6 month letter

My Promise,

6 months old! I'm not going to lie, its been a tough day for me.  But, it has been a great month! You are growing and changing on a daily basis.  You are so affectionate these days. I love it! Every morning when I go to get you, you smile up at me and when I pick you up you nestle into my neck.  One of your favorite games right now is to kiss me back when I kiss your cheeks.  You latch on to my cheek and say "mmmmm" (kissing sounds). Then you giggle for all you're worth and it melts my hear!  For some reason though, you can't figure out how to kiss me without also pulling my hair! ouch!  I think you just get so excited that you get carried away.  (Daddy is sad that you won't kiss him, but it's because of his beard.  You lean in to kiss him and then get this horrible look on your face when his whiskers touch your mouth. Pretty funny.)

It's been a busy month.  You started the month by spending two weeks with Grandpa.  And finished the month with a quick road trip.  In the meantime you have hit some huge developmental milestones.

chowing down on some sweet potatoes

We started giving you solid foods a couple of weeks ago.  You're doing great with it!  We love having you join in with meals. Its fun to have dinner (and usually breakfast) as a family.  Sweet potatoes are by far your favorite food!  You also like cucumbers, acorn squash, and apples.  You haven't really disliked anything though - so far you've had pears, avocado, green beans, broccoli, whole wheat pasta, chicken, hamburger, honeydew mellon, and red pepper. oh, and baby mum mums (rice cakes) - you love those things!  You try everything we put in front of you and you have no problem at all getting things to your mouth. I assume your hand eye coordination is so good from all the practice with your paci!  The whole time you eat you make a very low humming sound - I think you are making "yummy noises" or maybe just joining in the conversation, but either way it's really cute!

You're still nursing great.  In fact, you have added back a feeding or two a day this week - I guess its growth spurt time!  I love nursing more and more because it is the only time you sit still and snuggle with me.  Honestly, it is a challenge to get you to sit still for that sometimes too! You are a busy baby.  You are still going to the chiropractor regularly.  I talked to him about your reflux and he has been adjusting your stomach!  Who knew?  It's making a difference too - I finally have you off ALL your reflux meds! The only thing you're taking now is vitamins!  He has also helped get you pooping more regular again (those meds had some bad side effects on you and we are still dealing with that!)

ready for the pool!

You've also started crawling... I think. Army crawling at the very least. You can't quite get your tummy off the ground, but you have taken off.  Nothing is out of your reach anymore - I seriously need to get baby proofing! Its amazing to see how determined you are when you decide you want something.  I frequently put your toys across the room from you so that you are getting plenty of practice and exercise. Plus, it's really cute to see you wobble from side to side on your way.  You still haven't mastered sitting independently.  I'm not sure if you can't do it or you just don't want to.  You don't have any trouble sitting up in your high chair or the bumbo - you don't slump to the side or anything. But when I try to get you to sit in the floor you immediately lunge for a toy or book (or cellphone or computer).  I'm not concerned though - you'll sit when you're ready.

You are obsessed with our cellphones. Especially Daddy's iPhone.  Every time it passes through your line of vision your eyes light up and you do everything you can to get to it. Your efforts are futile though - we don't let you play with cell phones.

happy butt, happy baby

We started using cloth diaper this month. I wasn't sure how the change would effect you, but you didn't really seem to notice.  You have never been one to cry or fuss because of a wet diaper, and you still aren't.  Maybe because I have always changed you regularly?  They're a little more trouble for me, but cheaper for sure and good for your cute little butt!  The only downside is that they make your clothes fit weird. You are so tiny and they make your butt look huge in pants!  haha. But they're very cute with dresses or tshirts.

helping mommy stuff diapers

You are sleeping much much better at night. You go to bed around 7 (sometimes earlier if you are sleepy) without a hitch.  You snuggle into my arms while I sing the "Promise Song" and go to sleep with no crying!  And you usually make it until 4 or 5 am. So a 9-10 hour stretch.  I'm happy with that for your size.  I'm still struggling to get you to sleep until 7 even when I feed you at 4 and put you back to bed. You're an early bird (and I am not!)  Naps, on the other hand, have been pretty rough this month. Most days I can expect one decent nap (never the same nap on any given day though), but not always.  When you have 3 bad naps, I usually put you down for a 4th nap just so you can make it until bedtime.  I'm doing everything I can to help you with this, but I'm trying not to stress too much about it and enjoy the extra play time.

yummy toes!

Your favorite toys these days are your stacking rings, nesting cups, and balls.  You are totally over your activity gym and cry when I put you on it.  Sophie went AWOL on our last trip, but I ordered a new Sophie and she should be here any day now. You and Mary Jane have developed a pretty good relationship.  You are fascinated with her and for some reason she puts up with the ear tugs, eye poking, and  hair pulling.  I frequently have to remind you that "we don't eat the cats!"  You enjoy reading and have started getting books out of your basket and pushing them to me! You do this at least once every other day.  I usually get 2 books - one to read and one for you to chew on.  And of course, your feet are a favorite again. You can get your feet to your mouth now, and I find you sucking on your big toe a lot. Silly girl. You also love physical play. Daddy flies you around the room as "super baby" and you love to be held up in the air with one of us laying down. I haven't tried throwing you in the air yet - I think you're too fragile for that still!

I am fascinated with your sense of anticipation.  You know your nap routine very well. First we close the door, and then you immediately reach your hand out to turn off the light. (You used to cry when I would open a book because you knew a nap was coming, but you seem to be over that now.) When I take your diaper off, you pull your legs up for me to put a new one under you.  When I move my hand like I am going to tickle you, you start laughing before I have even touched you (your Daddy does this too!).  And when I make kissing noises you tilt your head to one side and grin - so sweet!  You are very aware of what's going on around you, and even though you are generally very quiet I can tell you are paying attention.

playtime in your kiddie pool

You're not a noisy baby. You laugh a lot, and you babble some.  You squeal on occasion, but it is rare.  You are not interested in toys that make noise - that's probably my doing. We listen to music some - you love to dance with us!  I am trying to play music more often, but it's not a natural thought for me.  I do make an effort to turn some on during independent play.  I like to be quiet a lot though and I think you get that from me.  Your cries are getting more distinct. I can tell when you're sleepy, frustrated, hungry, or mad. You usually only get mad at nap time - you make this horrible gut-wrenching cry, but you're usually done by the time I get to the door (even so, it makes me sad). You have added a few new consonant sounds to your vocab this month including y, m, n, and d. And, you have started making this funny little coughing noise when you want to get someone's attention.  Hilarious.

I love you more everyday.  And everyday I think this love can't grow any bigger, but it does!  I love being your Mommy. Seriously, I could not ask for a better job.  It is such a thrill to see the person you are becoming and to see your personality shining through. I can already tell you have a great sense of humor and you like to make us laugh as much as we like to make you laugh. I hope your life is filled with laughter and will do all I can to make it so.  You are a very determined and focused little girl - you are not easily deterred.  I sometimes try to distract you from something I don't want you to have by offering you a different toy - you will stop and look at it for a minute but quickly go back to whatever you were working toward originally.  I think this will benefit you greatly in life. Sky is the limit baby girl.  "Fact is there's nothin' out there you can't do. Yeah even Santa Claus believes in you." ~ the Electric Mayhem

"i'm going to eat that camera!"

Happy 6 months to my favorite girl in the world!

Love,
Mommy