Six

Here we are at the half-year mark!  Baby Girl is growing up a storm and this was a big month for her.  She got not one but two little teeth and is MOVING all over the place!  She's been rolling for months, but this month she developed a genuine crawl.  Well, maybe more of a drag, but whatever you call it, she gets around.

Most of the time she is dragging herself towards 1) the bucket of cars 2) my hair dryer 3) my phone 4) the train track.  

She has also gotten more vocal and chatty, trying out all kinds of new sounds and volumes.  Giggles are pretty easy to get these days, especially because she's so ticklish.  There's been a bit more crying with the rise of stranger danger, but it passes pretty quickly (sorry, friends and family).

(lawl)

We're still working on sitting up, at least for longer periods, but she is getting better at it every day.  She tips over pretty often but never seems to mind.  Actually, half the time she wants to tip over so she can drag herself over to something. 

I waited until her exact six month mark to give her solids--partly out of laziness, partly out of, I don't know, Tradition?  She was very eager to put the spoon in her mouth, but not so sure about the actual sweet potatoes.  But since then she's tasted/mutilated bananas, watermelon and carrots.  The mesh feeder is very popular.

At her six-month appointment (a little late), she weighed in at 16.41 lbs (48%), was 28 inches long (97%) and has a head circumference of 17 inches (65%).  Not huge gains but gains nonetheless and healthy overall!

Sleep!  Still bouncing around between sleeping all night and waking up once (or twice). We're getting there though.  I think?  More on that in the seventh month update...  (I try to not get ahead.)

The cradle cap seems to slowly going away.  I'm not stressing over it as much this time, which helps.  Her multicolored hair continues to get comments.  I think it is pretty awesome, and I enjoy covering different parts of her head in pictures to see the Blonde Baby and the Brunette Baby.  She will look SO different to me when she is eventually blonde all over.

(This is a good one for Blonde Baby/Brunette Baby)

Anyway, it's been a month of changes for her but some things remain the same.  She has an adorable little face.  She loves to snuggle and grab and squeeze.  She is happy and sweet and funny.  She LOVES Mr. C, who loves to entertain her as much as he loves to be entertained by her.  

Good kids.  Good baby.

Day in the Life of a Zucchini

One morning the yard boys were mowing the lawn.  While they were out there they picked a zucchini from the garden.  It's not the most handsome zucchini.  The end is a bit, well, ugly and misshapen and weird.  But nevertheless it was treated with exceptional attention that day and enjoyed a variety of activities.

It played cars:

Took a nap:

Read some books:

And took another nap:

I didn't get pictures of everything unfortunately.  The zucchini got kisses, was frequently called a flamingo (...) and I was shown its mouth (...).  

I also must add that it was fed, or rather was nursed, and I DID take a picture of that....but I'm too nice to post it.

Five

I have thoroughly enjoyed Miss A's early babyhood.  She was a snuggly, sleepy little newborn with delicious hair and has been happy and pleasant in the months since.  But now that we are at the five month mark she is getting to the really fun baby stage.  She talks and squeals and chirps, and laughs more than ever.  She's so responsive to people and things and it's always fun to watch her interact with the world around her.

Her nighttime sleeping habits haven't really changed in the last month, she wakes up generally once.  I WOULD perhaps dare to say that nights were getting pretty regular in her wake up time, but of course she threw curve balls the last two nights.  She just KNEW I was thinking about maybe saying something about a schedule.

I love her little face.

I love her little Minnie Mouse-esque dress too.

Speaking of knowing stuff, how is it that babies can tell when you sit down?  ALWAYS!

Baby's first Harry Potter costume!

I will say that she has taken to protesting a bit at nap and bedtime, but as long as you 1) stand 2) bounce her and 3) don't stop either of those things she'll cooperate.  Hah!  Silly.  And only sometimes totally maddening...

Fifteen day apart cousin twins!

This month the dreaded cradle cap started to appear.  Fortunately it's not nearly as bad as Mr. C's was, and coconut oil seems to keep it in check.  Also I switched to Honest Company shampoo (from Aveeno) and that seems better for her as well.  (Is it weird to anyone else that Jessica Alba is a legit businesswoman??)

In other hair news, it's growing in blonde!  Her thatch on top is rather multicolored and she seems balder on the sides than she really is because the hair is so light.  I won't deny I'm a bit sad the dark hair seems to be fading out, but I will enjoy it while it lasts.  (And maybe my hair is falling out less now????  *crosses fingers*)

She is a pro at rolling around, squirming in circles and is getting closer to sitting up as well.  She's just so strong!  I'm amazed at how high she pushes up already.  

Random other things: she talks in her bed as she rolls around it like an egg.  She likes to be outside, especially on a windy day.  She likes to put everything in her mouth.  She likes funny noises and funny faces.  She is happy and good and loved and adored.  

And I finally use her name more than "Baby"!  Small victories, people.

But I still like to call her Baby.

Four

I am so tardy with Miss A's update this month!  I blame July in general.  But here we are and here she is at four months old.  

I very much prefer these four months of her life to her very first four months of life, in utero.  If I sleep less now than then, well, at least I vomit less too.

But enough about vomit!

