Lilly Belle: Six Months!

"Mom, you can back away. Really. I got this. I'm ok."

These photos were taken right after her Mommy Music class last week and she was just in such a good mood! 

(Note: Last photos of her in "Neverland")

I can hear her laugh in this one :)

Ok, I know I'm bias but she is just killing me with her cuteness. Add it on top of the sweetest baby personality I've ever met (okay now I'm bragging lol) and ah *sigh* she's perfect. 

Oh my goodness. Time is going too fast! 

6 months old!

Matt pointed out that she is now closer to being one than to being a newborn and I may or may not have teared up...

Weight: Weighed her today and girlfriend is 15.6 lbs! 45% weight, 50% height

Health: Lilly Belle has continued to be a pretty healthy baby. We had a few days with mild fevers and cold symptoms this month but that is to be expected as she has come with me to dance every Wednesday & Thursday (lots of kids). She is still teething like crazy but no teeth yet.  

Sleep: Lilly still has no pattern for sleep at all. Everyday and each night is a mystery as to how much sleep we will get...I mean, she will get ;) Some nights earlier this month she sleep through the whole night but we have had a few rough weeks now where she wakes every hour or two. I know everything is a season. I actually soak up my nighttime feedings with her. It has just been a struggle teaching 5-6 dance classes a day when I'm so tired. 

Social: Lilly got a lot better about being in large groups of people this month. It may have to do with me bringing her with me to dance again. She doesn't mind it at all really. Her and I also started our Kindermusic class together this month. On our first day, she did not smile at all while we were there, but was super curious about it all. She just checked it out the whole time. She was watching all the crawling and walking babies with such curiosity. Now we just completed our third week and she loved it. Other than getting head butted by a boy who is 14 months old (this mama was not happy). Lilly Belle and I are also now attending story time at the Fall City Library on Thursday mornings and we go to "Mommy Music" in the Highlands (that's what I call it) on Fridays. A bunch of moms get together and take turns teaching the class each week. It's super cute. I love doing all these little classes/activities with her. I really look forward to them and Lilly just loves watching all the babies and kids.  

Schedule: (Adding this one in this month) She does have a little bit of a schedule now. We wake up everyday between 8am/8:30am. It's never earlier or later than that. She sometimes will take a long morning nap or she does 3 or 4 20-30 minute catnaps throughout the day, sometimes more - depends on what we're doing or if she's having a growth spurt (which she's had a lot of this month!) We always do bath time around 7pm and then she usually goes down for the night around 8pm/8:30pm. Most nights she wakes up for a feeding at 11pm and then Matt and I go to bed with her after that. Then it's hit or miss how many times she'll wake up. Lately, it's been every 1.5-2 hours. Yikes!

Diet: I am feeling a whole lot better about the amount of formula Lilly has been given as we now have it all figured out with my schedule and she only gets about 5 bottles of formula/week. Every other feeding which is still around 8-12 times/day is breast milk. We give her solids once/day around lunch time. I try to do it around noon everyday. This still doesn't happen consistently everyday. Maybe 3-4 times/week. It all depends on her nap schedule as to when that happens though. Lilly Belle has now had the following solids: Avocados, Rice/Oatmeal Cereal (won't give her because it upsets her tummy a ton & I tasted it and it's disgusting!), Yams, Yellow Squash, Carrots, Apples & Peas. Apples are by far her favorite but they are the sweetest thing I've given her so I'm not surprised. Everything I gave her I made from scratch and froze for her with the exception of the Apples & Peas which I used the Gerbers Organics. She eats one cube at a time and with the apples/peas will eat the entire Gerber serving size in one feeding of apples and half a serving of the peas (not at the same time of course). Girlfriend loves food. It's so much fun feeding her. She has yet to not like a food with the exception of the gross cereal, which she still ate but I could tell she wasn't a big fan. 

Clothes: Lilly Belle is growing like a weed! She no longer fits in any of her 3 month clothing and we have just about put away all of her 3-6 month clothes. She is now in about 85% size 6 months, 6-9 months & a few 6-12 months outfits. She also now fits in her 9 month pants. She's set & has some adorable outfits coming up that I'm so excited about! I love getting her dressed everyday. It always takes me like 5 minutes to pick out her outfit. Sometimes I pick it out the night before and get it all set out because it's so much fun dressing her! 

Baby Gear Love: Same as last month, she still sleeps with her Aden and Anais swaddles just at night. She still sleeps with her Sound Sleeper app and that is for both naps and bedtime. For the first half of the month she still loved her kick gym but then Nama & Poppa got her a jumper/excersaucer for Christmas and she's all about "her office" now! She goes crazy in it! She'll still play on her kick gym for parts of the day, but not nearly as much as before as she now has this new exciting toy to entertain her. We have been using the Bumbo a ton this month and use her Snuga Monkey bouncer seat only in the mornings while I take a shower because I put it in the bathroom by me. Sophie the Giraffe is still huge around here. She loves her! Sadly, no more MamaRoo. Matt had a really hard time putting it away when he realized it means she's really getting big, he really got sad. Lilly Belle got the Poppity Pop Musical Dino for Christmas and loves to sit up by herself and watch the balls go flying everywhere. Books are huge around here as usual, she still loves story time and we read to her multiple times a day. We still use the Baby Bjorn but I am hoping to transition to the Ergo soon as she is getting so big. We now use her stroller seat attachment instead of her carseat on her Britax stroller as well, she really likes that. 

