Lola is Six Months!

I can't believe my baby has hit the 6 month milestone!

 It's amazing how quickly the time has gone - there were many days during those first few months (especially the first month!) when I really wondered if I would make it to this day.

 I know I'm completely biased but Lola is so cute right now.  Her big eyes, little nose, rosebud lips, and hilarious mop of hair!  She makes my heart melt.

Lola continues to love to eat pureed foods, having tried a wide variety spanning squash, pumpkin, beans, beets, sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice cereal, carrots, peas, and avocado.  She loves being spoon fed and when she's hungry or when she's eating something particularly delicious (avocado and apples being her top favorites) she will try to bite her bowl because the spoon isn't transferring the food fast enough.  We have tried to give her a sippy cup and a regular cup but both confound her a little bit as she's not quite sure what to do with them. 

Lola loves (loves loves!) to play and has gotten much stronger, and can prop herself up straight on both arms for long periods of time.  She's still trying to get the hang of crawling by sticking her butt up high, putting her head down, and trying to worm her way forward.  Often, she ends up going backwards.  She also tends to vocalize when her toys are close but not quite within reach, as if she can summon her toys to her instead of the other way around.

One of her new things recently is patting us on the back when we hold her up on our shoulders.  She will repeatedly tap her little left hand on my shoulder as I pat her back.  She also will splash the water during her bath time now.  And if she's really happy or in a good mood, she will swing her left foot with great vigor.  It is adorable!

She has figured out how to push the buttons on her crib music mobile with her fingers and her feet and really enjoys doing all kinds of flips and rolls in her crib.  I often find her asleep with her little feet wedged between the crib slats, or curled up right next to the edge of her crib.  We joke that with all things (baby bjorn bouncer, crib, high chair) Lola is always trying to escape.

She continues to be obsessed with our mouths, always observing when we talk or eat.  We've just recently put her into a high chair so she can join us at the dinner table and that has been really fun.

She has also developed some hilariously weird quirks that we can't figure out.  For example, lately she hasn't wanted to drink milk out of her bottle at all.  We have to take her to the playroom on the fifth floor of our building (basically, anywhere outside of our apartment), otherwise she cries at the sight of her bottle.  What the what?  Perhaps it has to do with her teeth coming in but I've never heard of a baby who won't eat in her own room but will gladly gulp down all of her milk as soon as she's in her stroller and out of the house.

Getting her to sleep continues to be a struggle as she fights it with every bit of strength that she has.  Even if she is yawning and exhausted, she will try to stay awake and play.  Once she is asleep, though, she usually sleeps pretty well - with the exception that ately she has been having some bad nightmares and will sometimes wake up a few times throughout the night.

Our building has a lot of babies so the moms have gotten together and organized a playgroup, which is fantastic.  Lola goes once a week but so far for both times that she has gone, she spent her time semi-crying and being upset at the other babies.  I'm not sure if she doesn't like the room or if she's just frustrated that they're all mobile and she's not (they're all older than her), but she's fine when we take her to other playrooms where there are lots of other children running around.  Again, what the what?

One thing is very clear - this little one has a ton of personality and it's been evident from day one.  She knows what she wants and she isn't at all worried about indicating so!