Happy Half-Birthday to MIA!

Amelia loves the outdoors

BFF!

She's so sweet. I spent a lot of time stopping my "busyness" to stare at her today (and this week). It's cliche to say, but it's hard to believe she's already six months old (you probably feel like I've been blogging about her for an eternity). She is a very easy-going baby with such an engaging smile. She looks at me with her sweet eyes and the cares of this world disappear. Unfortunately, Nate dropped the camera on the floor last week. We haven't replaced it yet, so I can't even capture the 6-month milestone in a photo journal. These photos are from the month of September. I'm going to warn you, today's blog is even more baby-centric than usual. Unless you're a empathetic friend, a grandparent or other close relative; there will be few pearls to gleam from today's ramblings (unlike my usual fountain of prose!) ;)

Apparently I like this dress (and this backdrop)

Exercise!

Amelia Grace had her 6-month well-baby with Dr. Grant today. She's doing great! "Keep doing what you're doing" was his tongue-in-cheek advice! ;) He said we could start her on a sippy cup and even went so far as to recommend we forgo the bottle altogether at this stage. Good news! She doesn't take the bottle very well anyway. Now if I need to leave her with Jason (or grandmas & grandpas), I'll just put the breastmilk in a cup! She'll probably gulp it down that way. She is very interested in eating & drinking. She has a particular fascination with my insulated, pink Starbucks cup. She tracks it like she's hunting then dives at it like she's surprising her prey. She's in the "grab at anything" stage in general. At the table, on the couch, or walking to the car; if it's within an arm's reach of Amelia, it's not safe. A few of poor Nathaniel's paper projects are hanging on the refrigerator missing a corner where Mia gummed it. Milestones of note from the appointment: he was impressed with her strong sitting ability...and her appetite. ;) 6 Month Stats:

• Weight: 19 pounds 4 oz
• Length: 27.5 inches
• Head cir: 17.5 in
• Immunizations today: DTAP #3, HIB #3, PCV7 #3, Rotavirus #3

"Little Gas Passer" romper (Nate's hand-me-down from Okinawa)

We started her on solids about 3 weeks ago (rice cereal on Sept 12). She took right to them! No surprise here; she's been showing all the physical signs of being ready for solids for a few months now--interest in food, sitting, lack of tongue-thrust reflex and doubling of birth weight. If her neck could stretch more, she'd follow our spoons all the way up to our mouths if she could while she watches us eat in from Bumbo. She's built up a solid repertoire already--apples, avocado, sweet potato, peas, bananas, and butternut squash. She really does love 'em all. I'm breaking out the food processor and making [mostly] organic food this time. I never got around to doing that with Nate. I'm also considering taking the plunge to cloth diapers. Especially if she keeps up this poop schedule (once every 3 days or so!) I could handle a dirty diaper or two a week! ;)

I'm waiting for her to try hanging the spoon from her nose like her Grandma Breyen!

Nate is still a great help with Amelia.

A modern perspective shot by Nate ("Mia's morning snack")

Earlier this week she found her toes. She's now captivated! She held on to her big toes with each hand tonight for the duration of her bath. It looked like a yoga pose. (There is actually a pose where you grab the soles of your feet and rock back and forth to massage your spine called Happy Baby.) She's also improving the fine motor control of her fingers. She makes a fist, holds out her pinkie, then stares at said pinkie. She moves it from side to side in front of her and tracks it for minutes at a time.

Play time with Amelia

Which usually ends up as [gentle] wrestle time (and she actually loves it!)

Master of her domain--the exersaucer!

