6 months and counting...

6 month stats:
Weight: 16lbs 1oz (50%)
Height: 27 in (90%)
Head Circumference: 17in (75%)

Baby girl, you are so loved and you love us right back so well!  You are special and unique...just like every other baby! :)  But, you are OUR baby and we are so proud of you and can't imagine our lives without you.  You bring us joy and love and laughter and slobber and kisses everyday!  Watching you learn and grow and discover this big, beautiful world gives me a new and fresh perspective.

The gospel of Luke (18:16-17) quotes Jesus as saying, "Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

I won't pretend that I completely understand how to approach our God like a child at times, but seeing the world through your eyes helps me catch a better glimpse of the trust, faith, and love a child brings.  I pray your daddy and I will always be examples of how to draw closer to our Lord and never a hindrance for you.

Here is what you've been up to this month:
~We were nursing but are now bottle feeding.  You looooove your bottle!  Seriously!  It makes you so happy to see it coming and so very sad to see it go.  You still eat 4 times a day and, occasionally, once at night.  You also eat cereal each morning (about 3 T), some fruit/vegetables at lunch and/or dinner (a couple T each).  You have successfully eaten rice cereal, banana, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, and applesauce mainly in the last couple weeks.  You've licked on a grape, peach, and popsicle.  Marmee let you have a very small bit of a popsicle (you kept reaching for it and putting your hand on her arm, so she just couldn't refuse you) but she regretted it after you threw a fit when the popsicle was all gone.  You can have a bit of a temper...

~You are up more between each nap.  You used to only stay awake for 1hr-1.5hrs, but now you are up for 2 or more before needing a nap.  You still take about 3 a day, though.  You sleep most of the night, but do still get up for a feed about 70% of the time.  Apparently, you aren't always sleeping as long as I would like to think!  Marmee caught you many times just happily playing in your crib when we thought you were still napping or sleeping for the night.  One time, she left you in there to see how long you would play and after about an hour she went ahead and got you out!  Now, I check on you a bit more often just to make sure you are resting.

~Your personality is coming out more and more and I LOVE it!  You are silly, sweet, and enthusiastic.  But...as I stated above, you can have a bit of a temper and are very impatient at times.  It's funny for me to see parts of myself in such a little person.  As I strive to work on my temper and lack of patience, I hope to help correct yours as well.  When you are happy or excited about something (such as taking a bottle), you have what we affectionately call the 'happy leg'!  You are sitting up or laying on your back and you pull your right leg up to your chest a bit and swing it happily from the knee up and down.  It's super cute.:)

~You have a huge fascination with hair and love playing with mommy's and putting it in your mouth.  It makes you giggle!  You also love when people put their face up close to yours.  You almost just start purring like a cat.  (Mommy doesn't like comparing you to cats, b/c she doesn't like them, but it's the best description.)  I guess the girl isn't that into personal space, so I'm interested to see how that develops. :)  She still puts EVERYTHING in her mouth and loves to chew on things-- she doesn't suck on her paci-- just chews on it!  It's like she's a black lab puppy putting her mouth on the couch, on the wooden legs of the coffee table, and around the poles of her playmat!  Luckily, she has no teeth or we'd be in big trouble!  (I love labs! :))

~The BIG DEVELOPMENT of the month has been CRAWLING!  She seemed to be a little late to the 'rolling over party' of her peers, but once she did, she developed other skills rapidly.  She lifted herself up quickly, then started getting on all fours, then began to rock to and fro, and finally started making motions to move forward!  All in a matter of weeks.  It's been so fun to watch!  For a while, she was 'crawling' more like a caterpillar by getting on all fours taking a step or two and then falling on her tummy and scooting a bit.  Then, this past Friday with my mom and dad in town watching, she legitimately crawled about 4-5 steps.  She also started sitting up on her own, though she still needs supervision to not fall backwards.  She will crawl and then turn and put her bottom down as if to sit up, but it still needs some perfecting.  We are having to baby-proof the house and it's kinda a pain!  haha.  But, she's definitely worth it!

~2 things that could be defined as 'areas needing improvement' maybe are lack of teeth and lack of consistent 'talking' or babbling.  We haven't been teething yet, which isn't a huge cause for concern.  I guess it will come in time.  The lack of talking is a bit worrisome, but I know that too will develop.  It's funny because it seemed like she was trying to 'talk' and wanting to babble at a really early age, but now she goes for stretches of time without much attempt.  She does sometimes get into a kick where she babbles for a while.  A lot of it are noises and coos and such, along with blowing little bubbles and spitting.  Again, I'm not super concerned, but it's something to monitor these next few months.  Maybe she'll just be more of the strong, silent type like her father.  :) 

~GK, you still love all music and sounds, different textures and colors of fabric, a good ceiling fan, and chewing on your fingers and others',  You 'newly' love looking at yourself in the mirror, your bottle, knocking things over, and playing in your play pen.

This month, Marmee, Aunt Katie, and Granddaddy were all able to love on you!  You are sweet and not stingy with your smiles, but you still reserve your best giggles and laughter for your Daddy.  He is the best at making you giddy!  We look forward to seeing Gram and Papa Doc in the next couple weeks.

We love you and hope you always know we are doing our best!

Here are some pics from our "photoshoot".