Makes for hilarious pictures. As you may have guessed, we added another food to El's diet, apples. And she provided us with plenty of hilarious pictures, but this was the best by far:
Unfortunately, I've missed two dinners during these last few days because of work. It kind of bums me out. Especially when people come into my work with their cute kids. Not that I don't like the people I work with, but I'd much rather be home with El. She is non-stop entertaining, after all.
It's very different from a shot in the arm. And it was really three shots. El had her six month appointment yesterday. She continues to be a giant baby, weighing in at 19lbs 4oz (91st percentile) and measuring out at 27" (86th percentile). Add in her head circumference of 17 1/2" (82nd percentile) and you have an all-around giant baby girl. And this giant baby girl took the aforementioned shots like a real champ. She cried as she was getting them, but only for a few seconds, and then she fussed a tiny bit the rest of the day but that was it.
Today, however, she's been wiped. She was up for an hour, then napped for two. Then barely made it another hour before I just put her down for a second nap. I could tell she was ready when she looked like this:
We'll see how long this one lasts. But she did manage to provide some entertainment thus far between naps. Although Mom and I have been placing her in a bouncer chair for six months, she's just discovered that she can reach the birds hanging from the top. Enjoy!
El really took to bananas. After those first few days of uncertainty, she started to get impatient with Mom and me if we took too long between spoonfuls. Seriously, she can be bossy. But she didn't show any signs of allergic reaction, so we moved on to the next food - avocados! These she took to just as slowly as bananas:
Her reluctance did not prevent her from getting it all over her face, obviously. And just like bananas, after a few days she was sure enjoying them. I quickly discovered that this so-called superfood does have a nasty side effect with babies in the diaper region.
Tonight, we hit food number three - sweet peas.
Surprisingly, they're not as messy as the other two. Or, at least, we did not find them in her ears, nose and soaked into the straps on her highchair. El is handling it really well, though. She seems very surprised the first time we give her a new food, but after a few spoonfuls, she's over it and wanting more.
It's difficult to believe, but my little El is six months today! Well, it's easy to believe when you consider how big she is, but that crazy day in September doesn't seem like it's already six months gone by. Mom did her traditional photo shoot, and the pictures turned out just as cute as ever:
Seriously, though? Sitting up? She can't do it for long, but the simple fact that she no longer lays across the bottom of the chair is an impressive feat. And look at the size comparison between her and her wookie. They used to be a lot closer in size.
While it is difficult to believe that the time passed so quickly, I marvel at all she has accomplished so far. I never thought of it before, but rolling over, holding your head up and being adorable have to be really tough to figure out at first. Maybe not that last one. She's a natural when it comes to that.
As El and I were playing today, and she was getting a little fussy, I thought about the fact that she might just be getting bored with our routine. Our house is small, so we really have just the livingroom to hang out in, and after spending almost all day, every day in there, I have to imagine it gets tiresome for a developing mind. So I thought it would be a fun mix if we played on the bed for a little while. It wasn't. El became just as bored. But then it hit me - El has never experienced the awesomeness of a blanket cave before.
She didn't hate it, and it held her interest for a solid twenty minutes, so I call that one a win. Watching her kick at the blanket and tug on it with her hands made me think about the endless list of things I'll get to watch her experience for the first time, and that's a pretty awesome thought.
Alright, I'm not saying my daughter is a genius or anything, but she's pretty darn smart. Mom and I have been sitting her at the table in her highchair while we eat dinner for the last week or so. We thought it would be a good way to familiarize her with dinner before we started introducing solid foods. She even played around with a spoon while we ate (which she mostly gagged herself with). This past Monday saw her first experience with solids. Like rebels, we decided to go with bananas as opposed to cereal. By last night, El was already an old hand at this whole eating thing:
You can probably tell from her face that she's still not sure if she likes bananas. But every time we hold the spoon out, she gets excited and takes it.
The first post-banana diaper wasn't too bad, but we still haven't had a dirty one today. I live in fear.
SAHD Tip Fourteen - You know your kid. Seriously. You've been home with her all day, every day. You know her. So when she's crying and it's not her usual naptime or feeding time, you know, instinctively, what's bothering her, so trust your gut. Don't think, "But you only ate two hours ago. You can't be hungry again. What's wrong?" If she's acting the way she gets when she's hungry, she's probably hungry. This is a lesson I've had a hard time learning. El took so easily to a napping and feeding schedule that I immediately assume the worst when she's off of it. But here's the kicker - babies are weird. They'll change their schedule just to screw with you. So when they're upset, go with your gut as to what's wrong. You're probably right.
Wow. . .it's been two weeks. Time got away from me there. My wife was on school vacation, so you'd think that with us splitting Eleanor duties I'd have more time to blog, but I found myself unable to do it. Not having to do something breeds laziness, I guess? Anyway, it's been an interesting two weeks. El is continuing to develop and grow into this awesome, smiley, cheerful little person. Being on the ground doesn't hold her interest for very long, but she does love her jumperoo.
She's even figured out that she can keep her feet closer together to stand up taller and reach the toys that are further away, but if she spreads her feet apart then she can bounce lower before her feet hit the floor. She's wicked smaht. I remember when we first started putting her in that contraption, she would play with a few of the toys and look at us with a "Now what?" expression. Now she bounces all over the place.
SAHD Tip Thirteen - Parenting can be rough, and sometimes you're going to have to do things not very pleasant for you, your child, and your partner. Do what you have to do for their health and well-being, and take solace in the fact that you're helping them (whether they realize it or not). Case in point - a few nights ago, El was very stuffy and it was keeping her awake. The only way to rectify the situation was to put some saline drops in her nose (which she hates) and clear her nostrils with an aspirator (which she hates more). She's recently learned how to shake her head back and forth, so this also required that I hold her head down while she screamed bloody murder at two in the morning. El fell asleep shortly thereafter, and the next morning was her smiley, playful self.
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