Such a big boy

I'm really being struck this week by how much Zeke has changed. He is such a big boy these days, and not just in size. Recently it seems he is becoming a much "older" baby. 6 months ago he was a tiny infant, just a few weeks old.

Now Zeke can: Crawl,
Pull himself up to standing,
Find his binky and put it in his mouth,
Drink (very messily) out of a tippy cup (only without the stopper),
Feed himself finger foods,
Play hide and seek (Ok, maybe not really hide and seek. But if I hide behind the couch or around a corner while he is looking, he will come and "find" me and then he laughs and laughs. Its our version of hide and seek),
Shake his head "no" when he doesnt like something,
Say da, ba, ma, ga, ra, grunt and squeal, and often a long combo,
Sometimes self sooth (lol, sometimes),
And he's starting to tell when he is being naughty (or atleast he knew when he was taking Jordyn's binky away it was naughty because when I came over he tried to give it back. Also when he has things he shouldnt have lately he will try to hide them from me)

What a change, right? And he is growing so independant now. He will play by himself for hours these days, every once in a while climbing up on me to put his forehead up against mine for a minute or two, and then off he goes again. I cherish those cuddly moments, they are getting few and far between!

Zeke loves reading books right now and his cars. And he really really loves computers, especially the laptop. We can't keep him away from it much to our chagrin! I guess that's what happens when he sees us both using them so often. He's also becoming very strong willed. Or I guess more honestly he was always very strong willed but its showing more and more as he gets older. I often wonder where the line is between understanding his needs and showing him who is boss. I pray that I'm getting it right. I dont want to break his spirit but I also dont want to spoil him, and with kids like Zeke that is a thin line.

Although Josh's "putting his foot down" is sadly working really well. Sad because I wanted to be right. What a horrible truth. I should just be happy that Zeke's midnight tantrums are over and we are all sleeping better. He will cry to Josh for, I dont know, 5 minutes top before he gives up and then Josh puts him back in his crib awake and Z falls back asleep. When I was getting up with him it was a half hour of crying, only to be stopped by the boob, so he was falling asleep eating and then I was sneaking him back into bed, and it was becoming more and more often. Now its less and less often and Zeke is only eating twice at night again, at around 2 am and then 5 or 6 am. Once a night if you count 6 am as morning, which I do not because we all go back asleep until a more resonable hour.

I've learned this night thing is never consistent, however. Zeke has gone weeks and weeks sleeping really well before only to revert again. I am not holding my breath. His teeth will start moving again soon, or he will get a cold, or night terrors, or SOMETHING. I've accepted the fact that now that I am a mother I will probably never be able to count on a good nights rest again. Not until Zeke is 30 at least.

Also, in unrelated news, Josh and I in the next week or two are going to start talking to people about getting a home loan. We want to buy this summer if we can manage it. Scary scary scary. We have no idea what we are doing. We are going (so far) to talk to Idahy (our credit union) and to Spokane Teachers Credit Union because we've heard so many good things about them. We want to know how much we can get approved for and at what rate (so we can decide how much we can really afford) and if there's anything we need to do to improve our credit (which is good but fairly non-existent because we are so young) before then. Then when they have given Josh and number and he has given me a number I can start looking around, which is the part that's fun. THEN I dont actually know what happens, craziness, I guess.

I love the idea of buying a home, I love the idea of staying in one place for 5 or 10 years. I am scared out of my mind of doing this wrong. Pray for us?