We moved her to her crib for all sleep-time operations on September 20. Prior to that she slept in her crib for naps and in her co-sleeper (and eventually our bed) during the night. Again, it was more of an adjustment for me than for Amelia (just like Nathaniel, who moved at 7 months). She went from waking up for 2-3 feedings to sleeping 12-hours straight the instant we gave her her space. She usually goes down between 6:45 and 7:30 and wakes up at 7:15. About 2-3 nights a week, she'll wake up as we're going to bed (9;30-10:30 PM) or at 4:00 AM for a 5-10 minute feeding but goes right back down. "Why didn't we do this sooner?" I asked myself. I truly don't think it would have been as successful early on. She seemed to have no ability to sooth herself upon waking up. She'd drift off to sleep fine if we put her down after a soothing routine, but she couldn't drift back to sleep if she woke up early. In three weeks she has turned from Miss Unpredictable-Sleeper (who stressed me out) to Super-Sleeper with a great schedule: 7:15 wake-up, 9:00 nap (this one is flexible, it depends on if we're leaving the house for one of Nate's activities), 1:00 nap (2-3 hours), 3rd nap at about 5:00 (30-40 minutes) and in bed by 7:30. Two good sleepers (they must get my sleep genetics).

Last night in the co-sleeper

For posterity's sake: Her nighttime routine is: evening meal in the high chair (solids), a little floor time to stretch while we clean up, bathtime (with Burt's Bees milk bath & duckie that sings "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"), lotion & massage, jammies, 2 or 3 books (usually the duck crinkle book and "Goodnight Moon" are included), a soothing session of breastfeeding, and a chorus or two of "Rock-a-Bye Baby" with her musical duckie before placing her in her crib with her bla-bla "kitty."

Her chubby, kissable cheeks!

Since granting her freedom in the wide-open crib; she's rolling over, spinning around and turning every which way but loose with much more confidence! I still put her to sleep on her back, but I certainly don't worry if she wakes up on her stomach with her head at the other end of the crib. During floor time (I guess there's no point calling it "tummy time" anymore), if she falls from her sitting position, she'll flip over and roll--either front to back or back to front. She does most of her quiet (and sometimes not-so-quiet--"aaa-gaa-baa-aaaaa") observing from the sitting position these days.

The thumb has been sneaking its way into her mouth lately.

Another early morning snuggle (and still with the hair!)

We started our fall schedule in September: MOPS on T, BSF on W, preschool on Th; leaving M&F for the gym, doctor's appts, playdates, and other errands. Like I said earlier, this schedule affects her morning nap. On days we need to get out of the house, she gets a 30-45 minute nap or I wait until she gets to the nursery program to let her sleep (where she takes a short 20-40 minute morning nap and then a 3-hour afternoon nap). It works for us so far.

Top things people say about Amelia:

1. "She's a big baby."
2. "She's so tiny."
3. "She has a strong grip."
4. "Look at that hair!" (By the way, it's been lying flat for about a week now, but still looks like a bad toupe at times!)
5. "Who does she looks like? I don't think she looks like either one of you." (I think she looks like Nate--except with hair and a smirky twinkle in her eye. She does have Jason's eyelashes that go on for weeks.)
6. "She looks just like her Daddy."
7. "She loves to stand with weight on her legs, doesn't she?" (yes)
8. "She has such a big smile."
9. "She has big feet." (Great. Both Nate & Mia got Jason's feet.)
10. "She has long fingers."
11. "She is such a sweet baby."
12. "She had another blow-out." (from the nursery workers at church!)

A shot of those eyelashes that go on for weeks

Fun things Amelia's been up to this past month (since cousin Sydney & Sarah's visit in September): first day of MOPS & BSF (great reports), trip to Granna & Papa's in New Braunfels, cousin Dana's beautiful wedding in Austin, walks outside in the stroller (while Big Brother rides his bike on the park trails), her first McDonald's playland playdate (with six 3-year-old boys...and the Happy Meal toy was Batman! Talk about your natural lessons in testosterone!), and her first apple juice popsicle (a science project with Nate). Oh, and she gobbled up the homemade applesauce Nate and I made for her with just a dash of cinnamon (I'm trying to buy organic with the Big 8 fruits & veggies and milk this go around...baby steps.) We also pureed carrots and an apple-pear-plumcot blend for future meals.

She reminds me a lot of Nate as a baby in this shot.

I am without a camera and it's driving me CRAZY! It's almost as if the events of the past two weekd didn't happen! ;) I'm picking one out this weekend. No excuses. Until then, this blog is through!