I was reading a survey that claimed moms of six-month-olds are very happy, and I can understand why. Addy seems to be learning new things every day, and playtime is much more interactive now. Her smiles light up her entire face. In the words of Sara from Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper, “we never have children, we receive them.” It brings tears to my eyes when I stop to consider how blessed we are with a healthy, active, and curious gift from God who is already starting to develop her own spunky personality. I can also relate to Brian from Picoult’s book who notes, “I would have given anything to keep her little. They outgrow us so much faster than we outgrow them.”
Being a daycare provider for another little boy almost the same age as Addy has felt like going from one baby to twins! It certainly was an adjustment for everyone the first week, but now we’re rolling with it. I am excited to see Addy and Eli move from parallel to cooperative play. They definitely wear me out some days. When Mike walks in the door, I am tempted to say, “They’re all yours. See you later!”
Addy went from sitting for several seconds with support close by to sitting up all by herself. It seemed to happen overnight. She is even able to correct her positioning if she starts leaning one way or the other.
Addy is really “talking” now. She has discovered how to jabber and loves making lots of noise.
Let the naptime games begin. When we go in to check on Addy and say, “It’s napime, not laughing time,” she just giggles and kicks her legs, thinking we are playing peek-a-boo with the blanket that’s over her face. Then she squirms around in her crib trying to pull the books out of the sides and read them. After about 20 minutes, she’s usually had enough monkeying around and finally falls asleep.
Addy is very curious, especially when she’s supposed to be eating. Any kind of music, sound, or talking will result in a “head crank” to see what she’s missing. Daddy can’t even be in the same room anymore because he is way too distracting!
Several people have commented that Addy has a “good base” for sitting. Others have asked, “Oh, is she about eight months old?” No, she’s just a healthy, growing girl!
Addy has figured out how to “blow raspberries” and enjoys showing off her new skill.
When Mommy held up the phone to Addy’s ear, she heard Daddy’s voice and immediately looked at the front door. Smart girl!
Addy pretends to drink noisily from her cups.
After several instances of reverting to two middle-of-the-night feedings, Mommy decided it was time for rice cereal at supper. Addy was absolutely ecstatic about real food! She is a great “helper” with the spoon as well. Mommy keeps the whole process relatively tidy, but Daddy is only allowed to feed Addy on bath nights.
Mommy has started providing daycare for Eli Long. On Eli’s first day, Addy looked at him and started laughing. This was at 3 in the afternoon. Eli had arrived at 6:30 a.m. that morning. They are slowly starting to interact with each other!
Addy has started to scoot backwards when she’s on her tummy. She is a rolling machine on the floor during playtime.
Addy continues to be a squirmy worm on the changing table. We’ve tried offering a toy to distract her, singing, playing tummy games, telling her “no,” and repositioning her immediately. Of course, nothing has worked as her main goal is to arch her back, roll over, and proceed to knock everything she can reach off the table. It’s a competition to see if Mommy or Daddy can get through a diaper change with fewer items on the floor!
Addy is always very interested in whatever toy Eli is playing with at the moment. We’ve had a lot of talks about sharing.
Addy is really into waving her arms wildly and panting like a puppy.
Addy is a great grocery shopper. She loves riding in the front of the cart, looking around, playing with toys, and helping with (translation: eating) the shopping list.
At her six-month professional photos, Addy was too curious to crack any smiles until the shoot was almost over. We had a lot of proofs with her mouth hanging open staring at the photographers and their antics. We finally figured out that clapping was the secret, and Addy managed several cute smiles at the end.
Addy has started sleeping through the night again after a rough couple weeks. She goes to bed at 7 p.m. and usually wakes up around 4:30 or 5 a.m. to eat. We’ve been putting her back in her crib to sleep for another hour, so we don’t have to be up that early in the morning!
Addy is intrigued by the double mirrors in her bedroom, and she is slowly learning they are sliding doors. She likes to pull them across the tracks. Addy loves waving her arms wildly and hitting the mirror. She will also move her face toward the mirror very slowly until it touches, almost like a kiss!
