let's talk about River

Last week was rough. Liam was every bit a troublemaker and general miscreant. But let's take a break from the terrible-twos and talk about River instead.

I know it's cliche to say it, but the second child just doesn't get the spotlight like the first. In our family, it's not because we aren't oohing and ahing over every little thing he does. No. It's because I spend nearly every second chasing his big brother, stopping him from making more mess and cleaning up those I haven't caught in time. But this post is not about that.

It's all about Mr. Big Boy 5 Month Old.

This kid is so fun. He is generous with the smiles, easygoing, and just pleasant to be around. And his favorite toy is a wire whisk. It doesn't get much better.

Sometimes he just seems like a cute accessory that I get to carry around. I even coordinate our outfits when we are going out. Is that weird?

Mostly I just feel lucky. Lucky to know this little person. To go from being one person to being me and my boy. To learn just who River James was always meant to be. And I love it.

He is happy happy happy as long as I am careful not to consume even the slightest amount of dairy.

He is growing more each day. I just swapped out his wardrobe and now he is wearing 9-12 month clothes. I get all teary-eyed every time I pack up his small clothes to pass along to another little guy, but I can't help but smile at those chubby thighs.

I am planning to wait until he is 6 months before introducing solid foods, and when that time comes, we'll take it slow. Even though he is already showing a lot of interest - he lunges towards our plates of food, grabbing, and trying to shove those tasty morsels into his mouth - I want to give his sensitive digestive tract plenty of time to develop and acclimate to the new foods. Since we already know about the dairy allergy, he is likely to have other food sensitivites as well.

River loves to watch Liam do just about anything. He loves it when I sing to him. He loves splashing in the bath tub, laying on a blanket outside, and grabbing the cats fur whenever they get close enough. He loves Daddy's whiskery kisses and Dahlia's slobbery licks whenever she can sneak one past me. He loves to snuggle up next to me while we are sleeping at night.

River does not like to nap. He doesn't like to be startled, not one little bit. And he doesn't like to be too warm or too cold; apparently he has my California-blood.

And all of these things add up to one sweet little River James.