6 months!

HALF A YEAR?! Are you kidding me? It makes my eyes go misty to even think that this much time has passed so quickly. Yep, I'm just another mom astonished by the weeks passing us by just like that. My girl, you have brought unending joy and happiness to our lives...I can't even imagine living a minute without you. I'm always amazed at how much you've grown and learned each month, and this one is no different!

At SIX months old:

• You are a great little sleeper! You go to bed around 8 and sleep for 11-13 hours. Sometimes you'll still get up around hour 10, but if that's the case, then I just put you back to bed for another hour or two after you eat. It works best for you!
• You're napping 3 times a day most of the time, but that 3rd nap is down to about 30-45 minutes. You're not quite ready to give it up completely though...it allows you to hang on until 7:30 ;) You normally take one long nap and two shorter ones. Of course, we still have bad nap days here and there, but this has definitely been the best improvement in the last month!
• We've moved you to a sleep sack now, and the transition didn't phase you a bit. You love to play and chew on the fabric until you fall asleep.
• You take 5 bottles a day. The first 4 are usually 5(ish)ounces, but your bedtime bottle is a whopping 8 ounces. You like to tank up for the night!
• You eat solids once a day, and I give those to you with your late afternoon/early evening bottle. You do best with them after that 3rd cat-nap rather than waiting until our dinner time.

• So far you've had: oatmeal, peas, zucchini, green beans, avocados, and carrots. With the exception of the green beans, you've eaten all these with GREAT enthusiasm! You will still choke down the green beans, but they aren't your favorite. You crack us up when you're eating because you pant in between bites and go after it like a little puppy dog. So cute!
• You take your baths in the tub now, and you LOVE it! You just stretch out and splash like crazy. We have the cleanest bathroom floor in town thanks to you ;)
• You have lots of nicknames: Jaqsy girl, Jaqsy baby, Jaqsy Pea, The Pea, Angel girl, Honey bunches, Sweet cheeks, Baby cakes, Sugar baby, J-girl...I'm sure there are more!
• You can roll BOTH ways now! You roll tummy to back a lot, but you've only rolled back to tummy a couple times. You get up on your side pretty often though. You still don't move a muscle when you sleep. You literally stay in the EXACT same position ALL night long. Maybe you'll always be a back sleeper?

• You are working on sitting up unassisted, but you're not quite there just yet. The Bumbo doesn't seem all that comfy to you, so we practice in the Boppy, on the couch, or in our laps. You're getting close, baby girl!
• You are also trying to pull up from your back to sitting. When I'm feeding you, you're always lifting up from laying. You do this on the floor and in bed, too. That takes a lot of strength! You must have rock hard abs under your cute, chubby tummy.
• You can pull up from sitting to standing with some help from us. You LOVE to stand and still do it all the time.
• Your favorite thing has to be the jumperoo...you would jump all day long if I let you! Sometimes I feel bad because you stay in there so long, but you have so much fun! G-Pop says it sounds like you're running through Africa because you keep the elephant and monkey sounds going NON-STOP with all your jumping. Ha!

• Your eyes are still the most gorgeous blue! They haven't really changed at all, so you may stay our blue-eyed girl :) Time will tell.
• Your hair has lightened up significantly since birth; it even has a tinge of red like mommy's did as a baby.
• You don't have any teeth popping up yet, but you still gnaw on anything and everything that you can get in your mouth. Your favorites include: pacis, the raspberry teether, wash cloths, Sophie, and your football man.

• Speaking of football man, you threw him out of the stroller at the mall one day, and we couldn't find him anywhere. I searched and retraced every store. Well, 2 days later a friend was at the mall, and she found him! It was almost a tragedy, but fate stepped in! ;) Grammie also got you "cheer girl"! You love her hair and pom-poms.

• You had your first 'non-family' babysitters this month. Melissa came over and hung out while you slept one night so I could go to daddy's game, and Cassi kept you one afternoon for a couple hours while I had somewhere to be. You were in good hands!

• You do just fine in your car-seat now. You love to go shopping or anywhere that you can look at new stuff. You chill out in your stroller and take it all in.
• You love to chew on your toes! Your feet stay up if you're laying down!

• You talk, squeal, blow bubbles, giggle, and smile ALL the time! I love your personality and sweet disposition. You are getting sillier by the day, too! You keep me laughing.
• You still love to stare at your hands and watch them move. You also discovered your hair, and you pull on it a lot, so naturally you tug on your bows, too!
• You know what you want and aren't afraid to let us know if you're not getting it! My determined little go-getter ;) I hope you'll never settle for less!
• You LOVE to play peek-a-boo! You or I will put the burp rag over your face and say, "Where's Jaqsy?!" and you'll kick those legs and pull it off your face to reveal the biggest, cheesiest smile! We love it!

• You are also amused by videos of yourself...especially the ones of you laughing :)
• Your next doctor's appointment isn't for another couple weeks, but according to our scale, you're right at 16 pounds. I think you're close to 27 inches long. 
• You wear a size 3 diaper.
• You are in 6-9 month clothing and 12 month sleepers.

The last 6 months with you have been pretty blissful! Of course, we have hard days and times when I can't wait for bedtime, but I'm just so thankful for you...I can't say it enough. God is so good for giving you to us. You are heaven sent, that's for sure!
We love you!!