Happy 1/2 Birthday!

Elise turned 6 months old a few days ago! We all went out to eat at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate. I can't believe how fast she is growing. Here are a few things that Elise is doing right now:

1) She got her first tooth last Sunday (bottom right center). I am expecting the one next to it and the two top center teeth to come fairly soon... her gums are swollen and I can see the teeth through the gums.

2) She has mastered sitting up. Starting at 5 months she was pretty good with the tripod sit (balancing with both hands on her feet). By 5 1/2 months, she was strong enough to sit with her back straight and her arms out. Now, she is an expert at leaning to the left, right, or forward to reach a toy and then raising her body back up so that her back is straight again. I have been impressed with her strength.

3) She will work hard to get a toy out of reach. (I really need to post a video of this because it is funny, but for some reason the operation times out before the video gets ready to post. Any tips?) Try to visualize this: She will be sitting up with her back straight and decide that she wants a toy that is pretty far away. She leans down so that her elbows and hands are on the floor (still sitting but now looks like a contortionist) and then grabs at the toy with one hand and uses the other to push herself back up.

4) She can support her body weight while standing for a few seconds.

5) She loves to wave her arms in the air while standing or sitting.

6) She can say "Maaaaaaaaaaaaaa" and "Mmmmmmm" but no babbling yet.

7) She is very interested in food. So far she has only sampled cereal and avocado, but she loves them both! She makes a chewing motion with her mouth whenever she sees food and/or watches someone eat.


8) She LOVES playing with toys. She passes them back and forth between her hands and will bang them together if she has one in each hand. I haven't noticed a preference on left vs. right... just whichever is closest to the toy (or necklace, hair, clothes, water bottle, dog, etc).


9) She also loves to roll around and goes all different directions. Up until about 5 months she only wanted to roll clockwise, but now she doesn't care. She looks effortless when she rolls compared to 3-4 months when it looked like it took a lot of work.

10) She loves to swim and splash in the pool. I don't think she could ever get tired of this.

11) She is still a great baby. My mother-in-law said that God knew what He was doing by giving us Elise since I have to take care of her by myself for a year. She is a great eater and almost always goes down easy for naps and at night. Right now she takes two 1.5 hour naps and sleeps 12-12.5 hours at night. I am gradually trying to transition her from 8-8 to 8:30-8:30 and eventually to 9-9 right before daylight savings time :)

12) She loves to play with people but can also entertain herself. It is so much fun to watch her explore and examine new things.

Happy 1/2 Birthday, Elise! Mommy and Daddy love you very much.