6 Month Update

My sweet baby Mallie is 6 months old today.  While her first trip around the sun is only halfway complete, she has completely turned our world around and left us spinning (in a good way!).  

This past moth has been really busy for Mallie.  She has been learning to tricks, trying new things and keeping us laughing (almost) non-stop.  Here's her month in review (this is a long post... so if you have been reminding me to update the blog please only read a section at a time and pretend each new section is a new blog post :).  I am a working mom, I am doing the very best I can!!!)

Half Roll - (December 31) Rolling over has been a bit problematic for Mallie.  She did her first half roll from her back to her side but never made the full roll over.  I think she was reaching for the dog.  We have to keep working on this skill.

Cry It Out and Moving to the Crib - On January 1 we decided that as much as I love to cuddle with Mallie and help her go to sleep, it was time for her to learn to self soothe and be able to fall asleep on her own.  We moved her to her own room, her big crib and settled in for a bit of crying.  We implemented the "Cry It Out" method for bedtime.  She cried for about 30 minutes then fell fast asleep.  Mr. Whimsy and I were pretty glued to the video monitor watching her.  As much as it pained me to see her cry and so unhappy, we knew absolutely nothing was wrong with her... she was just showing the early signs of being a strong willed child wanting to get her way (with me and Mr. WHimsy as her parents, is anyone truly surprised that our child is strong willed???).  I'll do a more detailed post (fingers crossed) on our experience with Cry It Out soon.  Now she falls right asleep once I lay her down for bed and night time is much more peaceful for everyone.

Sitting up (January 14)- Mallie had been trying to sit up for a while but would usually wobble and fall over about a second or two of "sitting".  Well she finally sat by herself one night while we were playing on the floor together.  She wobble and was a bit unsteady but after a few minutes she was pretty good in the sitting position!  She started playing with her toys, beating on her play piano and seemed to enjoy it.  I think her favorite part of sitting is the ability to see Mackie, our dog, eye to eye, and reach out and -----pet----- grab her hair and hold on.  She is getting better and better at this ever day.

Playing in the Bath(January 19) - After a long frustrating day with Mallie, I called my mom and asked for help.  It was and hour before her earliest bedtime and all she would do was fuss... I just didn't know what to do with her.  My mom suggested letting her play in the bath for a while.  Since she had JUST starting sitting up I was a little nervous about her falling over but she LOVED the bath time.  Her toys were only mildly interesting to her - it was much more fun splashing the water.  She kicked, splashed and generally had fun.  She is definitely my child with her love of water (she never cries during regular baths either).  I can't wait to swim with her this summer and see her fall in love with water like I was/am.  During her latest bath, the swim teacher in me came out and we  practiced "floating" on her back (her but was on the bottom of the tub) but she put her head back and didn't hate it - I want her to get used to this because when I taught swimming lots of my kiddos hated floating on their back because the water would get in their ears.  (Mr. Whimsy... take note, we need a pool :)).

Skating Pictures (January 21) - Mallie posed for pictures in her first "skates".  These were booties that my sister and I also have pictures taken in.  As many of you know, I pretty much grew up in a skating rink (my parents own the one in Brenham) and expect Mallie to spend lots of time skating when she is in Brenham.

6 month check up - (January 28) her check up when great!  Mallie is not going to be very tall (again, that should not be surprising to anyone considering who her parents are!).  She still has a large head (90th percentile...) but I am pretty sure her head is what makes her so adorable so we wouldn't change it!  She wasn't flipping over yet so the doctor said she needs more tummy time.  He said her muscle tone was good and to start giving her veggies (she still does not like cereal or oatmeal).

Grown Up Food - Mallie had her first taste of real food on January 28.  We gave her sweet potatoes that I made and she seemed to really like them.  She went back to the spoon for several bites then starting making a funny, indescribable noise.  We knew she wasn't choking because she was laughing, and babbling still but but it was a little concerning at first.  Since her first dinner of sweet potatoes she hasn't been as excited about them but I'm sure that will change soon (hopefully).

Rolling Over - (January 29) She did it!  During her nap time Mr. Whimsy heard Mallie start crying suddenly.  After looking at the video monitor, he saw she had flipped from her back to her tummy and was laying in a totally different position than he had left her in.  He didn't actually see the roll over but we are thinking she either woke up and rolled and it scared her so she cried or she rolled over in her sleep and the action of landing on her tummy woke her up.  Either way she did it!  She hasn't done it since but we will get there I am positive!  

My baby girl is growing up so fast, I can't believe how big/strong/smart she has gotten in such a short time period.  I love her more than words can express and can't wait to see what she has in store for us this coming month!