6 months old

We blinked, and our girl is half a year old. Each month gets a little more fun. The theme for this month has been Adventures in Food. Mary Lawton eats:

• rice cereal
• oatmeal
• peas
• sweet potatoes
• carrots
• avocado
  
• bananas (in the mesh feeder)
  

and has tried honeydew (mesh feeder) and apples. She eats rice cereal for breakfast every morning at daycare and for dinner eats oatmeal and a couple of veggies. Except for when we were on vacation and the cereals, I've been making her food. It's been easy and has worked out well. I have bags of frozen scoops of food in the freezer and take out and thaw whatever she's going to eat.

One night she fell asleep in her highchair. Her eyes were half-closed, yet she kept opening her mouth for more. Finally, she gave in.

One night she realized she could eat her dessert banana and play at the same time. Why stop eating or playing when you can multitask?

Now that she can scoot around pretty well, she's begun exploring more and more. Nothing is off limits (in her mind). She is very happy. Strangers comment on how happy and smiley she is. She loves to watch people. We went to the aquarium again recently thinking she might enjoy watching the fish more than she did last time. She watched them a little, but she was much more into the people-watching.
She loves peek-a-boo and chewing on all her toys. She seems to have become ticklish. I was scrubbing her feet one night and she was laughing hysterically. Sweet LJ was tickling her belly and got the same reaction.

At her 6 months' appointment she was 14 lbs, 15.5 oz. (so let's just say 15 lbs.), and 26.5 inches long. Still long and lean and healthy all around. The vaccinations were very traumatic for all of us and resulted in a very long night, so we are considering spacing out the 9 months vaccines. It was too much and a little scary.

Love you, little chicken.

Vaca day 2

On Sunday Mary Lawton had her first dip in the Gulf of Mexico. She was very observant watching birds and people go by, but didn't seem too impressed by the water and sand. She played in the pool for a long time then went in for a lunchtime nap. She had lots of fun swimming with her cousins. I wish I had some photos of them teaching her the backstroke and butterfly. They are so sweet and patient and LOVE her.

First time in the gulf

Poolside with Biffy

Poolside with Dad

Before we made it outside, Mary Lawton learned how to pull all of the paper towels off the roll.

Sunday night all 40 of us went for dinner at Ruth's Chris. Mary Lawton was passed around to lots of different people and didn't complain once. She ended up falling asleep in my arms, and then slept in her carseat until we left. This was the latest she has ever stayed out, I think. We left the restaurant at about 9 PM.

Biffy and Padaddy

Bruce and Jan

Heath, Sissy, Mary Lawton

Olivia and me

Vaca Day 1: The trip down

We left for sunny FL yesterday around 8 AMand got here in about 9 hours. Mary Lawton did pretty well. I ended up spending most of the trip in the backseat with her because she wanted OUT of her carseat and didn't understand why she couldn't roll around and play. We didn't have to stop too much more than we did pre-Mary Lawton. We did take our time at lunch to give her a chance to stretch and hang out outside of her cage (as Sweet LJ started calling her carseat).

We packed so much stuff that we barely had room for Mary Lawton.

Last night there was a pizza dinner for all the family already here, and they keep rolling in. Mary Lawton got lots of cuddling from her Biffy and Padaddy. Some of my dad's grandkids call him Grandpa and one calls him Granddaddy, so we think maybe Mary Lawton should try out Padaddy.

5 months old

Our girl is wide open every day. Now that she can roll over in both directions, we can't leave her alone for a minute. She logrolls herself wherever she wants to go. Recently I heard a "thunk," and turned to see she had rolled herself into a wall and clocked herself on the head (she was fine), and another time I left her playing on the floor of her room for 2 minutes and came back to find her with her head under the crib, feet kicking the little wooden rocking chair, looking like she was trying to chew on the crib leg. No, I'm not making any of this up, and yes, I'm starting to learn my lesson.
Mary Lawton is loud, funny, smiley, and constantly in motion. Did I mention loud? She screams, squeals, yelps, and chirps nonstop--especially when she has an audience. Her daycare teachers laugh as they tell me stories about Mary Lawton chatting with them all day. We laugh a lot a home, too.Everything goes in Mary Lawton's mouth--the usual (toys, her hands, her feet) and anything else within licking distance--my watch while I'm wearing it; the edges of the Bumbo, which she leans over to chew; the straps of the stoller and highchair; the arm of whomever is holding her. Sweet LJ was sitting on the floor next to her one day, and she was eyeing his foot. I made him move it.
She can't sit up on her own yet, and I "coach" her by sitting her down and putting her hands out in front of her to hold herself up. She seems to like being able to sit up and look around, but she likes falling over even more. So much fun! She also likes playing ride the horse on her dad's leg and playing flying baby with me. We play peek-a-boo a lot, too, and she can pull a cloth off my face and her own--mainly because she wants to chew on it. She's obsessed with Coqui and watches him constantly. She's also started to roll toward him to get closer, because she likes touching him.
Mary Lawton seems to grow an inch and gain a pound every night. I think if I stared long enough I could watch her getting longer.
You are so much fun, Mary Lawton! You keep us laughing and rolling our eyes and wondering what's coming next. Keeping up with you is going to be a challenge, but we're ready. Love you like crazy.

