And that's 2008

I don't know what you think of 2008, what the history books will say about the late stock market fall, President Bush going out with less than favorable fanfare, Obama elected, wars being all over the Middle East, oil spiking at $145 a barrel, the Beijing Olympics and Michael Phelps' feats ... but, it was a banner year around the Fletcher house. June 18th would figure to be the most memorable day, Kole's birthday, but it was actually June 17th that Kathy and I keep re-living and talking about when we're sipping wine in the hot tub. What a day that was, beginning about 5:00am when Kathy woke up with "cramps", then it led to us being at the hospital before 8:00am, then came pacing the halls of Arlington Memorial ... it was the day that would never end. The June 18th birth date was an early-morning technicality, but what I remember most about the 18th is watching Kathy writhe in unspeakable pain. I was elated, but mentally and physically exhausted from the hours that had preceded.
Lots of pain and discomfort for Kathy most of the year, before and after the birth, but by June 19th the smiles kept adding up. Here at year's end, the smiles beat the frowns by a landslide.
Kole isn't crawling or walking yet, but probably isn't far away from either. We're enjoying our last few moments of setting him down and knowing he'll be close to there if we walk away for 10 seconds. Lots of milestones still to come in 2009, with Kole and with Kathy and I.
Will Kathy return to work? Will Kole have a brother or sister? All questions we've heard before and still don't know the answers to. We agreed at about last April or May that we were going to get through the holidays before discussing any of it. Right now, I'm as thankful as I've ever been for my job and the little freelance gigs that have come along that have kept us comfortably afloat this year. Kathy wasn't making 6-figures in her previous job, but it was a handsome income that is quickly missed when it vanishes in an instant. I say I'm thankful for my job, when it has been as challenging as it ever has in Big 12 Showcase's 13 years on the air. Because of budget cuts and loss of sponsors, we took the show off the road and into studio, and the cuts keep coming. But, pink slips haven't been handed out, so the glass is still half-full here.
I leave you with a picture taken earlier today, December 31st. No - Kole is not pulling himself up just yet. But, if you stand him up in his crib, he'll happily stand and dance for a while.
A happy and safe 2009 to all, and a very hearty thanks for all of you who helped make 2008 unforgettable for us.

Six Months, Doctor's Update

Upon turning 6 months old, Kole was rewarded with a trip to the doctor's office. He weighed 18 pounds, 15 ounces; his length is 29 and 1/4 inches; head circumference 17 and 3/4 inches.
At 29.25 inches, he is above the 97th percentile for 6-month-olds (longer than 97% of the babies in America his same age). Another way of looking at it is - he is exactly the average length of a 12-month-old. His weight is just over the 60th percentile, slightly better than average for his age.
Doctor is very impressed and happy with his health and appearance. He got three shots and one vaccination orally. He whimpered for a bit, but didn't put on a big crying display. He handled it like a boy.

Moments of Discovery

A day short of turning 6 months old, Kole is doing everything but crawling, and he may have developed one of the senses that separates humans from the animals - a sense of his own being.
On the crawling - he has two stances right now. First is the body-surfing stance, essentially balanced on his belly button, hands and feet off the ground. He does this with the idea that his hands and feet are free to reach and kick. But then comes the on-all-fours look - where he's on his hands and knees, rocking slowly. Kathy and/or I will sit there encouraging him to move forward, putting a toy or something he wants out in front of him. But, instead of forward movement, he normally just reverts back to Stance A on the belly. He's getting ever so close - and Kathy and I recognize our fleeting final days of being able to contain him in one general area of the floor.
Another area of discovery is his hands. He looks like he's doing signing for the deaf - or perhaps doing a sock-puppet show without socks. He'll put his hands out, then anything is fair game ... the beauty-pageant wave, the open-close claw, the hippie on acid tripped out by watching his hand wave side to side in front of his eyes ... he'll get both hands working and it's quite amusing. One by-product of this has been mockery. The whole happy-hands thing has created a new world of mimicking. If he appears frustrated, or is obviously hungry and getting a quick case of the red-ass while a bottle is being made, all you have to do is start waving, or open-closing your hands like little chompers, and he'll immediately crack a smile and start doing his hands, putting them out and waving and clasping them.
Another trick for shutting him up when he's upset (are we veteran parents or what!) is to take him to a mirror. He likes what he sees so far. He's fascinated with either Kathy or I through a mirror, and I can only assume that he's fascinated by the prospect of noticing himself. I'll attach photos on this - he even has a little mirror that is one of about four things that dangle from one other little toy he has. But, if we take the mirror and lay it down he will find it, look at the image of himself and hold a frozen stare like a cat that just spotted a mouse. He puts his nose 1 or 2 inches from the mirror and stares. And stares. And stares. It's fun watching and imagining what's going on inside his mind.
He has a doctor's appointment on the 18th, so we'll have an accurate count of his measurements.

Big Day with Santa

Big day at the mall for the little one - another visit with his little pals Noah and Sarah (whose mothers Kathy went through child birth classes, etc.), and a big visit with Santa at the Parks Mall in Arlington. Kole hasn't been strolling with Sarah very long, but felt brave enough in their relationship to begin sucking on her fingers instead of his own. She appeared to enjoy it, and Kole never stopped laughing at her.