Life with Lena: Lena at 6 Months

Lena,
You're half a year old! I can't believe it! The last three months have flown by. I realized when I've gone to write these monthly blog entries the last three months, you have been cranky and I've tried to not harp on the crankiness that's happening at the moment. What do you have against the 16th of the month? ;) You measured 28 inches in length (>99th percentile) and 16 pounds 11 ounces heavy (70th percentile) at your 6 month check-up. You're so tall!

At 6 months, you:

-Are so smart. I know every parent thinks their kid is a genius, but the doctor confirmed it at your 6 month check up when you were doing things that usually don't develop until around 9 months. Examples are: pushing objects away if you don't want them ("ok, I guess you're not hungry!" is a common phrase heard in our house), flirting with yourself in the mirror (you literally push me away to get a better look), and trying to drink from cups.

-You've backed off of eating solids. You like to play with the food and the spoon but don't really eat the food. So we're not pushing it. We retry weekly.

-You mastered sitting up on Sunday, two days shy of your half-birthday. You push up on your side and then up to sitting. Now, you sit up all the time. You're pretty good. (It reminds me of mastering an arm balance in yoga. Often, its a lot easier than it looks, as long as you know how to set it up and where to put your arms and trunk -a little core strength doesn't hurt, either). Occasionally, you fall over and start crying, but you'll get better. With your new found strength, I've excitedly begun putting you in the seat of the cart at the store. I've been REALLY looking forward to this, as your car seat takes up so much room and the carrier is awkward to grocery shop with. Now, I may be putting you back in the carrier. You want to grab everything and put it in your mouth. Yesterday, we played a game where I'd take something off the shelf, you're shove it in your mouth, I'd take it back and put it in the cart, and you'd start screaming. Repeat. So, I carried you and pushed the cart. Sigh.

-Which reminds me, you get so mad when I take things from you. You're very curious now and hear the word "no" so often that you're actually starting to know what it means. Yesterday, you were obsessed with playing with the fireplace screen. Each time you went over there, I'd tell you no and you'd stop and turn around to play with your toys. If course, you tested this a couple times, but you're learning some boundaries

-Give me hugs and kisses (but not on demand). The other morning I was holding you and you were facing out. You spin around, there your arms around my neck, and squeezed. Now you do it often and sometimes add an open mouth kiss. I love it. You also have begun reaching your arms out to me when you want to be held.

-Still haven't had those pesky teeth break through. I think it'll be like the cart - I'll be eager for it to happen and once they're here I'll miss the way it was before.

-Are really grabby and pinchy. When nursing, you love to take your bottom arm, reach around, and pinch my loose arm skin. Repeat. OUCH. Other favorite places to grab is skin on my face and neck. (Despite the picture I'm painting, I don't have loose skin hanging on my face and neck...)