Adventures in cereal

Mary Lawton has been giving us the stink eye when we eat, following every forkful with her eyes, looking left out and curious. We decided to let her try some cereal last Wednesday night (July 8). It was a bust. She was either shocked or not quite ready to pull it back into her mouth and swallow it--or both. The bright side is that she was interested and seemed to like it fine.

First try. Looking terrified.

We tried again Saturday night. She ate bite after bite, opening her mouth for more, then finally let us know she was finished by spitting it out and fussing. Great culinary adventures lie ahead.

More, please.

Savoring every bite

The Squealer

Milestones!

Mary Lawton is rolling over from back to tummy! She did it for the first time Friday morning for Sweet LJ (I missed it), and all weekend. I still haven't seen her do it--I just see her on her tummy after I know I've put her down on her back.

The other milestone, if you want to call it that, is that she can blow raspberries (you know, spit bubbles). This is her new favorite activity. The drool faucet by itself just wasn't enough; now she wants to spread it everywhere.

Every day is a little more fun.

Happy baby

Four months check-up

Weight: 13 pounds (25th-50th percentile)
Length: 25 inches (75th percentile)

Mary Lawton had her 4 months visit on Wednesday. I was a little worried about her weight (when I found out she's in the 25th-50th percentile), but Dr. M said not to worry--she's still just long and lean. She's very healthy all around. She got 2 shots and one oral vaccine, and they didn't go over well. There was a lot of heart-wrenching wailing. I remembered to give her Tylenol before the shots, because she was very irritable and sore after the vaccines at her 2 months appointment. It seemed to help; at daycare that afternoon she took at 2.5-hour nap, was very happy that evening, and slept well that night.

Feeling sooo fortunate to have a healthy girl.

4 months old

How can the little bluebird be 4 months old already? This really has been a fun month with Mary Lawton.She is very mobile for someone who can't sit up, crawl, or walk yet. She is great at rolling over from tummy to back and doesn't realize how close she is to rolling from back to tummy. She spins around on her back easily and quickly when she's on a play mat. We put her down in one direction, and find that she has scooted all the way around in minutes--sometimes off the mat. We put her down to sleep in one direction, and later she's in some other spot in the crib. She usually sleeps on her side now. In fact, she usually curls over on her side whenever we put her on her back, whether it's play or sleep.
Speaking of sleep, I hesitate to say she's a poor sleeper or a good sleeper. She sleeps like a 4-month-old--sometimes it's good for her parents and sometimes not so good for her parents. But, it's always good for her. She successfully can put herself to sleep, which is really nice. She'll play and talk herself to sleep, often without a pacifier.
She is a very funny girl, and I think she knows it. She cackles at everything, even herself. Her laughter makes her laugh even more. She lights up when I present her with a toy and positively glows when she gets to stand on a lap. Sweet LJ holds her up and "walks" her every day, and she thinks that's big fun. Her favorite game is when I eat her belly with loud chomping noises. She squeals and laughs nonstop.
Mary Lawton is the noisiest baby I've ever been around, but admittedly I haven't been around tons of babies. She chatters constantly, stopping only to eat, sleep, and when she's distracted by something and has to take a look. A few days ago she made a "muh" sound for the first time, and I know, "Mama, I love you," is just a few weeks away. She talks to her toys, very seriously, and talks to us, and sometimes when I sing to her she will start singing along.

Last week one of her daycare teachers, Miss Ambrosia (real name), told me that everyone loves Mary Lawton. They love her "pretty eyes," and she went on about how sweet and good natured Mary Lawton is (which I know but is always nice to hear:). My heart still hurts over having to leave her in daycare, but as the youngest child in the whole center right now, she gets lots of attention. When I went by one day there were 4 children and 5 workers in her class, so the ratio is really good. Oh, and yes, I can go by--she's only 4 blocks from my workplace.
Mary Lawton is a good eater most of the time. She gets most of her eating done at daycare, I guess, because she's healthy and would just rather socialize with me. When I feed her, she eats for a second, then pulls back to smile at me and chat. This will go on and on until I finally just give up.
Mary Lawton, we hardly remember life before you (except that there was a lot more sleep). You're a great little buddy, and we appreciate how sweet and good you are. Your dad often remarks that you're the perfect baby. I don't know what we did to deserve the perfect baby, but we know how fortunate we are! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

The End

A future fish

My employer has an offsite recreational area with a pool, tennis courts, a playground, etc., and it's quite close to our house. We love the pool, because it's huge, there are shady spots, and nice chairs, and it's never crowded. On Sunday we went to the pool for the first time this summer. We wondered how Mary Lawton would do--meltdown, poop in the pool?--but she was great. We only took her in the baby pool, and we probably should've tried the big pool, too, because it turned out to be warmer than the baby pool.
After a couple of hours (don't worry--she was in the shade most of the time), she passed out. We had a great afternoon and definitely plan to return.