Violet at 6 Months

 
Growth & Appearance: Your face is perfectly round. Your cheeks are so soft and squisy, I want to bite them. Your hair is a little longer. It's dark brown and soft. Your eyes seem bluer than ever. The pediatrician drew a punnet square at your 6 month checkup to show that both your Daddy and I must both carry a recessive gene for blue eyes for you have them. It still seems impossible, but it must be true because it's pretty obvious you're not the milkman's child.

You weigh 18.5 lbs (90th percentile) and are 29 inches long (92nd percentile). You're still wearing size 3 diapers, size 9 month onesies/shirts, 9 month pants/bloomers, and 9-12 month sleepers. You got some news shoes recently and you wear size 2 - for a second, before they're kicked/ripped off.
 
Teeth: Two teeth still. I've been waiting for a top one to show up any day because you've been pa-retty grumpy in the evenings and you're drooling a lot again. Alas, still only two.

Development: You're less of a stodgy little baby. You've become an even-keeled little gal. You have lots of curiosity and are constantly distracted by your surroundings.

You are really into putting things in your mouth. Just yesterday I was doing something outside, so I set you on a quilt with some toys in the backyard. I kept looking to check on you and you were fine, from that angle. When I came around where I could fully see your face, my eyeballs fell out of my face. You had scooted to the edge of the quilt, where you were shredding the ground. There was dirt, grass, and pine needles all over you. You looked at me like, "What, Mama?" with a ring of mud around your mouth where you had been eating dirt. For a minute I felt like a bad mother, but then I decided that it's just dirt. After all, I'm trying to not be a germaphobe mom.

You often reach for people now. It's one of my favorite things.

You have a case of the crazy arm. You'll get your right arm going and you just can't stop it. It's like you're chronically fist pumping.

You've taken quite the liking to the dogs. Drake likes you back. Dirby acts like you're a bomb and doesn't like coming too close. You grab Drake when he walks by, which he views as petting. So he will turn it around and walk by over and over, with you laughing hysterically all the while.

You started sitting up right at 5 months and you were really good by 5.5 months. Now I can sit you on the carpet with toys and trust you to play while I get things done. You recently started scooting on your butt. You move a miniscule distance at a time, so it's really hard to see you doing it. I'll just notice after a few minutes that you're three feet from where I left you.

You're working on pulling up already. All it takes is grasping my hands and you can do it all by yourself, but I don't think anyone believed me until I videoed you using Dirby to pull up. I don't think she appreciated the hair pulling, but she laid there anyway. You've also pulled up using Drake's floppy ears. You always topple over as soon as you're standing. Falling over from sitting or standing has never scared you. If only your little body could keep up with your brain. You have so many plans, so many things to touch, so many places to go. Soon enough, little one. Soon enough.

We've been stuck on the sound "ba-ba-ba-ba" lately. You squeal a lot. It's almost constant. You just finished lunch and you're sitting in your high chair playing and letting out a symphony of high-pitched squeals as we speak.

You are terrified of the vacuum and the bullet blender. You were hanging out in the kitchen when I was blending up some food for you and as soon as I hit the button your face turned to a sight of true horror, you clutched your little chest, and let out the craziest sound. I felt really bad, but it was also kind of cute in a pitiful way. You're okay with being held while someone is vacuuming, but you were playing in the floor while the vacuum came on and we were in round 2 of the horror.

 
Eating: You love food. You've had several fruits and vegetable. Bananas are your favorite. You retch at green beans. I can't blame you, green beans are disgusting.

Things you've tried and like: banana, carrots, squash, sweet potato, apples, pears, dirt.

Things you've tried and don't like: green beans, sweet peas.

You still love nursing, but you're in the distracted nursing phase bad. I know it's a developmental things, but at times it's nothing short of annoying. Everything to the right and left and north and south is more fascinating than the nipple your mom keeps trying to shove in your mouth. The slightest sound and you fling off the boob to investigate. Television, music, phone - everything goes off when it's time to nurse.

You've really got the hang of your straw cup. You drink from it pretty much daily. You now think that any straw is rightfully yours. If I'm drinking something with a straw you will frantically grab at it with your mouth hanging open.

Sleeping: You're sleeping without the swaddle sack again. It all started because you were really just too big for it. But after a few nights without it, you really do just fine. Most nights I have to bounce you around to get you to sleep. I wish my joints enjoyed the bouncing as much as you do.

I always follow your lead on sleeping. You're pretty consistent. Bed around 8:30 and up for the day around 7:30. You're taking three naps a day. Around 10, 2, and a small one at 5 or 6. I'm kind of hoping we can ditch the miniature one late in the evening and move toward two longer naps a day. You still only nap for 45 minutes to an hour at a time. I wish I could get one good two hour nap out of you.

When you were about 3 months old you would sleep for five hours straight at night, but lately the most I can get out of you is three. You wake up about every three hours wanting to nurse. The pediatrician thinks you're doing it more out of habit than hunger. I'm going to start trying to get you back to sleep without feeding you soon. Cross your chubby fingers...

Favorites: Your favorite thing to play with is a big rubber straw Boppa gave you out of a cup he bought. Hands down, your absolute favorite toy. It goes just about everywhere with us. Sometimes we turn the television to the baby channel for you (I know, I know - bad parent.) There's a 5 minute show that comes on of claymation cats. When you hear the music of the opening you will break your neck to see it. It is just about the only thing that is guaranteed to make you stop crying if you're having a fit.