6 months

i remember when Bayli was just a newborn and people told us that we needed to embrace and love each day because they would fly by so quickly and before we knew it she would be all grown up. well, i definitely listened, and we tried our hardest to embrace each day like they said. to remember each stage and each milestone. that is one of the very best things about this blog.... it's a place for me to document her growth, because of this blog i take pictures of her frequently, probably more frequently than if i didn't have a blog and it really is so fun to look back and remember her when she was her tiny little 4 pound self. well... it's crazy to think that she is already 6 months old. back when we were counting her life in days and weeks, 6 months seemed like a lifetime away, but, it's here nonetheless and honestly it's a little bittersweet.

bitter because i know that she is never going to go back, those memories and phases of her life are over and done with. but, very sweet because her new phases are so exciting and new and it's great to see her learning and progressing by leaps and bounds, and honestly... i'm learning a lot too.

she is still the same baby that i described in this post, but one of my new favorite things about her is how much more attentive she is, we can actually play with her, and tickle her, and make her laugh, and she is getting so much better at being patient and letting us know what she wants. honestly, it's been really fun and as much as i loved the cuddly lazy days of the newborn age, having an engaging and independent and squirmy 6 month old really has to be a tad bit more fun. more exhausting yes, but also more fun.

here are her stats from her growth chart from the doctor. (honestly, these will be pretty boring for you, i know, but this is just a place for me to keep track)
1 week old: head-1st percentile weight-0.24 percentile length-2nd percentile
2 weeks old: head-3rd percentile weight-0.61 percentile length-20th percentile
2 months old: head-21st percentile weight-28th percentile length-33rd percentile
4 months old: head-19th percentile weight-36th percentile length-80th percentile
6 months old: head-25th percentile weight-25th percentile length- 62nd percentile

i guess to sum it all up, we've got ourselves a little girl that is a little taller than average, and a little smaller in weight and head circumference. oh, and also, a few months ago we noticed that she started preferring her left hand over her right, and she still is, so... maybe she's gonna be left handed?? but, she also could just be tricking us. her eyes have changed from dark blue to hazel and now they honestly look mostly green in most lights so... who knows that could continue changing too. i guess we will just have to wait and see.

as i mentioned in this post, we are still sticking with the babywise method and are loving it. she is such an easygoing and downright easy baby. i can't tell what about her is "nature vs nurture". but hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing and she will continue to be this easy as she grows. she is still sleeping through the night and loves her new bedtime routine which involves a bath and massage and songs and stories and basically an entire play performed by both her parents. i know it sounds like a whole lot of overwhelming extras but, it's the one time of the day that we are all together, with 100% of our focus on her instead of trying to keep her happy while we focus on other things. it's really nice.

she loves baby food and is even starting to use a sippy cup. she hates formula and we are trying our hardest to get her willing to take a bottle for those moments when i haven't pumped any extra breastmilk. it's the biggest struggle we have with her. -if anyone has any suggestions i'd love to hear them-

at the end of the day, she sure is growing up. and growing up fast. much faster than we anticipated. but... that's the same ol' song and dance everybody says. i guess we just have to keep doing what we are doing, learn along the way, and remember to embrace each day because, before we know it... she really will be all. grown. up.