On Having a 5-Month Old

OH my gosh. So, I have a baby. I was induced on 8 a.m., on March 24, and at 2:24 p.m., on March 25, little Banjo became Charles Alan Howard, the most beautiful baby in the world. Or in our world, at least.

Charlie. What a guy. He's generally a pretty good baby. So far, here is what I know about Charlie:

• Cow's milk makes him puke a lot.
• He'd rather be on the go than at home.
• He doesn't want to go to sleep if there's something better he could be doing--and there's always something better to be doing.
• He likes standing and sitting on his own. He's cuddly and sweet in my arms, but he seems to feel proud and excited when he's in a Bumbo seat, jumper, or walker. 
• Charlie wants to be outside. Like, all the time. 
• Even though Charlie hates to sleep, he's not very pleasant to be around if he hasn't slept. 
• He looks SO MUCH like Daniel. 
• He has blue eyes, which is not surprising, because my prophet brain dreamed it.
• He smiles a lot, especially when I sing Baby Charlie, Charlie Bear songs to him.

In Charlie's first 5 months on this green earth, he has experienced the following things:

• Visits to Atlanta, Columbiana, and Asheville.
• Hiking at Beaman Park.
• One million walks on the greenway.
• Lots of animals at the Nashville Zoo.
• Camping and hiking at Fall Creek Falls.
• Swimming at the YMCA pool.
• At least 1 art museum. 
• Many church services.

I don't really know how to explain what it's like to be a mother to my son. I can only say that on Friday night, I was home alone cleaning and watching a really bad Rom Com. Charlie went to bed around 7, per usual. Around 9, I found myself wandering into his room to watch him sleep. And then instinctively, I picked him up and held him and words just started pouring out of my mouth. "You are the very best thing. I didn't even know that I wanted you, and you're here, and now I know that I never really wanted anything else. I never say this, Charlie, hardly ever, but you are a gift from God. And I promise that I'll do my best to help you be kind, compassionate, and happy. Sometimes you'll probably hate me because I'm so inappropriate, and I know I'm going to swear at you someday. But you are always the very best thing."

And then all of a sudden I was like, "How did I get here? How is this even happening?" So I put him down and returned to my evening of cleaning. But, yeah, that about sums up life with a 5-month old. It is the very best thing.