Grace Elizabeth - 6 Months

It's absolutely crazy to think that Grace is already half a year old! It never ceases to amaze me how much babies change during that first year of life....

Grace's 5 1/2 month pictures have been ordered (along with Olivia's 2 year pictures), so I will hopefully be sending those out soon. Grace will have a 6 month appointment sometime soon too, so we'll get to see where she's at in the statistic department.


In the last month it's really hit me that Gracie isn't a bitty baby any more. Lately (actually starting about two weeks ago) she's a rolling machine, using this skill to bring anything and everything to her mouth. During this past month Grace has gotten a little more aggressive with reaching too and sometimes surprises me with the things she manages to get her hands on. Gracie's drooling a whole bunch again, but so far no sign of any more teeth which is okay with me. Hopefully the teeth stay away for a bit because nights have taken a great turn with Gracie only getting up once instead of twice. I'm happy because we didn't have to battle to get this accomplished, Grace just did it on her own. I can handle once a night, but I was concerned with the twice a night deal with school starting just around the corner.

Favorite toys include anything that squeaks, rattles, or lights up. And, of course, Olivia is really Grace's favorite "toy." Gracie has got to be one of the happiest most easy-going babies out there. Her laughter comes easily and she's quick to smile at pretty much anyone who makes any effort towards entertaining her. I seriously appreciate that Gracie entertains herself well and is equally entertained by Olivia. Their sisterly bond is pretty amazing. The only thing Gracie gets a little sassy about is bedtime - but in this sense I don't mind because she wants to go to bed! Bedtime for Grace isn't ever much later than 7:30. Mornings start for us around 6-6:30. I'd love for it to be later, but this wake-up time is actually perfect for when school starts, so I shouldn't complain. Plus, it's hard not to be happy to pick up Grace in the morning with her wide smiles and happy squeals.

Besides the rolling all over the place, other signs of growing up are....

* Starting baby foods: So far we've done (in order) plain cereal, bananas, green beans, applesauce, squash, and peas. Grace has done great with foods and shows major interest in the entire eating process - once again, I attribute this to Olivia. The only downsides are that I don't feel like Grace is nursing as well and that she has dirty diapers non-stop! Right now, in terms of baby food meals, Gracie is having breakfast and dinner. We're still working on adjusting the nursing/eating schedule to accommodate these meals, so I don't think I'll try lunch for a while yet. You'd think I'd know exactly what I'm doing this second time around, but apparently not. I also need to try out the sippy cut soon, but I think I'll wait until I stop nursing (which will be when school starts).

* Beginning sitting: Gacie is getting better at sitting. I'm not going to claim that she can do this yet, but we're getting there. So far the longest sit without assist has maybe been 1 minute.... Like I said, we're working on it. At least Gracie doesn't seem to mind the falling over onto her face thing.


* Growing some hair: If you didn't see it for yourself, Gracie's bald spot was pretty incredible. It started out fairly typical (just the spot from lying on her back), but then it kept growing! However, the baldness literally stopped progressing at her ears making her completely bald in the back with three inch long hair in the front. Rather interesting... Now though, the bald spot is on it's way out. This new hair has some serious catching up to do, but I have faith!

* Making lots of sounds: Many of you know about Gracie's classic squawk. Now, to accompany this we have lots of various chocking/coughing noises, a softer squawk, and bababa/dadada. Of course the dada is my favorite.

* General understanding: Gracie has also developed a bit of a whine that she now uses to indicate displeasure if something is taken away. She's realized that she can get my attention by acting like something's wrong and clearly enjoys seeing these attention-getting sounds work. She also seems to understand that her laughter is contagious.

How lucky we are to have two such happy kids! I can't wait to see what the next six months of Gracie's life brings. My predictions: Crawling - 7 months, Sleeping through the night (am I trying to jinx myself?) - 8 months, Walking - 11 months. We'll see how close I am!