She got a clean bill of health at her check up earlier this month, and here are her stats for the record: 14.31 lbs (64%), 27.25 in. (100%) and head circumference of 16.5 in. (77%).  Just for curiosity's sake, at this age Mr. C. was almost two pounds heavier(!) and a quarter inch shorter.  People have been remarking on her long feet and how that may mean she will be tall.  WELL I can you that foot size can be no indication of future height whatsoever (hmph), but she is tall now at any rate.  Perhaps she will keep it up.

As for what else is going on, she's not sleeping through the night still and is sometimes all over the place with when and how often she wakes up.  But GENERALLY she wakes up once to eat, between 3 and 4 and sleeps until between 6:30-7:30.  A few times she slept in until 9 or so, because babies have the LIFE. 

I could look at her little lips all day.

She is a good roller already, going both ways, and she can squirm around in a circle.  She also loves to grab things and play with fabric-type things.  Some days she is very quiet and hardly makes a peep, other times she talks and squeals all day long.  Unfortunately she is also getting to the stage where she cries when other people hold her.  But she'll grow out of that before too long, I'm sure.

Anyway, she is just delightful.  I love to look at her little face and see her exploring everything in arm's reach.  She's always so happy when I get her out of bed, even in the middle of the night.  Mr. C. adores her and she thinks he is pretty funny.

It's still weird to me sometimes that I've got not one but two babies in my house.

Glad you're here, little snugglebuns.

  

Parks and Recreationommendations

Growing a new baby and the subsequent arrival of said new baby has translated to me watching a lot of shows at night.  It just happens.  So here are a couple of recommendations from me to you, a person who may or may not be looking for recommendations.  Not all of them are TV shows, just to illustrate that I do other things...(...but most of them are TV shows.)

LUTHER: This has been on my to-watch list for a couple years and I finally put it on one day.  I'm so glad I did!  I'm also glad that after the first episode I convinced Drew to watch it with me because not only is it good, it also freaked me right out.  If you are in the mood for a dark and dreary London cop drama, with lots of murder and suspense (as well as Idris Elba AKA Cancellor of the Apocalypse), this is for you.  

DAREDEVIL: More dark and dreary murder and mayhem (the fact that I enjoy dark things with murder and mayhem so much will come as no surprise to some people).  In news that will surprise no one, this is WAY better than the movie from some years ago.  This wasn't perfect, but since I prefer my superheroes darker, this appealed to me.  Charlie Cox as the lead was the best part (and his hair is so much better than in Stardust).  

PARKS AND RECREATION: Have I watched this entire series twice since baby was born?  MAYBE.  I love it, I just love it.  I love this show like Leslie loves waffles.  I feel like it changed my life, which is rather hyperbolic of me to say and really, I'm not even sure what I mean by that, but that's the sentiment that keeps coming to mind.  I wish Amy Poehler were actually Leslie Knope and I wish she were my friend.

THE BIG YEAR: I caught the last half hour of this movie on TV a while ago, and it intrigued me so I watched the whole thing.  It was so delightful!  I didn't expect much based on the cast, to be honest, but I enjoyed it start to finish.  On a related note, I just finished the book it's based on (it's a true story) and recommend that as well.

SONG OF THE SEA: Beautiful little movie.  It reminded me of The Scorpio Races--not because of the story or characters (AT ALL), but because of the atmosphere, which was my favorite part of that book anyway.  Anyway, beautiful charming movie.

JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL: I love this book so much.  I'm reading it for the fourth time and I am loving every single page.  At nearly 800 pages it is certainly a time investment, but it is worth it.  And why am I rereading it?  Welllllll.....

JONATHAN STRANGE & MR. NORRELL: ...it's a miniseries on BBC America!  There are a few episodes left, and while I question some of the makers' decisions, overall I am loving it.  I've been wanting to reread the book and after the first episode I couldn't help myself any longer.

And there you have it, lots of things to watch and to read and to love.  

(But seriously, don't watch Luther alone at night.)

(But it's good!)

Three

The day has come!  With the advent of the Poppy's third month I can no longer call her a newborn.  Sigh.  It is fun because she gets more fun the older she gets, but she'll never be that squishy little eight pound bundle again.  

She loves this blanket, she loves eating her hands and she loves wrapping her hand in the blanket and eating it.

This past month I gradually moved her from the bassinet to her crib.  I think she likes her bed so it's good for her, but it was sad to move her on.  I may still have the bassinet set up just because.  She keeps getting bigger!  But more fun and cute so I can't really complain.

Sleeping is a work in progress of course, but she's getting closer to sleeping through the night (and did a couple times!).  She goes to bed between 7-8 and gets up for the day around 7 AM.  Naps are getting longer and more regular.  She makes all kinds of sounds, likes bathtime, tolerates tummy time and kicks whenever she can.  She smiles easily, but it's hard to catch in a pictures!  Cameras/phones are instantly distracting.

We've gotten a number of little giggles out of her and of course the smiles are abundant as always.  She also started rolling from back to front, which seems earlier than with Mr. C.  But then again, everything seems faster this time.  

Speaking of Mr. C., he just loves her and she returns his--ahem--enthusiasm with smiles and contented resilience.  He is always asking to "take it?", which means he wants to hold her, or he'll say "sit...wi'you?" which means he wants to sit in the chair with her.  It's so cute I usually oblige.  

It is so fun having this baby girl around the house.  She has her moments--moments that sometimes coincide with toddler moments--but overall we all hum along and have a good time together.

See?  Here's to you, baby girl!