Crying: Thankfully, she still doesn't cry too often. Really just when she is tired or overtired. She does get frustrated with teething and begin constipated, too, but who wouldn't? Also, she cries when she gets head butted at music class (can you tell this is bothering me? lol)

Likes: Our favorite thing with Lilly right now is to give her zerberts/raspberries. She can laugh now and it is just the cutest thing! She loves Cogsy now and it's adorable how much the two of them love each other. He gives her tons of kisses and when he gets her hands she laughs. It is the best! Like I mentioned above, she loves her Baby Einstein jumper. She hits it to make music and goes crazy bouncing in it. Lots of smiles in her "office" as we call it. The way she sits in it is hilarious. She really looks like she means business while she focuses on everything. It's awesome. She likes napping/sleeping now in her crib and only in her carseat if we're moving. She is a big mommy fan this month which I didn't mind at all and Matt was actually happy about as we're about to make this transition into him working. We were worried she wasn't going to do well with Daddy being gone some much but I think she'll be okay :) She still sucks on her left ring and middle finger all day long. It is how she self soothes. She started it a while ago and it's stuck, it's definitely her thing. We bought her a winter coat and when she wears it she screams and screams because she can't get her fingers, it is so sad but adorable at the same time. She also loves when we sing to her. She also loves when we read books to her. She now likes to reach for them and "turn the pages". Matt would like me to add that she likes Subsonic Radio (lol) and her Poppity Pop Musical Dino. 

Dislikes: Going down for naps and putting her arms in sleeves. Girlfriend usually cries for both.  

Milestones: Lilly can sit up by herself now when there is an interesting toy in front of her or at music class when she is distracted. She can laugh now and it's the cutest thing. It's kind of a grunt/laugh. It's pretty funny! Her legs are super strong now and she loves to "stand" on our legs. Matt does it with her all the time and she can do it now with just having him hold one of her hands. LB can grab so well now and is constantly grabbing for everything. She is so engaging now. 

Nicknames: Lilly, Lilly Belle, Peanut, Peanut Butter, Sweet Girl, My Angel, LB

My little loves :) 

Hey best friend! 

We love yams :) 

Oh you know, just hanging out in her office.

"Ew! How many germs are on this?! Why didn't you tell me before I put it in my mouth?!"

Happy girl excited about her new fuzzy crib sheet in her new room! 

(We used a fuzzy crib sheet in her pack n play so we thought this was a good transition into her crib)

Lilly Belle's (temporary) new room. Perfect :) Her dresser/changing table, glider, Ubbi, laundry basket & book basket are also all in "our" room. It's basically Lilly's room with our bed in it. We don't mind at all. It's working perfectly! And I love looking at all her adorable little clothes hanging like that. 

Lillian Belle,

You are growing to be an incredible little girl. Every day you teach me something new. You are calm and patient (except when you're hungry). You are content and happy. You are observant and really take in your surroundings. We are constantly surprised by all of your new milestones. The other day we swore you were saying "ball" (you weren't but we sure did get excited thinking you did!)

I love you more than you could possibly know. Every night when I put you down in your crib, I hold you close and tell you over and over how much I love you. Girlfriend, you get tons of kisses around here. We still fight over who gets to hold you (guess who usually wins). One of daddy's favorite parts of the day are the mornings when we bring you into our bed and snuggle with you before we all get up. 

I am still super protective of you. You are going through your stranger anxiety faze right now and it is always mommy to the rescue! I can't help it. I don't like when you are sad and stop any tears I can. I have loved that we have had some more time together lately and soon will have even more when Mommy's studio closes! I cannot wait to not have to leave you so often. It is to this day the hardest thing I have had to do, it crushes me every time. 

You are a silly girl and love to be tickled lately. Your laugh is definitely the cutest/funniest thing I've ever heard. Your daddy would agree! It's more of a grunt/laugh. So funny! I could listen to you laugh all day long. We love to make you happy and will always do everything we can to make sure you have a happy life. 

We have special times of the day together that daddy saves just for us since I have to work and daddy gets to stay with you. Every night I get to give you your bath and we play and sing through the whole bedtime routine. I read you stories and sing you songs and most of the time, you'll let me snuggle with you in the glider. I'm also the one who feeds you your solid foods. I love it so much. You love grabbing the spoon and sometimes you blow raspberries which you think is hilarious. I love it because I know you are learning and taking it all in. It is amazing to watch. I love letting you get messy. I just want you to stay little :) 

You and daddy have lots of special time together, too! Daddy reads you lots of stories and you two lay down on your play mat and you get tons of raspberries! Whenever I come home from work daddy usually tells me about all of your playtime in your "office" and the two of you play with your Poppity Pop Dino. Daddy listens to Disney music with you all day long and is already teaching you all he can about Disney! 

We love you so incredibly much, Lilly Belle. I hope you always know how loved you are. Writing this to you, I kind of want to go wake you up just so I can give you a hug. Your daddy and I sometimes go in your room just to look at you while you're napping. Daddy is usually the one to ask and will say, "Don't you miss her? I just miss her right now." And then we sneak in and one of us touches your tummy to make sure you're breathing and then we just stare at your cuteness until you stir and then we tippy toe out as quickly as we can. 

You're just so perfect, Lilly. We are so lucky that you are our baby. We love watching you grow. You are the best thing that has ever happened to us. 

I'll eat you up I love you so!  

Love,
Mommy