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August 11, 2021


To my Rainbow Baby, Henry,


Today, you are six months old! You are officially halfway to one! How is that even possible? Just yesterday, you were a tiny little peanut born two weeks early, sleepy and snuggly all the time! Now you are a chunky little monkey, you are a busy little bee, and you are learning new things every day!! I simultaneously want time to stop so you will stay this little forever, and feel excitement to see you grow even more, learning to walk, trying new foods, and saying your first words! Either way, I have spent half a year loving being your momma, and I am so happy I get to do it for the rest of my life!



We have had a great last month of summer together, but it went way too fast for your momma! Your sixth month started at the end of our trip to Pittsburgh, where we attended your second cousin Andrew’s graduation party. You and him are 18 years apart, which is the same age gap between me and him! I was graduating from high school when he was born, and now he’s graduating high school the year you were born! You met lots of new people at the party! You passed out tons of snuggles and you took an epic nap on your mommy and daddy even though it was so loud! The next day, Mommy and Gammaw loaded you up in the car to head to Shamokin so you could meet your Great Aunt Susie and your honorary Mimi Sheryl. You also got to meet your honorary cousins, CeCe and Grace, and they LOVED you!! We had a great time introducing you to this last branch of our family and you traveled like a champ!




When we got home, we only had a few weeks of summer left to enjoy, so I made sure we did that! We went to the zoo and the pool with your girlfriend Lydia, and also had a pool day with Gammaw and Pup Pup; went to a birthday party of Daddy’s friend’s daughter; celebrated Gammaw’s retirement and new job as Nanny Gammaw; had your last visit with Auntie Maria before she went back to New York; and visited with Auntie Erin. You finally rolled from your back to your belly for the first time- you’ve been working hard on that one for a while now! We’re still waiting for you to figure out how to go belly to back on purpose, but you like hanging out on your tummy, so you’re taking you’re time with that one. You are also now obsessed with grabbing your feet and they usually find their way to your mouth! And the day before Mommy went back to work, you started sitting independently for long stretches of time. You are officially ready to start solids, and I am so excited for you to start exploring all the yummy goodness.


How are you this big already? STOP TIME!

Two days ago, Mommy officially went back to work for the long haul, and it was a rough day for her. You had a blast with Gammaw and I am so grateful that you will get to spend so much time with her. She’s going to do so many fun things with you and most importantly, she’s going to teach you all about Jesus. So I know you are in good hands, but it was still hard for me to go back after being home with you for the last 23 out of 25 weeks! You are really starting to grow and learn, and I don’t want to miss a moment of it!! But I know that, if I want our family to have the life we’ve been planning, including a house of our own, I need to keep working. And I also know that, once I’m back to school with my students (for a hopefully normal school year), I’ll be okay because I really do love being a teacher. I will continue to pray, though, that some day God provides for our family in a way that allows me to be a mommy full time! Because to me, that’s the most important job I will ever have!



I pray over the next month, God will help you adjust to our new schedule- that you will get used to being away from Mommy during the day and that we will have lots of fun together in the evenings before bed time. I pray that you will have lots of fun with Gammaw each day, eat well and take good naps. I ask God to help give me peace as I’m away from you each day, and give me patience for this season of our family’s life. I hope that, by September, we have found a routine that works for us and that we are finding a new rhythm with this big life change. I pray that you will continue to grow, get strong, and learn lots of new skills, and that I won’t miss out on too many first by being back at work. While I’m sad to see summer go, I’m looking forward to some exciting adventures we have planned for the fall, and I pray that God will allow this new season to be filled with as much joy as the spring and summer were for us.





I love you, little Rainbow Henry.


Love, Mommy






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