Lucy is 6 months old

My baby girl turned 6 months old today! In some ways we can't believe that the time has gone by so quickly, and in other ways we can't believe that it's been ONLY 6 months. We really cannot remember life without her. What did we do with our time? Watch stupid reality tv??? I suppose that we were busy with the early part of our relationship, then our engagment and wedding planning, and then *poof* we were pregnant and planning for little miss's arrival. It's amazing how far we've come in the (just under) four years that Jeff and I have been together!

So, what is Lucy up to these days? She is certainly a very active, curious, and happy little girl! She is a huge smiler and makes new friends wherever we go, especially when I walk around with her in the Baby Bjorn and she is facing outward. She makes a really big hit when she is wearing her bright yellow "flap hat" (to protect from the sun) -- she looks so cute all tucked away under it. We just feel so very lucky and truly blessed to have such an amazing little ray of sunshine.

She has learned to be quite an efficient "creeper" and can really move across a room on her own. She pulls herself forward with her arms and uses her legs for some propulsion, but she still doesn't lift her tummy off the floor so for now it's a "creep" rather than a crawl. She does tuck her legs underneath her and tries to push off with them, but often this just results in her flipping over or looking like she is breakdancing :) She also is sitting up on her own, pretty much, though sometimes she tips over -- so I really need to be close by to "spot" her when she is sitting. It is very fun to watch her sit and play with a toy. When she does something like that it makes me realize how big she really is getting. Last night she was sitting in her "Bumbo" chair and had a rattle in her hand. She started shaking it and hitting it against the side of the chair -- to which Jeff and I responded by saying "Yay, yay, Lucy!' and clapping our hands. This really encouraged her to keep hitting the rattle, with a grin from ear to ear!

She started eating rice cereal about a week and a half ago and took to it very well. I was afraid that she would refuse food because she refused bottles -- just like I did when I was a baby, and I also refused food. But she really has taken to eating and it's a lot of fun for us to feed her. Tonight I gave her some oatmeal cereal for the first time and she seemed to like it even better than the rice. Pretty soon I will start to give her some veggies like sweet potatoes and avocado, but I am in no huge rush (especially because I know it will make the diapers smell pretty bad).

Last night she slept from 8pm until 5:30, which is the longest she has ever done. I think the food is really helping with her sleep. I still love that first feeding -- the one that used to be the middle of the night feeding. It is really "our time" and she eats so intensely and sweetly. It is the time of day I really feel the most needed by her and connected to her. My sweet baby girl! Happy 6 months!