Six months old. Our little guy has been with us six short/long months. He is still the most cheerful, easy baby I've ever seen. That's not to say he doesn't have his moments - the occasional frustration that leads him to let loose a scream - but for the most part, if you pay attention and give him something to do or think about, he is calm. 

It's spring, and we often sit outside in the evenings now. Sometimes someone joins me, but most every night it's Derek and I. We listen to neighborhood dogs and he tries to bark back at them. We watch birds land in our little trees and then fly away, and he follows them with his eyes until they are FAR away. He loves it when I imitate the bird sounds. 

He hates it when the military jets fly right over our house, and is frightened by any loud, mechanical sound. They make him cry and he appears to be afraid. A sudden, loud cough in a quiet room has the same effect on him.

Pounding on things and hearing the different sounds they make seems to fascinate him. He likes to try different objects on different surfaces. I'm not sure if that makes him a scientist or a musician! Or maybe it just makes him a little boy...

And his favorite song is "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy." Isn't that silly? But it makes him smile and bounce every time I sing it. So I do. I love to make this little guy smile. His second favorite song is, "Ho-ho-ho- hosanna, ha-ha-hallelujah..." And he will actually make the "ho ho ho" sound to ask me to sing it. 

Someone visited recently, someone who really would rather Derek had never been created. That broke my heart. I know it wasn't the ideal way for our grandson to enter the world, but oh, what a precious treasure he is, what a gift from God! And I just couldn't get past that. I know I need to forgive that person, just as God has forgiven each of us because of what Jesus did. I will forgive them. But what a sad thing to wish for. Don't wish away my little sweetheart. He's a bundle of joy in my life. 

"...He-he-he-he saved me; I've got the joy of the Lord!"