Half a year

It's official... we have a half-year-old! Unbelievable. We're having such a blast with Marla. She's such a happy, easy going baby. Jeff and I marvel every day about how much of a real little person she's becoming. (I realize all babies ARE real little people, but you know what I mean.)

The doctor says she's "developing beautifully," which of course we already knew, but is nice to hear nonetheless. Her stats:

Weight - 16 lbs (49%)
Length - 26.5 in (74%)
Head - 43.2 cm (69%)

Here are some updates and pictures of six-month-old Marla Rae.

She can sit up on her own well, but still tumbles now and then. Every once in a while I leave the room and come back to find her sprawled face first over a pile of toys, happily slurping away on whatever object she landed on.

She continues to refuse to roll from her tummy to her back, even though she does the opposite so well. I'm ready to accept that it may never happen.

For her, no number of fancy, colorful, noisy, educational toys can live up to a set of real keys and an expensive cell phone. If you come up with a suitable replacement, let me know.

She’s eating solids and loves it! So far we’ve had rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and green beans. I’m going to start making some baby food so her palette can be expanded beyond the choices offered by Gerber. Here she is sporting a rice cereal goatee.

Gnawing on some frozen watermelon in a mesh feeder. Yum!

She tried a sippy cup for the first time. Since I never feed her bottles, I had no idea she’d be capable of holding it on her own, but she was a total star. What else is she doing without me knowing it?? Probably composing music or advising the president on foreign policy or something like that.

Still no teeth, but a lot of gumming up everything in sight. The remote control. Her shirt. The dog. My knee. You name it, this kid has chewed on it. Case in point: sucking on her newborn cousin's head.

She discovered consonants! All of her loud, screechy aaaaahhhhhhs, eeeeeeeees, and oooooohhhhhs have been replaced with a constant stream of “babababa,” “papapapa,” and my personal favorite, “mamamamama.”

She hates napping and avoids it whenever possible. However, she consistently falls asleep in the car, most often with a toy stuffed in her mouth. Seriously, check out those cheeks! I swear she's storing acorns in there.

She got more shots at her six month appointment. She only cried for two of the three pokes, and was smiling at the nurse within seconds afterwards. Must be all the extra padding on the thighs. :)

Happy half birthday, Marla! I can't wait for the next six months!