I loved holidays before Annabelle was here but now with a child in the house I’m truly in love with holidays. St. Patrick’s day was no exception! Annabelle got a new outfit from Grandma Jane that she looked absolutely adorable in. Everyone at daycare was a bit jealous of her green tutu pants.  There’s a parade every year that goes through the Old Market and with it being a tad warmer than it’s been, we decided to take Annabelle to see her first parade. She wasn’t all that excited for the parade, it happened to fall right at the same time as nap time so she took a few peeks and then fell asleep. Things like parades make me excited for when Annabelle gets older.  When she’ll get excited to see the green horse, the candy being thrown, the Irish dancers, men in kilts, and the fire trucks that come at the end.

Annabelle is still our little yogi! She loves downward dog. The notes that are sent home from daycare each day have talked a lot about how much she likes being on her head and how all of her teachers are amazed by all of her acrobatics. Currently it’s her way of getting around and then being able to sit. No more rolling for our little lady, she’s all about sitting and her crazy acrobatics.

Annabelle is becoming a grabber, hair grabber that is.  The other day I picked up Annabelle and watched as she pulled another kid’s hair.  I got to daycare and she was sitting by a younger friend who was laying on his stomach playing with a toy.  Annabelle placed her hand on the little boy’s head, patted it and then grabbed a bit of hair and pulled.  Poor little guy was upset and I don’t blame him.  Her teachers told me she’s done it a few times.  She’s just figuring it all out and testing out her new fangled ability to use those little pinchers of hers.

Oh my goodness, there have been so many changes in our little lady this week.  She could probably start walking and I wouldn’t be surprised.  So, Annabelle can officially sit by herself.  And not only that but by the end of the week she not only was able to sit for a substantial amount of time (and I wasn’t afraid to leave her side) but she was also able to go from sitting to laying down and then back up again.  And now it seems she wants to crawl.  The doctor told Dusty at Annabelle’s 6-month check up to not be alarmed but that she might not start crawling right away because she’s so good at rolling that she’ll just use this form of transportation for longer then she needs to.  It looks like this might not be the case.

My favorite moment this week was picking Annabelle up from daycare and finding her sitting on the floor by herself playing.  My heart melted instantaneously.  It hit me that my little girl is growing up so fast!  And she’s doing things that real human beings do! She was so happy just sitting there by herself, playing with a toy, not paying attention to a darn thing going on around her.

Each day she’s getting stronger and stronger.  It’s amazing to see how much more confident she’s become over just one week.  She does this funny little thing since she’s started sitting.  She’ll be sitting and then at some point gracefully (or not so gracefully) fall to a laying position.  Then she’ll start rolling.  And at some point she’ll put her head on the ground, butt in the air and move her feet so that she’s created a little tent with her body.  She’ll do this for what seems like forever.  I can’t figure out what she’s trying to do.  The teachers at daycare call it her gymnastics.

Annabelle loves her food.  It’s reassuring that she’s a happy little eater.  When she’s home with us during the day, she’s nursing every 2.5 to 3 hours.  When she’s at school she takes 5 oz every 3 hours.  I’m also sending pureed vegetables for lunch and 3-4 times a week we feed her pureed vegetables for dinner.  Up until this week I was just sending 1 oz of pureed food but she loves it so much that she “told” her teachers that she’d like a little more (at least this is what it said on the note that was sent home with her).  It sounds like she was getting a little jealous because her friends that she sits with at lunch were getting more food at lunch and were getting snacks too (what a bad mom not knowing that she was ready for afternoon snacks).  Starting this week I’m sending 2 oz of pureed food (usually 1 oz vegetable and 1 oz fruit) along with some baby puffs for a snack.

Our new food for the week was pureed apples (AKA applesauce).  Of course she loved it and why not, they’re delicious apples.  I was a little hesitant about making applesauce because I thought it would be too difficult but all it includes is steaming peeled and cut up apples and then pureeing them with a bit of milk or water.  So easy!

About a week ago I turned in Annabelle’s daycare re-enrollment forms for next year.  Our daycare doesn’t require Annabelle to go year-round and with me having the summer off (and us going to Paris for an extended stay again this summer) we had to decide how long we’d keep Annabelle out of daycare.  She’s staying at home for two months and then we’re sending her back in July when I start teaching a couple of summer classes.

I mention all of this because I didn’t realize all of the mixed feelings I would have about not sending her for two months.  Most of my apprehension comes from seeing how much she loves going and how much she gains from going.  I really love where she goes.  I worry that she’ll forget all of her teachers and friends.  I worry that while she’s gone she’ll stop amazing us with all off her wonderful new talents, meeting such momentous milestones so fast.  I’m anxious about being at home with her so much and making sure I make the most out of it (I want to be one of those mom’s that plans learning activities everyday but know that it’s not likely to happen).  They do things so purposefully at daycare.  And let’s be truthful, they’re much more educated about what an infant needs than I am.  Sometimes I wonder if I’d be doing some of the things I am doing right now if it weren’t for seeing them being done at daycare.  I know, I know, I’m a good parent, it’s not rocket science, there are great resources online and I can do all of those things that they do at daycare at home but it’s still scary to think about.

I’m leaving you with the picture above and below to show you what a mover and shaker our little lady is.  One moment she’s laying down, eating the shoe she’s pulled off just a moment ago and the next thing I know she’s sitting up, tossing her shoe aside and working on taking her other shoe off.

