6 Months Old

Dear Lane,

Today you are six months old. What a big milestone: half a year! Wow, I cannot even believe how fast the time has gone and how much you are growing! Your little personality is coming out more every day, and you are learning new things all the time.

This past month you learned how to scoot forward (as opposed to just around in circles), and you are really fast when you want to be! You get a really determined look on your face when you're after something, which is so cute! Plus, you're almost crawling, but you haven't quite figured it out yet. You can move your knees accordingly, but you haven't figured out how to move your hands and arms in rhythm with your knees yet. I bet you'll be crawling really soon though. You are also sitting up on your own consistently. Last month you could do it, but not for very long and you would often topple over. This month you got more stable and can sit for long periods of time, even leaning forward to get something. Sometimes you still fall over, but you can control yourself so you don't hit your head too hard. And of course, you still like to stand up with support!

Your new favorite song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and you smile so big when mom does the hand motions. You still like "Skinnamarink-a-dinky-dink" too, but it is no longer your favorite. You're talking so much, babbling while scooting after a toy, making "yummy noises" when we feed you solids, and just jabbering away at anything! You still like to put everything in your mouth, too, and we're constantly having to keep you away from power cords and plant pieces. Some of your favorite toys are your plastic keys and rings. You also like the teethers that Grandma got you, and you like to feel your stuffed animals with your mouth. You have a fascination with fabric and love to suck on any fabric, but especially on mom's shirt sleeves. But you're also content to suck on pants, blankets, washcloths, tablecloths, and almost anything else! You're so funny!

This month you got your first stamp in your passport! You flew across the ocean to Turkey, and everyone here loves you! You get fussed over all the time. Random people in stores want to hold you and fuss over you. Mom has no idea what they're actually saying, but she thinks it's along the lines of: "Oh, look how cute she is!" because of course, it's true. Jet-lag was a bit of a challenge for you, but you did really well and 2 weeks later you are sleeping well at night. You're still waking up once most nights, but we're hoping to get over that really quickly, because you're definitely big enough to sleep through the night! You also got to see five of your grandparents this month, because they all came to see you before we moved to Turkey. You got spoiled rotten.

We started giving you lots of different foods this month, and boy, do you love them! You've had bananas and peaches, which you love, and you've also recently tried green beans, carrots, and zucchini. You like those too, but the texture is a little strange, and you make really funny faces when you eat those, even though you still swallow them! You are so curious about food and sounds and new toys...you're just a curious girl! You're still so good and happy, unless you're tired or hungry and then you get cranky. You smile so much, especially when we make funny faces at you or play "peek-a-boo" with you, which you really like.

Your eyes are still blue, but they're darkening some, and we'll be surprised if they stay blue for much longer. You still don't have any teeth, so we're curious to see when they show up! Mom weighed you on the scale with herself the other day, and we think you're about 14-15 pounds-right on track! But we'll have to wait until your checkup tomorrow for the official stats (update: 14 lbs, 9 oz, 27 inches long, and 16.25 inches head circumference). What we do know is that we love you so much and are grateful for these last six months...what a wonderful blessing from God you are.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy


Caught in the act!: you're a fabric-sucker!


You're trying to crawl, but not quite there yet.


You like it when we read to you.


You're sitting up so well!


Kitchen toys make lots of fun noises on the floor, and they also feel strange in your mouth.


You make this face a lot when we give you foods that aren't totally smooth.


You still love to be outside and go for the balcony any chance you get!


You sleep in the funniest positions, sometimes with your blanket over your face!