6 Months Old!

 It feels a bit surreal to say that we now have a 6 month old now!  Here are her stats at 6 months:

Height 26.75 inches - 85th percentile
 Weight 18 lbs. 2 oz. - 90th percentile
Head circumference 17 inches - 75th percentile

{Fair warning, this post may be boring, but there are a lot of little things I wanted to document.}  I remember thinking when Ella was born that 6 months seemed so far away.  I also remember looking at other babies who were around 6 months old and thinking how big and grown up they looked compared to my little newborn peanut.  And now she is one of those big grown up babies and I'm realizing just how fast time is flying by.  I have loved every stage, but this is my favorite stage and I'm trying to hold on to every moment.  We are in such a good groove right now and I want time to stand still.  I fall more and more in love with Ella every day and am experiencing a new kind of love that I didn't know existed before having a baby.

Cody and I have recently talked about how different Ella is now than she was just a month or two ago.   If I'm honest I can say that the first 4 1/2 months of Ella's life were both the most rewarding times in our lives, and yet the most challenging.  We were blessed with this amazing little miracle, but I don't think we were prepared for just how challenging some of the first few moments would be.  Let's just say Ella is a strong-willed and spirited little girl who is determined to get what she wants :).  We were exhausted after sleepless nights and traveling during the month of January didn't help the sleeping situation.  We decided to do some intensive sleep training when Ella was around 5 months old as I was determined to have our girl sleeping through the night by the time I returned to work in early March.  While letting your baby "cry it out" was incredibly hard and isn't for everyone (remember when I said Ella was strong-willed? She cried for 2 1/2 hours the first night), it certainly was the best thing we could have done for her and for us.  I am proud to say that we now have a baby who sleeps around 11 hours every night!  She usually goes right to sleep without making a peep and goes down for a nap just as easily.  I didn't realize just how much getting a good night's sleep affected her and us.  She also naps great usually taking one 2-3 hour nap in the morning and one or two shorter naps in the afternoon/early evening. 

With Ella's personality starting to develop more and more, Cody and I have also talked about what words we would use to describe our daughter - "sweet, happy, strong-willed, and spunky" come to mind.  It'll be interesting to see if those characteristics will stick with her as she grows up, but it's fun to see her personality coming out as she is interacting more and more with us.  The ladies who watch Ella while I'm at work and some of the other moms in one of my play groups have described her as "mellow", "easy-going" and an "easy baby".  Again, not the words I would have used a few months ago ;), but I agree that those words describe her these days.  In new situations, Ella tends to sit quietly while observing and taking everything in with a cute little expression on her face.  After she warms up to new people and places, her squeals, babbles, and giggles come out.

Before returning to work, I was worried that the transition of Ella being at other people's houses a few days a week would affect her sleeping/napping schedule and that she wouldn't take a bottle (she boycotted taking a bottle from Cody for a few days).  However, she has done amazingly well being with Tricia, Jill, and her Grandma Howell - she takes great naps for them, eats like a champ, and sticks with her schedule.  It feels like she hasn't missed a beat.  I think the best part of mine and Cody's days are when we pick her up after work and see her face light up with her smiles and giggles.  I can honestly say that being away from her a few days a week makes me cherish our moments together even more and I'm grateful for that perspective.  I look forward to her snuggles, baby hugs, and slobbery kisses all day and it's so rewarding to get them in after a long day at work.  I'm loving my part time work schedule and am so happy that Ella has adapted so well to being with new people in new places.

She is just starting to sit up on her own.  She is still a bit of a weeble-wobble when sitting but prefers to sit or stand over laying on her back or tummy.  She can roll from her back to tummy and tummy to back.  She's constantly drooling, mostly because of all the spitting and blowing raspberries she does.  She's started making more and more definitive sounds - I'm proud to say that she said "mama" as clear as day one time :).  She loves eating almost anything she's given.  She LOVES rice cereal and the only fruit/veggie that she hasn't been a fan of is peas.  Can't say we blame her.  I think she takes after dad in the dislike of green vegetables.

Here are some pictures from the last month...

Sitting up on her own

Enjoying some new tastes

Our little princess

Love her smile!

 We can't resist a cute tutu

 6 months old!

 Her after bath hair...we can't wait for the curls to come!  Right now it doesn't stay curly when it dries but we're hoping to see some curls as she gets older :).