Almost two weeks ago our little lady turned six months old!  I can’t believe we’ve been parents for half of a year already!  Dusty took Annabelle to her 6-month checkup and came home with all kinds of information for me.  I had written a list of questions for the doctor about food, breast feeding, sleeping, etc. and Dusty was so great about asking all of my (somewhat crazy) questions.  Annabelle is 15 lbs, 6 oz and 27 inches long.  She’s in the 34th percentile for weight and 88th percentile for height.  In the past 2 months she’s gained 7 oz and grown 1.25 inches.  The doctor said she’s just perfect and I must agree with the man!

Our doctor told Dusty this is the best time, 6-months.  And I really have to agree.  She’s so inquisitive, expressive, and just plain fun.  She jabbers to me in the mornings while I’m changing her and smiles such big smiles when she sees her daddy.  She’s making so many developmental changes it’s hard to keep up.

She’s sitting, almost! She sits just a bit longer by herself than she did last week but I can’t, in my heart, officially say she’s sitting yet.  I dropped her off at daycare this week and some of her friends were sitting, playing with a couple of toys.  I sat her down so she was sitting near them and I just couldn’t leave her there, knowing that she would plop right down seconds after I left.  I was a little sad to lay her down on her back but know she’ll start sitting anytime now.  Her teachers say that she is sitting well enough that she sits at the small tables with her friends to eat her yummy lunch though.

This week Annabelle tried bananas.  I had bought some bananas, wanting to give something sweet to Annabelle.  Really, she’s been eating butternut squash and sweet potatoes, which are pretty darn sweet, but this was her first official fruit.  It’s so much fun to watch her eat.  The first spoon full is always the best.  She’s eager to put anything in her mouth but then she has this moment of “What did I just put in my mouth? Am I going to like it?” and then “Yes, please, more, now!”

I really enjoy making baby food for Annabelle.  I didn’t know if I would like doing it and if I would have the time but most of the time I whip some up when we’re cooking on the weekends.  I’ll prep my food, steam it, puree it, and then separate it into small portions to be frozen for the week, right along with the other cooking that we’re doing and it doesn’t end up being a big deal.

Sleep was one of the questions I had for the doctor.  As much reading as I’ve done on sleep, I thought asking the doctor would be a good idea.  He said that a 6-month old should be able to sleep 9-12 hours without being fed.  I think this gave Dusty and I both encouragement that feeding her just once during the night will be okay.  She goes to sleep at 7pm and often times sleeps until 2 or 3am when I feed her.  If she wakes up before then we just rub her on the back and give her a kiss before heading back to our beds.

We have such great parents and siblings! I feel very lucky to have so many of them close to us.  I know each family is different and dynamics can be difficult but to have family calling us, asking, really telling us, “You should go out on a date, I’ll watch Annabelle.”  Or my sister offering to take Annabelle on a Saturday night when she has an otherwise empty house (and all four kids are out).  It means so much.

When I started writing weekly updates about my pregnancy I scoured the internet looking for soon-to-be mommies and new mommies who were writing about their pregnancy and new babies.  It was a good way to figure out what people wrote about and gave me some inspiration.  One thing I wasn’t quite sure about was when people wrote their blog as if they were writing to their child.  I didn’t quite get it.  Why write to someone who is still in your stomach or who’s just weeks old.  So, I get it.  They can read it when they get older but really, are they going to want to.  And here I am, wanting to do it.  I want to tell her all of the wonderful things she’s doing (and not so wonderful things), how her smiles make me laugh, and how she just amazes me everyday.  I’m not sure exactly what to do but don’t be surprised if I go back and forth, writing to all of you as well as to Annabelle.

Dusty’s birthday was this week and we had a great time celebrating with family.  Family gatherings are a lot of fun with our dear little Annabelle.  She’s changing so much that every time we see our friends and family we have new updates and Annabelle has new tricks to surprise everyone with.

I can’t get over how much Annabelle smiles. Is this normal? I’m sure it is but really, I love it! I think she really likes us.  I mean, I’ve hoped she likes us, she’s stuck with us for a while but it’s so nice to see her smiles and giggles to reassure me that she really does love us.

Sleeping is going much better.  She’s waking up 2-4 times each night but the big accomplishment is that we’re only feeding her once, usually around 2 or 3am.  Otherwise, when she wakes up we go into her room, comfort her a little and leave her to fall back asleep.

We’re still working on sitting.  We can leave her for just a few moments and then she’ll start to sway and head for the floor.  We’re not leaving her sitting on her own quite yet but we’re getting so close.

It’s amazing how much I look forward to the weekends but in a different way than I did before. I think everyone looks forwards to the weekend but it’s different when weekends aren’t any longer just about what I want to do.  Our weekends are beginning to look very different compared to when it was just the two of us, and even when we were a family of three at the beginning when Annabelle was still a little unmovable blob.  She was an adorable little blob but for the longest time she didn’t do much of anything but eat and sleep so we spent the weekend working (Dusty) and sewing/housework (Me).

It’s hard to describe but I look at weekends a bit differently than I did when it was just Dusty and I. These days we’re doing a lot less catching up on work and housework and a lot more spending time with each other.  We spend time amusing our little bean (while she amuses us).  I can’t wait until the weather warms up and we can go on walks together and really introduce Annabelle to the Old Market.