LETTERS TO LIA | 6 MONTHS

I know I wished L a happy half birthday on here already, but I didn't write her a proper letter or give stats.
So here goes...

Dear L,
My sweet, happy daughter. You are now six months old and your personality is starting to show. Happy, happy, happy. You are always happy. Of course, you are still a baby and you have your moments of sass, but for the most part you are always happy and smiling.

You draw attention everywhere we go. Some days, you love the attention. You give them your best smile and bat your eyes at them. And other days (most recently), you bury your head in my shoulder and act bashful. I don't want you growing up to be too shy, but mommy loves that you are showing that you know who I am and choose me over strangers.

It's so fun to watch you see something you like or want. Once you spot it, you just go for it. Whether you are sitting, standing, laying in mommy's bed or your crib, or your swing. Nothing stops you. Sometimes you get overly excited and you just shake your hands all over the place! It's the cutest thing. Ever.

Food! You love food. If it looks like something that can go in your mouth, you want it. You've been eating baby food since you were 4 months and now you're moving up to Stage 2 foods, Gerber Yogurts and some table foods. If there is something on mommy or daddy's plate that you can taste, we let you. You licked ketchup on a french fry! You love fruits too. Strawberry's, apples, watermelon, bananas. The other day, mommy was eating breakfast and daddy was holding you on the kitchen counter and you picked up a whole apple and tryed eating it...all by yourself!

You are really into toys now. Things that make noise or lights up and anything that has texture to make your gums feel good. You're doing better in your excersaucer. You can move the seat in different directions to get the toy you want. And you'll stay in it for longer periods now.

You also love your pool and bathtime! You could sit in them all day chewing on your bathtoys.

No teeth yet! But you're drooling like it's going out of style.

You are still wearing size three diapers and mostly 6-12 month clothing. We still don't get many shoes on your feet - but it's okay. It's summer and it's hot and we love letting our toes hang out in the breeze!

Last week was your six month checkup. You weighed 18 lbs and you are 26 1/4 inches. You got two shots and had your finger pricked for a lead test - all which you did GREAT at! Better than mommy...she had tears in her eye again! You had a hearing & vision test too. You passed the hearing test in one ear - you wouldn't sit still and stay quiet long enough for the second ear to be tested. You failed your vision test. Dr. Laura said not to worry though! We will have to take you to an eye doctor in the near future and she said most kids just need to be watched and some eventually get glasses around age seven or eight. It didn't come as a surprise - mommy and daddy have bad eyesight too. Everything else went great though! Dr. Laura was very happy with how you can sit up on your own and how good you are at pulling yourself up (with help) to a standing position. You can now go to your checkups every two months.

Monkey - I hope one day you get to read these letters yourself. I hope this whole blog serves as a baby book for you. I never filled out your baby book but I am starting your scrapbook this week. But I do think this blog just holds more details that I think you'd love to know when you are older.

I heard a Macy Gray song recently and it's lyrics were exactly the advice I'd love for you to get.

There is beauty in the world
So much beauty in the world

Always beauty in the world

So much beauty in the world

Shake your booty boys and girls for the beauty in the world

There is beauty in the world and I want you to find it. Live life but remember to find the beauty along the way. It may be the smallest and simplest of things but if it's beautiful to you - notice it and remember it.

And don't ever forget how mommy dances with you in the kitchen and we shake our bootys together and make beauty in the world!

Mama loves you more than you could ever imagine...

XOXO,
Mommy