HALFWAY TO A YEAR

Emma turned the big 6 months old on Sunday, February 3.  Time has flown.  I didn't think it had, but when you don't sleep a lot, I guess that it moves a bit faster.  I can't believe she's half a year old.  What happened to my little newborn with her cute little newborn clothes and newborn diapers and little newborn grunts?  In its place are big girl conversations and big girl jeans and big girl dinners and a girl who is busting out of her Size 1 diapers.

I miss my little baby.  I adore my current baby.  Every day, she changes and gets bigger and smarter.   Her Mommy just gets bigger :(

She sat up for 5 seconds this morning at school.  She sits in a boppy and watches me make breakfast.  She eats with a spoon, sometimes she'll take the spoon from you.  This is a dangerous tactic, which could end in disaster for my kitchen table and my shirt.

I certainly didn't give her permission to get big.  Maybe it was implied from my forceful feeding of breast milk.  Not the case Emma, I just want you to stop crying for a bit so I can finish watching Grey's Anatomy.

We had to raise up your bumper jumper in the doorway.  I had to buy you bigger pajamas.  Daddy wonders where all your new clothes came from.  It's because they are bigger.  We are close to retiring the PJs with the giraffe on the butt.

These things make me sad, but I am selfish and remember the good ole days when we would spend the whole day together and watch Toddlers and Tiaras and drink milk.  I learned you on the dangers of being in pageants and let you know we weren't cut out for that kind of life. 

Now, you hang out with me and Daddy and watch The Big Lebowski.  In retrospect, that was probably a bad idea so to compensate, we played the ABC and 123 cd in the car on the way to and from school.  I hope you do not remember The Big Lebowski now, but instead are excited about your letters and numbers.

I had planned a family party with wings and dips and Super Bowl type deliciousness.  But the parents didn't come, we didn't make wings, and of course Emma couldn't eat any of it.  So I think we ate dip for her birthday. 

Happy half Birthday Emma!!  Me and your Daddy and Gracie love you more than words can say and we can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring!

Being born was hard on the both of us.

Baby burrito was one of my earliest nicknames.

Having some cereal like a big kid.

Stretching before the Super Bowl.

OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

The two times each night that I get up (at a minimum) are spent making dairy products and looking at the internet.  I've also been known to have a snack.  But I am alone with my thoughts and most of those thoughts involve the sheer resistance to falling asleep on the kitchen table. 

We gave Emma her first taste of rice cereal on Wednesday, January 30.  She did not like it.  I ended up with rice cereal on my face.

We gave Emma her second taste of rice cereal on Thursday night.  She was already tired and fussy (ok, I was too).  She did not like it.  But, David pretended to eat it and eventually with me continually sticking the spoon in her mouth, she gave lots less tears at the end.  I may have managed to get David to accidentally have a small taste of rice cereal with breast milk.  My greatest accomplishment since Emma!

She is getting too big.  Eating grown up food.  As grown up as rice cereal is.  It looks like snowflakes.  Where did my baby infant daughter go?

When she was little, I wrote down all of the things I loved about her.  At least the ones I could tangibly come up with at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00 and 6:00 in the morning.

- She pretends to drink milk when she's just about dead asleep.  Her lips go back and forth and it's precious.  She then gives a sideways smile.  All while asleep!

- She sometimes snores.  She got that from her Dad.

- She throws her arms up in the air when she's startled, which happens quite easily.

- Not a fan of tummy time.  Will cry and whine from the time she's placed on said tummy and then picked back up.  Like nothing happened.

- Doesn't mind a bath, but hates drying her hair with the towel.  Gracie hates that too, actually.

More things to love about the amazing Emma...
...the face she makes when stretching after waking up or drinking a lot of milk...how she looks like a baby doll when asleep...how she puts her hands next to her mouth when she starts to eat...her little feet...how much she sucks on her fist when she's hungry....her wide-awakeness first thing in the morning...how she sticks her bottom lip out before she starts crying...when she blinks her eyes and looks around when she's eating...her cooing and talking when changing her diaper...how she kicks when she's awake and isn't being held...her eyelashes...her smile when I blow on her belly...

How she lights up our lives in ways I didn't know possible.  You've got big things ahead of you Emma Rose, slow down and enjoy the rice cereal!