6 Months Old!

Dear Scarlett,

You are 6 months old today!  Happy half birthday, baby girl!

I think you've changed more in this month than in any month before!  You weigh about 12 lbs, 3 oz. And can wear three different sizes of clothes right now: 3 months, 3-6 months, and 6 months, depending on the brand.  You are still in size 1 diapers.

Let's talk about a few of the ways you've changed.  First of all, you are "talking" so much more now!  You have currently mastered your "m" sound, and just jabber away all day saying "mamama mamama."  As your "mama,"  I obviously love it!  You are also still very into blowing raspberries, and seem to think the raspberry is a phoneme in the English language.  You incorporate it into your "speech" all the time.  You also like to communicate a lot through gasps and screeches.  As a future speech pathologist, I find all of this completely fascinating!

You are also sitting on your own for a few seconds at a time.  One of us always sits behind you to catch you once you start to topple over, but I think you are very happy that you have found a little more independence by sitting on your own.

You can also grab toys now and swing them around, play with them, and put them right in your mouth.  You can push buttons on certain toys.  It sounds so simple, but we are amazed by each new thing you do!

When we lay you on the floor, you love to kick your feet as hard as you can!  Everyone tells us that means you are going to be seriously on-the-go when you can walk in a few months!  To be honest, I am kind of enjoying the time now when you can't walk yet, and I can keep you with me and cuddle you as much as I want!

Just a few days ago we finally felt two little teeth poking through in the bottom of your mouth.  You have been a trooper, because I know they are really bothering you!  You've been a little more fussy than usual, and have definitely not been sleeping or eating as well, but that's about the only difference we've noticed in you.

You love to laugh! Sometimes you will get in silly moods, and just about everything we do will have you cracking up!  Surefire ways to make you laugh every time include: tickling your feet, playing peek-a-boo, and tickling your belly with our noses.

You have started to play with toys a lot more now.  And you sure got a lot from us, your grandparents, great grandparents, and aunts and uncles for Christmas!  Your favorite toys right now are your Sophie Giraffe, stuffed animals, and still anything that lights up, plays music, or rattles (okay, I guess that covers just about every toy you have!)  You have lost interest in your activity mat, but have rediscovered your love for your swing!  But now swinging is just a fun activity, whereas a few months ago it was a way to calm you down and rock you to sleep.  Your cousin Hadley recently lent you her exercauser, and you love it!  You also would probably consider Ellie (the cat) one of your favorite toys.  Luckily, she is the sweetest cat, and purrs and purrs while you pet her (with mommy's help, of course!)  You just crack up as mommy helps you run your hand down her fluffy back, all the way to her tail.  Also on your list of favorite toys: mommy's hair, jewelry, watches, scarves, and empty water bottles.

You have begun to love books as well!  I probably read at least 6 to you each day, because it is one thing that really entertains you if you start to get fussy from boredom.  Your favorites seem to be all Dr. Seuss books, lift-a-flap books, 10 Little Ladybugs, the farm book from Grandma with the pop-out animals, and the book from Great Aunt Viv that has your name on every page (that book has a picture of a baby and mommy on every page, and you love to try to grab their faces!)  I try to limit all your time on digital devices like the iPad, phone, or TV, but when you are really restless I make an exception for the Peek-a-Boo Barn iPad app.  You love it!  You get to open the barn door and see which animal is inside.  You have kind of figured out how to open the barn door yourself! (Okay, it's probably a coincidence, and just you grabbing at things, but I like to think you're doing it on purpose!)

You did so many fun things in the past month!  You went to Columbus for the weekend to visit Aunt Julie and Uncle Andy, you sat with Mommy during the Christmas Eve service, you went to church and started going to the nursery for the first time, you celebrated your first Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with friends and family (and more presents than you know what to do with!), you celebrated your first New Years Eve (you made it until 10:00 PM) and New Years Day with a new friend (Kest), and you've spent lots of cuddle time with Mommy and Daddy while we've been off work/school for the holidays.  It has been a pretty excellent month if we say so!

Here's what you looked like this month:

We love you so much! It is already hard to remember what life was like before you were here.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy