Well, let’s see… So many things to tell and no memory of what they are.
She is so close to sitting up by herself. I remind her every day that she’s just a baby and she can stay that way for a while, she doesn’t have to be in such a hurry. But she really does try so hard. ..And then she finds her feet and couldn’t care less because apparently they are the tastiest treats around and she face plants onto them.
She is gradually becoming more independent. Meaning I can put her down and walk away for a few minutes before she goes into meltdown mode. She can actually entertain herself for quite some time in her exersaucer (I’m telling yah, BEST decision ever). I can even put her on the floor or the bed and not have to sit next to her the entire time. She’ll find her feet and jabber up a storm.
The jabbering… Oh lord, the jabbering. She will go on and on and on and… Every few days she’ll pick up a new sound and she does it over and over again. It’s very cute. She will occasionally wake us up with her jabbering (certainly prefer it over screams). It’s so funny. And some mornings, if we sleep longer than she wants us to, she will scoot her way over close enough to start petting and patting us until we wake up. So, yeah, smacks in the eye are pretty common during our mornings. She still has her screech. She will get going with those anytime, anywhere. Especially if your ear happens to be anywhere near her mouth. She thinks it’s hilarious.
She is starting to catch on that she’s funny. And boy, does she think she’s funny. (She’s not wrong.) She will do something, grin maniacally and do it again and again. She doesn’t laugh a whole lot, that’s what her high-pitched screech is for. But now and again she will giggle and it’s the cutest thing ever. She has this thing that if I kiss her cheek, she’ll turn her head to mine and umm… try to kiss me back with big open mouth and chomping down of very tough baby gums? Yeah, she bites. So I’ll kiss her, she’ll bite me and then she’ll make an evil little laugh and do it again. The other night she was doing it to my forehead. And she had such a tight grip on so much of my hair, I wasn’t going anywhere.
She has started actually playing with toys. She can reach for them, hold on to them, move them around, stick them in her mouth, throw them on the floor and then freak out when she can’t get them anymore. She has a few favorites, but I think she likes most to play with the dogs. While she can’t stick them in her mouth (she sure does try though), she loves to sit and watch them, reach for them and make sounds at them. We can actually take toys out with us and use them as distractions now. It’s been very helpful.
She loves to go outside - even with as cold as it’s been lately. She’s always liked going out for a few minutes and just being outside. It’s often been a method of calming her down during a massive fit. I’m a bit more reluctant to take her out now that it’s so cold but she’s still happy as can be getting bundled up and taken out for a few minutes.
She had her first Thanksgiving which was completely uneventful for her since it was just another day of the same old food she has every other day of her life. But she did get to spend it making a little friend. The friends we spent the day with have a five-year old who was very helpful with her and played with her, read her stories and heaped on the attention.
I had my first traumatic experience with dropping her off at day care this month, too. I know it was all just coincidence, she was tired, she was grouchy and I just happened to be leaving at the same time she realized it. But seeing the huge tears in her eyes and hearing the little whimpering cry come out as I start to walk away is devastating. I don’t know what I’ll do when she really does cry because I’m leaving.
We finally started the process of solid foods. She started out so well with eating the cereal. And then, after a couple of times, she lost complete interest in eating off a spoon for me. Although, she eats it just fine at day care. Imagine that. She sleeps for them, she eats for them, she rarely cries for them. Ga! That could give a mother a complex! It will be a process, I know that. A messy one. But it’s been fun. She likes getting strapped in to her high chair and if you can get her to eat, she does like it. We look forward to all the foods we’ll get to feed her and the faces she’ll make. We’re going to attempt making our own baby food for her so we’ll see how that goes.
Random things I have learned during the sixth month:
-This mother stuff does get slightly more comfortable over time. (Woah! Don’t get all excited, I never said I was comfortable, I just said it’s getting a little better.)
-When day care tells you your baby steals the other babies’ toys, you wonder what in the world you did to make your 5-month old such a bully already.
-Babies reaching for food and drinks when they don’t have the slightest clue what it is is really kinda cute. (‘Til they actually grab it and fling it all over you.)
-There is no chance in hell you can resist a grinning baby with her arms raised to you.
-Watching the excitement in her eyes and the gigantic grin on her face when she sees her daddy is so moving Every. Single. Time.
-No matter how often you see your baby, there are still some pictures that will move you to tears.
