6 Months

I'm one proud momma to see Laurel growing and loving life. She is one of a kind and I can't wait to see what God has in store for her in the future. As you can see, she still looks like her daddy, but thats ok. Her eyes have stayed a deep blue, and her lashes are to die for! Her hair is growing and is a pretty strawberry blonde. Maybe some day her hair will be long enough to put a cute bow in?

She is loving some cereal these days. She eats oatmeal in the morning with pears. In the evening she eats rice cereal with summer squash. Just this week (June 15) I added a third meal of sweet potatoes for lunch. I was going to wait till she was 7 months to add a third meal but I think she was ready. We have also started her on a sippy cup with only water and just give it to her after solid food. She only gets a few sips in but it sure is fun! It's so cute to see her holding it up with both her hands. Such a big girl!

I'm looking forward to trying more foods on her this month. Next up is bananas, then green beans (Yikes). So far I have made my own squash and sweet potatoes, and pears for her but in the long run if I have coupons I'll keep buying them pre-made. I've heard green beans are hard to get a good texture with if you make them yourself so I'll probably just buy those already made up too. I've also heard there is a nitrate issue with carrots, but I think as long as I buy them with the green stalks on them and make them right away and freeze right away we should be ok. Plus, its not like I'm going to feed her carrots every meal. I'm dreading adding meat into her diet, and think we might can do without? I may opt to keep feeding her iron fortified cereal and start her on lentils, yogurt, cheese, and eggs?

At her 6mo check up on the 13th of June she is back at the 25% for weight (14.12 oz) , at 4 mo she dropped to the 15% and it was questionable if I would continue nursing her, but we pushed through and I'm glad we did. Her height is around the 55%.

Her favorite thing to play with is probably a wet wash cloth. She loves playing peek-a-boo with it and chewing on it. I love to watch her excitement after meal times when I get the warm water going to wet a wash cloth, so funny. I call her my little swimmer/ froggie because she kicks her legs when she gets excited to be picked up or if she's really into what she's playing with.

Napping is still an issue sometimes, but I choose not to dwell on it. I'm thankful she sleeps anywhere from 11-12 hours at night and maybe someday when she's only taking two naps she'll get into a better groove. I can't seem to figure her out, but on most days she takes a 1 1/2 hr nap in the morning and for her last two naps she just does 30 min. I've been holding her for her last nap of the day and love seeing her wake up and rub her eyes and stretch.

5 months

Laurel has grown up so much this month. She is truly a wonder and I'm so blessed to see her grow and learn. She finally rolled over a day before she turned 5 months, she had gotten so close sooo many times before. It kinda scared her the first time she did it and both Andy and I were there with her (glad we both got to see that special moment). 

Laurel also has chompers now! Beware they are sharp. The bottom two popped through without any trouble, I had noticed some congestion, but no fever. I was expecting some major fussiness, fever, rashes but so far we are good.  

I also started her on some solid food just before she turned 6 months it took a good two weeks before she decided she liked cereal. She seems to go for the rice cereal more than the oatmeal. 

Her excitement to see Mom and Dad is too cute. She straightens herself up and grunts and smiles. It feels so good to be loved and recognized. I can't wait for when she can walk/ crawl up to me and give me a big hug all on her own. 

She got the hang of how her exersaucer works and can fully rotate around and looks so busy when she is playing. There's a toy on there that she finds frustrating to get in the exact place she wants it, and grunts and cries when it won't do right for her. Its fun to see her personality blooming before my eyes.  She also figured out her johnny jump up, it took a while but now she loves it. 

My favorite time with her continues to be before bed when I can nurse her to sleep. I also love after she finishes eating throughout the day and I put her on my shoulder to burp her and she cuddles right in and lays her head down on me. So sweet!