6 months later

Yesterday marked the 6 month birthday! Happy half year. I can't believe how quickly the past 6 months have gone. From a teeny tiny baby who slept everywhere, to a little 3 month old who refused to nap, to a 6 month old who eats real food and sleeps through the night. Seems like just yesterday, yet at the same time, seems like a lifetime ago.

We head to the doctor on Thursday for the big checkup and more shots. I think the doctor will be pleased with her growth and development.

Ava is learning to sit up on her own and each day her core muscles get stronger and she slides less.

She rolls over and over and is slowly figuring out that perhaps she could use that skill to cross great distances (although for now, she basically spins in circles).

She loves meal time and is learning to drink from her sippy cup (2 whole ounces the other day and 1.5 ounces today - and no, most of it did NOT end up down her bib!).

Her most impressive bit of grown-up girl behavior: she loves to sip water from my glass. Pretty soon she'll be ordering her own iced-tea when we eat out (half sweet, half unsweet, like her mom).

She loves tubby time and knows what's about to happen when we lay her on her towel in the bathroom and turn on the water: she smiles and squeals loudly (a little too loudly, sometimes. I try to tell her that bathrooms echo and that high-pitch squeals could burst mommy's ear drums, but she's not quite advanced enough to understand that concept; perhaps by 7 months...).

She loves books and storytime before naps and bedtime and depending on how sleepy she is, she may squeal with excitement when I open the first page of her favorite story. It's so amazing to see such a small little person, with only 6 months of life experience, recognize things and know that she enjoys them.

So far no major fits of giggles (although I eagerly await this everyday!) but she does laugh quite a bit during playtime. Rest assured, when the major giggles attack, the video camera will be pulled out immediately for documentation and sharing!

She still loves to grab at my hair (even when it's tucked behind my head in a teeny bun) and yank it! Despite her fascination with hair (or perhaps monkey-like behavior, as she does it almost instinctively so as know she has a grip on something and won't fall) she is surprising gentle with Indi, who is also maturing enough to realize that the creature is not being sent back and is indeed here to stay. She reaches out for Indi and poor Indi lays still (although you can almost hear it: "Make no eye contact... oh no. She saw me."). Then she slows puts her hands on Indi's head and neck and jerkily moves over her fur. On the plus side of that, Indi has short fur so there's not much to grasp at and yank.

Six months down, six to go before the big one-year mark! Having seen many friends' babies go from birth to 1 year (and beyond) I just can't wait for all we have in store. While there have been many times where my nerves have been frazzled because of a screaming non-napper, or my body exhausted because of several night wake-ups, there have been so many more happy moments that the difficult ones become a little fuzzier with each day. Happy half birthday, Ava!

Mad skills!