he learned how to roll himself back over from his tummy to his back; crawling time can’t be too far off.
The house will have to be made baby-safe, a thought which fills me with dread expectation of endless problems to be solved. I have gained a huge amount of respect for single parents: how they manage is a mystery to me. It’s hard enough with both of us at home, full-time.
Humans are odd animals. Much of our time is spent anticipating the future, which we all hope will be better in some way or other. Most of us fail to fully appreciate the present, because we’re too busy following plans designed to make reality of our dreams.
But Jasper has changed all that. I find myself constantly anticipating all the fun times to come – sledding, school, soccer, speech! – and at the same time thoroughly enjoying all the mundane stuff that Jasper has made so much more interesting for us. Sleep well.
