6 months

I can't believe it's been 6 months since Gabby made her appearance!  She is such a joy to have around, and makes our lives so full and complete.  It's amazing how such a small person has such a huge impact on us!

Gabby has again grown by leaps and bounds this month.  She's 14 lbs 6 oz, but that's really only part of the story.  She's also starting to give us glimpses of the person she's going to become.  She is so alert and curious all the time (which is definitely from her parents), but also very bubbly and talkative (which is most certainly not).  She hasn't hit the stranger danger stage yet, so any grownup who pays attention to her is rewarded with a huge grin and some baby babble.  She is also quite stubborn, and very vocal when something is happening that she doesn't like.  On the flip side, we've figured out how to make her laugh, and she's very free with her smiles.

She seems to have skipped sitting somehow.  She'll sit upright when on my lap, and really protests if you try to make her lean back too much, but on the floor, she'll sit for a few seconds, but then see something interesting and topple over to get it.  But what she lacks in sitting she's starting to make up in other ways.  See below:

Yes, you saw that right, she is crawling!  I am so amazed--she went from rolling around to rocking on her hands and knees to out-and-out crawling within a week.  Even since I shot this video on Monday, she has improved greatly.  Now, nothing is safe--particularly the cats!  The most motion seems to happen when Zoe and/or Snowball are in view--Gabby is desperate to get her hands on them, and they, understandably, want absolutely nothing to do with her!  Zoe in particular holds a great fascination for Gabby--it may be the black color against our white carpet, or maybe because Zoe is more likely to be around. I actually give daycare a lot of credit for this.  I think she saw the other babies crawling and thought, "hey, I can do that!"  I'm so not prepared for this!  Tomorrow will be my first day home with a fully mobile baby.  Should be interesting!

We've also started solids.  She gets cereal in the morning and at noon, and a fruit or veggie at night. 

First bite

She seemed to like it--minimal tongue thrusting, anyway!  She did go on to eat about 1/4 of what I made.

First taste of prunes was weird!

Hmm, maybe they aren't so bad!

OK, maybe they are!

I've discovered this is actually her "I'm full" signal.  Her next few experiences went much better.

We started with prunes, which she thought were pretty good (after 2 days), and then tried peas, which made her gag immediately.  So I just mixed the peas with the prunes, and she ate everything!  I can't believe I already have to outsmart my daughter.  We've moved on to squash and sweet potatoes, which were both huge hits, and we'll try green beans and carrots next.  I want to hold off on other fruits until after we get some veggies in her.  This is going to be a long process--the new wisdom says to wait 4-7 days in between trying new things to make sure there are no allergies.  She may be a year old before we know exactly what she can eat!

Gabby went on her first camping trip this month to Yosemite.  We went with a bunch of friends (10 adults and 4 children ranging from 3 years to 4 months), and we had a blast.  The lows dipped down in to the 30s at night, but we managed to keep Gabby warm with many, many layers of sleepers and blankets.  Sharing a tent was not so fun, since we heard every little noise she made, and I ended up not getting that much sleep.  During the day, we went to the valley and did some very easy walks with the kids.  It was hot, and I was feeling it, but Gabby seemed to be OK.  I think she really enjoyed herself--Brian and I certainly did!

Samantha, ready for hiking in her awesome hat

Us with Charlotte

Who promptly showed us a proper handstand

Gabby checking out Karen.  She decided Karen was cool.

The girls

Our friend Justin's uvula.  It's a very nice one.

Half Dome.  I've been up there.  I'm not going again.

Hiking, baby-friendly style.

I love this jacket, and I'm so happy she got to wear it!

Family photo with our gorgeous view of the meadow

I bought this hat when she was a newborn, and she just now fits into it.  Hello, Yoda!  I picked this shot because she looks like she's dispensing some Yoda-like wisdom in it :)

I just realized I don't have any pictures of Phoebe, Charlotte's sister, but I do have a funny story.  We put a blanket on the ground and laid Phoebe on it, while I was holding Gabby up facing her.  Gabby and Phoebe immediately started looking at each other, and seemed perfectly happy until Gabby burst into tears!  I think it was because she couldn't see Brian or me, but it looked for all the world like Phoebe won the staring contest and Gabby was really upset about it!  Phoebe even had a "that's right, I won" look on her face.  It was so cute.  Other than that, the babies seemed to get along all right, and Samantha and Charlotte loved playing together.

I started my first class this week, and it was so much fun.  It made me realize what a great decision it was for me to go back to work.  I definitely love teaching, and I think I have a great class this semester.  It's going to be challenging, since it's a night class and I have a ton of information to give them just once a week, but I'm hoping my students enjoy the class as much as I do!  My other class starts on the 28th, and I have so much work to do before then! 

Gabby loves daycare!  She's always in such a good mood when I pick her, and gets very excited to see the room when I'm dropping her off.  There was 1 day when it got very loud (lots of babies), and the provider said she got a little stressed, but calmed down once someone held her for awhile.  She gets cereal twice a day there, and eats it all up.  I'm so glad we have a place I can take her and feel confident that she's getting good care.

I'll update with her 6 month stats when she goes to the pediatrician on the 31st, and post her official 6 month photo then as well.