Who, it turns out, is not so little anymore. She's turned into a little lady, and has started to show some personality. She's calm enough that people have been calling her 'zen baby', but that impression changes which she opens her mouth and roars out her dragon impression. We're not really sure what prompts this, or what it means, but it sure is funny. When she's not hungry, tired, or bored, she does seem to enjoy sitting there quietly and looking around. This is good because I really enjoy it too. The two of us sometime camp out in a chair in the kitchen and watch mom cook, or head out on the porch and watch people pass by. Of course, these sessions last for maybe 10 minutes, but they're nice nevertheless :)
Sleep has been a challenge (surprise, surprise). When she was younger, probably in the 2-3 month range, she slept really well. A couple nights she even slept like 6 or 7 hours straight. But then, slowly but surely, she started to regress. We were a bit lazy about giving her the pacifier, so she got used to it, and when she woke up without it in her mouth, there would be tears. Sometime in late April, she woke up literally every half hour crying for her pacifier. We decided that was unsustainable, so away went the pacifier....with mixed results. She's learned to soothe herself (sort-of), but often times will have trouble going to sleep, so will cry and cry in the hopes of getting a parent to go up and rock her or cradle her until she'll go back down. Then she learned to flip over, which is supposed to help to sleep better. Except that she hasn't learned to flip the other way... so it's pretty much a one-way street, and if she doesn't want to be on her stomach, but flips that way and wakes up, well... more tears. So the path between our room and hers is pretty well tread these days, but life has been made easier by the addition of a baby monitor (thanks Eric and Kristin!) so we can do things like watch a movie in the basement while keeping an ear out.
All in all, though, she's a good kid. Our nanny Sara is fantastic with her, and she is starting to notice and laugh at other kids (and at papa). She enjoys bath-time and has starting splashing a lot, although does not like it when water goes into her mouth (and hasn't made the connection with the excessive splashing). She went for her first jog today. Normally, she faces backwards in the stroller, but today it was forward facing, and I think it overwhelmed her. She kept craning her neck around to look back and see me, which was kind of funny. Then, it started raining and splashed on her face. I stopped under a road crossing and took her out of the stroller - her face was covered with a mix of tears and rain water, and she was most definitely NOT happy. So, we'll have to ease into the whole running thing, but I'm excited because I can (theoretically) take her out on a nice long run and get her out of Rebecca's hair and get exercise at the same time.
She is grasping at things (toys, books, parents' hair) and putting them into her mouth. It has been neat to watch the progression. Even toys and things that she has had all along but used to ignore she is now enthralled by. A crinkly fabric carrot is her favorite of the moment. She will play with that thing for like 30 minutes, enthralled by the sound and the texture. It's really funny to watch her try to figure it out.
She doesn't like bright sun or loud noises. When the sun hits her face in the stroller, she convulses and gets upset. Likewise, when there is a sudden loud noise (traffic, cough, door slam) she gets startled. She has a mixed record on meeting new people. Sometimes she is shy and turns her head into mom or dad's chest, or even cries if a new person holds her, but other times she is a total ham. She has a lot of hair still, and it's hard to tame, which I think makes her look older than she is (6 months on Wednesday). When I have bedhead and wake up, or it's the weekend and I forgo the brush, I've been told that there is an uncanny resemblance between us. I'll let you be the judge...
morning wakeup routine (before breakfast)
