t h e . r i d i c u l o u s . p a n d a

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six months. this is surreal. we don't have a newborn anymore. we barely have a baby. with teeth and rolling all destroyed in the fifth, the perfect number six was spent processing. the information spills across your face, with your hands clasping and clenching, you lunge for what you want, you will pick a white speck of paper off our gray couch. you stare at us and think. i can see you thinking.
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that thinking wakes you up at night, but mostly you're hungry. argh, you're hungry. this month we stretched the boundaries of your taste buds with everything from peas to pears to parsnips to squash to sweet potatoes to avocado. you're eating things i won't and without hesitation. you treat food like you treat people - initial concern, then open arms and big smiles, complete happy acceptance. we can't give you enough things to love.
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because that is you silas. happiness. and with each new day and week and month, you're happiness is getting louder and more external. you giggle and squeal. you laugh and smile. you roll and kick. the neighbors below will know your happiness. it overflows and infects everything around you. our home explodes with your happiness.
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you spin 360's in your crib. we put you to bed and you play by yourself for half an hour. you wedge your head, your feet, your arms into every corner and crevice. sometimes you get stuck, but mostly you just flip somersaults and do back bends. it's inspiring.
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one half of a year. you've had visitors, female callers, family and friends. this month, this perfect sixth month, you took swimming lessons, took mama to the shower, took me to a part of chicago i've never seen, took many naps. you took your time.
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but most of all, you were just silas. we are in awe of you. we sit and stare at your face. i see myself in that perplexed looked of squished up concern. i see your mama in that relentless joy. i see you in those ridiculous blue eyes. and i am humbled. what a month.
-with love, papa
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