The New Man in My Life...

He's short and chubby. He sports a mean fauxhawk. He's controlling and demanding, but he makes up for it with big, wet toothless kisses and cozy cuddles. He can be a little embarrasing in public, but then again so can I.

Easy there, folks. This is a G-rated blog (kinda). I am talking about my squishy, cuddly, drooly, little baby boy -  Patrick Daniel. He is seven and a half months old now. I can hardly believe it. Time always flies, but I feel like things are moving especially fast with him. Maybe it's because most days I barely have a second to catch my breath. So those rare days when I do have a free second and I actually stop to look at him...he is getting so freakin' big!!

I cannot even explain how much I love this kid. I actually have to restrain myself from biting his little face. Yes, really.

I feel like I am finally starting to understand Patrick. I do think it took me a little longer to get acquainted with all of his likes, wants and needs. I would say we weren't really on the same wavelength until he was about six months old. I know all kids are different, and believe me...I have heard it. "Don't expect the same baby twice." Guess I had to experience it for myself to actually understand. Because never were two babies as different as Patrick and Grace.

Grace was a pretty mellow baby, but she was intense and serious. It took a lot to get a laugh out of her. She didn't ever really have stranger anxiety. She slept through the night at 8 weeks old.

Now scratch that, reverse it...and you have Patrick.

He is the happiest little guy you will ever meet. He is full of giggles and grins. As far as the stranger anxiety, it is a new experience, indeed. He needs to always have me in his sights. He will cry if I put him down and walk out of the room. And when other people hold him, he will only tolerate it if he can visualize me. Really, kid...where do you think I am going? Although, I will admit, I kind of like that he needs me the way he does. It's sweet (and totally exhausting all at the same time). 

Sleeping...sleeping? What's that? OK...I guess it is not that bad. He probably sleeps through the night once a week. The other nights are a total crap shoot. You might be up once, you might be up four times. Thank God he is cute.

So far, here is what I have figured out about my little man:

Likes
 - His sister...he loves that girl. All she has to do is walk in the room and he squeals. She is totally a rock star in Patrick's world.
 - The Fresh Beat Band. If you don't know who they are, congratulations. If you do, I sympathize.
 - Bananas
 - Peek-a-boo
 - His paci and his lovey blanket (named Raffi, cuz he's a giraffe...cute, right?). In this way he IS like his sister.
 - The baby carrier. That kid would spend 24 hours a day attached to my person. Best money I ever spent.
 - Cuddles (lots and lots)
 - Biting things.


DISlikes
 - Loud noises...if you ever want to see the saddest lil' boo-boo face ever...just clap really loud around Patrick.
 - Being left alone. How dare I try to step away from him to pee...the nerve!
 - Peaches
 - His car seat (although he is getting much better about this one). The first three months of his life he strongly protested car rides. S-T-R-O-N-G-L-Y


So, we are still figuring each other out. And I suspect I will be discovering new things about my little man each day. And each day I will try to remind myself not to bite him (even though he is so freakin' edible)