Annie-6 months!

Wow! The first half of Annie's first year has flown by! I cannot believe she is 6 months old. While it makes me sad that she is growing up so fast, I am looking forward to this next phase of her life. The sitting up phase of babyhood is my fave! She's growing and changing everyday. A few highlights from this month are: 

-Starting to get more hair! It's coming in blonde. People are starting to comment on how she looks more like Henry now. Some say she looks like me.

-Starting to sit up assisted. She can sit beside us on the sofa and also sit up in our laps (wobble, and eventually we catch her). She could probably get the hang of sitting up if I gave her more practice. I am usually trying to protect her from big bro, though, so she doesn't get as much time as she needs.

 -She has gotten a second tooth this month. This changes her look quite a bit! She is really starting to look older-no newborn look anymore!

-She still loves her paci and it will usually calm her down and put her in a "trance" for a bit. She has it to go to sleep each nap/night.

-Her sleep patterns are still not exact. She has good nights and bad nights. She is always ready for bed by 7:00-7:30, though, and always wakes at 5:00am for her first feeding. I do not feed her in the night anymore. Sometimes she sleeps all night and sometimes she wakes up once or twice and I just have to give her her paci. Sometimes she has rough nights, but those are explained after the fact (ie-fever, teeth, etc). She has a short morning nap and a long mid-day nap on most days.

-One thing I love about Annie right now is just how HAPPY she is when she wakes up. Henry and I usually both go in to get her in the morning and she cranes her neck around to see us as soon as she hears the door open. She is grinning from ear to ear and wriggling with anticipation! It is just precious. There are times when she is napping and she wakes up. When I go in to give her her paci, she will grin from ear to ear even if she is still suppose to be sleeping. When the paci goes in she closes her eyes and turns her head to the side to go back to sleep.

-I've also noticed that she sleeps with her head cocked upward and to the side. This seems to be her preferred sleep posture. I still swaddle her btw! I was having to re-swaddle her in the night once, but she is back to staying in it for the mean time. I will put her in it as long as I can!

 -At her 6  month check-up she weighed 14lbs, 14 oz (25%) and was 27 1/4 inches long (97%)! She is growing!!

-She loves grabbing for things now and I can't hold something in my hand without her grabbing at it. I love, love, love watching her hold onto stuff. She will have it in one hand looking at it and moving it around, then will moving it to the other hand and do the same thing, then trade back. She is learning before our very eyes!

 -Annie still blows bubbles and talks to us using little squeals and coos. She has a sweet little voice, and we love to talk back to her (all 3 of us)!

-She loves the men in her life and will give big grins to brother and dada. She will "make eyes" at Steven across the room until he looks at her and smiles, then she grins, looks away, then quickly looks back to repeat the process.

-She does have a special love for her mama, though, and even when she is acting happy while being held by someone else, if I walk by she will give little discontented, half-hearted fusses as if to say, "I'd really rather be with you!"

 -One of my favorite things Annie is doing right now is when I pick her up or get her from someone else, she comes in for what feels like a hug with her arms around my neck and her mouth open ready to give a "kiss". She scrunches up her little booty and legs and just hangs on for a little while. Sweetness.

-She is also starting to lay her head down on us when we are holding her which totally wins both of her parents over!:)

-She started baby food the day she turned 6 months old! She seemed to really like it the first few tries (leaning in to the spoon, sucking the food off it without a lot of prompting), but has since regressed. She kind of clamps her mouth and makes concerned faces about it. But at least she doesn't shutter like Henry did!! She's tried carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, pears, and rice cereal so far. She still nurses every 3 hours or so, except at night.

-She has started to anticipate us coming to her to tickle her or blow zerberts and will laugh prior to it actually happening. I love those giggles!

 -We sure do love you, sweet Annie girl!! You are a bright, sweet, fun baby and we can't wait to spend more time with you!