Half A Year

Miss Adrienne Elizabeth is now 6 months old! Time does fly when you are having fun, and we really are enjoying her. How is it possible to not enjoy this face and radiant smile??

 Adrienne's development is exploding as she acquires new skills almost daily. She is so close to crawling. She scoots easily (and quickly) on her belly, and is beginning to get up on her hands and knees. As soon as she figures out how to get her left hand flat on the floor (instead of tucked under her arm), she will take off. Her determination and excitement about moving towards a desired object reminds me so much of Jillian. She is an absolute squirmy worm when sitting on my lap these days, and tries to dive toward whatever object catches her eye. We certainly seem to make active, persistent girls in this family! Adrienne is starting to sit alone briefly, but she usually topples over quickly in an attempt to reach an object, or get on her belly to scoot across the room. She loves to be upright, and if you leave her lying on her back, she does her best to sit straight up and assumes a boat pose in her attempt to do so. I've yet to capture that famous Adrienne posture in a picture yet, but I can assure you she does it so often that she has rock hard abs. She'd be great at Pilates!
Adrienne is a master at blowing raspberries, and she is making several new sounds. I hear lots of "goo", "oooh", and tons of high-pitched squealing. She thinks Jillian is hilarious, and instantly bursts into a fit of laughter when she spots her in the room.
Adrienne loves to eat rice cereal, and to date we've also tried oat cereal (which she loves just as much as rice), and carrots, which were met with uncertainty when she tried them on Christmas day.

Adrienne has two teeth (bottom front), and is working on more. At least I hope she is working on more, as that is what I continue to blame her inability to sleep through the night on (what happened to the 6-8 hrs she was giving me at 8 weeks old?!?). It is common for her to get up 2-4 times between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. She has many of the classic teething symptoms, just as she did when the first two came in, only now that she actually has teeth, she likes to use them. On me. While she is nursing. She is quite the little vampire, and I am doing my best to stop that behavior as soon as possible! I am happy to report, however, that we finally seem to be establishing a consistent two-nap-per-day routine, and those naps usually occur around 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Adrienne celebrated her big half-birthday with a trip to the pediatrician that included 4 shots (repeated doses of the 2-month vaccines, plus a flu shot). She weighed in at 16 lbs even (53%), and was 27" whopping inches long (88%). Her head circumference is in the 73rd percentile. Dr. V. was quite impressed with her motor abilities, and deemed her to be a very healthy 6 month old.
Though I never want the girls to think we are constantly comparing them, it is very interesting to me to look at pictures of them at the same ages, reflect on when Jillian met the milestones that Adrienne is meeting, etc. I am truly fascinated by both their similarities and differences, and the unique individuals that they are. So, in keeping with tradition, I plopped an adorable headband on the sweet little head of my youngest babe and snapped this photo this morning

Afterwards, I couldn't help but think that I was definitely staring at a beautiful little baby who looks as though she is definitely related to another beautiful 6 month old baby I once knew....

Adrienne, you are so full of sunshine that you can light up our whole family. You are so snuggly, so sweet, so responsive and engaging, and definitely one smart cookie. You are busy, curious, and persistent, yet somehow patient and willing to go with the flow. You are definitely a momma's girl, and I love that about you (ok, except maybe at 2 a.m.....). It is so fun to watch you change every single day. What a gift you are!