Half a Year

Our little munchkin celebrated her 1/2 year birthday on Thursday - how time flies! This time last year we were just starting to announce her pregnancy to the world and I was celebrating any minute that I was not nauseous. As usual, we celebrated this milestone with the big trip to the pediatrician and a special Sunday brunch. Instead of sleeping on my lap at brunch, she now sat in a high chair and "played" with the paper tablecloth, napkins, and silverware. All in all she appears to be quite healthy - praise God! Here are her stats:

Weight: 17 lbs. 4 oz. - 75th %tile (the MD said she's slimming down because she's so "active".. though I don't think anyone getting a glimpse of her precious rolls would use the word slim to describe her!)
Length: 26 3/4" - 90th %tile

All in all, I continue to be blown away by how babies just remind us about the simple thrills of life. Elynor loves to dance or watch her mama dance. "Flying", tickling, and peek-a-boo are guaranteed giggle inducers. Post-bath massages or daddy rubbing her head are guaranteed relaxation inducers.

6 months: Chewing on spatulas. Eating pureed pears. Loving it all.

Tuckered out after her MD apt.

"Feeding" herself (thanks for the cute bib GG Jean!)

POST SCRIPT:
Several people have recently asked what her latest developments include, so I'll do my best to capture the highlights below. But be warned, this turned into a very long account that reads much like a babybook recollection. I'm guessing only grandmas/grandpas and maybe an aunt or uncle will really be interested in all this. So read on at your own risk!

- Still rolling, rolling, rolling everywhere! I'll put her down in one spot and come back and she's on the other side of the living room floor. Usually she's chasing down a toy.
- She's also sitting up on her own. We are still careful to sit her on soft surfaces, as there's the inevitable topple over. But there's more sitting than toppling.
- Sometimes she also throws in some scooting. While pushed up on her arms and attempting to move forward (also usually after a toy), she'll instead scoot herself backwards. This typically takes place on the wood floor. A few times she's scooted all the way from one end of the couch to the other.
- And a few times she's also pushed up onto her knees - YIKES! We know what that means. Fortunately Grandma & Grandpa Cochrane are coming next weekend to babysit & help with some babyproofing.
- And about those toys. What are her faves? Well as you can probably tell from some pics, everything goes into her mouth, so those most conducive to chewing are best. This includes the beloved linking rings (what are they called?), a few teething toys (cold or room temp), and her dragonfly with crinkly wings. She also likes this phone rattle. It's funny because it's a hand-me-down toy so the phone is very old school. When she gets it she often starts waving her arm and banging it like a hammer. There's also this plastic Dairy Queen ice cream cone (yikes!). It's funny because it's a little big for her hands so she drops it a lot and then it rolls across the room. This is usually the toy she's rolling around in pursuit of. She's just starting to get into board books - mostly for chewing. But much to her daddy's delight, she will sit through 1 or 2 books now.
- In addition to real toys, she's taken an interest in many unofficial toys. This includes the spoons I give her to occupy her while I'm preparing her meals, any kind of paper, plastic bowls, the headbands, belts, and scarves I give her to enjoy while I get dressed or do my hair, and our cell phones. Above all these things, however, are my spatulas. Really, one of these can occupy her for at least 30 minutes. The combo of plastic end and wood handle are great for chewing, banging, gripping, etc. Add a plastic bowl to bat around and this could last for 40 minutes.
- So about that chewing.. yes, she does have 2 teeth now! The middle, bottom. The left one came in first and it's now about 1/4 of the way to full size. The right one just broke through in the past few days. This meant some fussing and lots of drool. But all in all, not too bad.
- And it's a good thing she's got those teeth now, because she's LOVING solid foods. Right now her menu includes (in order of introduction): rice cereal, peas, sweet potato, pears, apple, and banana. Her fave appears to be pears, but there's really nothing she dislikes. We plan to start some acorn squash tonight and peaches later this week. We're feeding her 3 "solid" meals a day, in addition to still breastfeeding. I'm mostly making our own food too (which means steaming, pureeing, and freezing). Though this is really pretty easy and definitely more economical, some days it does feel like all we do is prepare & eat food between 7:30 & 7:30.
- Speaking of time, she's roughly sleeping from 7/7:30pm to 7:30am. She would do that every night if we weren't out and about so many evenings. But generally she goes to bed between 7 & 9 and then we hear her babbling in her room between 7 & 7:30, at which time we get her up. In the morning she greets us with her biggest smiles of the day , giggling, and some combo of leg/arm flailing. She then takes 2 or 3 naps/day. In the past few days she hasn't wanted her 3rd nap, so I'm trying to decide if we should just drop it. She has really become an adaptable baby, usually sleeping just about anywhere we lay her (including friend's bedroom floors, the middle of friend's beds, etc.)
- On the subject of temperment, Elynor appears to be a baby of extremes - at least compared to her baby friends. When she's awake and well fed, she's usually very happy and quite the charmer. She's incredibly attentive to all that's happening around her, which means lots of smiles and "talking" for mom, dad, friends, and complete strangers. You can't sneak much past this little girl. If dad's in front of her and mom's behind (or vice versa), she tries to turn her head all the way around to see who's behind. She also gets very distracted from eating if mom's talking, the TV is on, or if there's much other activity. She just doesn't want to miss a thing.
- But I said she's a baby of extremes, right? That means when she does get tired, hungry, or just bored with her current activity, she'll let you know. And letting you know means crying or screaming. And boy, can she scream. Sorry if you've ever been on the phone with me when she decided to let it go.
- She does share plenty of more positive sounds, though. She is quite the "talker" with lots of baby cooing. Evidently the MD heard a few consonants (which I guess is a big deal)... but it all sounds like the same gobbledy gook to me. No discernible words.
- She recognizes mom and dad and appears to have a mom preference... but she's generally happy with anyone loving her. She's been spending much time with such fave babysitters as Natalie, Melissa, Evan, and JJ and loves them all.