our light at the end of the tunnel

a few days ago, my popadoodle turned 6 months old. i know i say this each and every month, but where oh where is the time going? i don't know- i'm too tired to tell you. for the love of pete, i've been saying that she's almost five months all month and then suddenly realized i somehow was a month off. i suppose it is because i want to keep her little forever and ever. but that is not possible, so i shall embrace my big 6 month old muffin.

quite a bit of changes have been going on in the month of january. sweet poppy is officially "crawling". she has her own style of army/crawl/jump on her elbows while pushing with her toes- but move she does. she puts anything and everything into her mouth and is in pure delight as she explores the textures and tastes around her.

speaking of "tastes"- sweet p is now eating food. she eats peas, sweet potatoes, bananas, peaches, strawberries, yogurt, squash and puffs. the eating of puffs has changed my life. sweet p will sit in her highchair and eat puffs for a real long time. she loves them. her "pincher" isn't quite perfected but that girlie knows how to get food to mouth- showing she has a bit of determination in her. making lunch and dinner has become way more enjoyable now that she has discovered this new skill (thank God- it was pretty hairy around here at mealtime).

poppy has also discovered her vocal chords. she is a big fan of practicing her "dadadadadada" sounds (which she sometime does in the direction of her father, making him feel very good) and likes to grunt and yelp to get your attention (as in: "momma, more puffs please. didn't you see i'm all out again?." she also has an abundant supply of giggles and smiles, but usually dons her serious/observant side (much like big sister ellie did at the same age).

also like big sister ellie, she is a thumb sucker (or pointer finger) and has rejected the pacifier completely (although she does get quite delighted upon discovering d's soosies temporarily neglected on the floor). poppy is currently taking 2-3 naps per day and wakes twice to be fed in the night/early morning (but does have some bad nights mixed in). overall, momma is fine with the schedule as it is very typical for a 6 month old girlie. but i won't lie- i am looking forward to "sleeping through the night" (we'll save sleep training for after the bar exam, thank you very much).

another fun part about sweet p is her curiosity. she wants to see anything and everything that is going on around her. if daddy is in the room, she want to know what he is doing. if e and d are playing with something, poppy is right there checking it out.

she is still very much a momma's girl- if momma is in the room, she wants to be near me. but she is also fine for me to leave the room. she has recently transitioned to the infant room at mops, the nursery at church and stays with our wonderful new sitters jackie and laura for a few hours each week. this is a nice break for momma as we have been glued together for the better part of the past six months.

and that's our summary- still no teeth (but lots of signs that they are coming), still no bottle (and lots of signs that she'll never take one), still lots of spit-up... but mostly, lots of smiles.

and here is our little light at the end of the tunnel. happy six months, sweet p, we love you!