Emory - 6 Months!

I can honestly say that these have been some of the quickest, and happiest 6 months EVER!  I'm going to sound all mushy, but Emory is just the best little baby!!  I have felt a LOT different being a second time parent.  I thought I "enjoyed" Brynn as a baby, but nothing like this.  I don't mean that to sound bad to Brynn, but I'm just so much more relaxed this time around and I don't stress about a lot of the things I stressed about last time, which has made the "baby stage" so much more enjoyable.  You know, when Brynn was a baby people would say "it goes by SO FAST so just enjoy it", but until you live it and see that it's true, it's just harder to do that.  This time I KNOW that certain things are going to end, and I am just soaking up those little moments.  Shockingly, I am ENJOYING the baby stage so much this time around.  (And most of my family and friends know I've also said that was my least favorite part).  Anyway - a sweet, easy-going baby combined with being second time parents combined with an older toddler who was already potty-trained before Emory was born (HA!) have all helped these last six months with Emory just be such a sweet and special time.  I was telling Ryan a few weeks ago I finally see how people can say "I just want to freeze time".  Both girls are at such a great age and I KNOW I will look back and miss all these special days we are having.  "Living in the present" is something I haven't always done very well, and something I have really prayed about and asked God to help me do.  I am truly LIVING that right now and it is SUCH  great feeling!  (And I have no idea how this little post just turned into a mushy sermon, but I guess that's what happens when your tiny baby turns 6 months around the same time as your older baby turns 3!)

Month 6 -

• She weighs 15.0 lbs - 36%
• She is 26 1/4 inches long - 62 %
• She is starting to wear all 6-9 month clothes.
• She is in size 2 diapers.
• Her sleeping has been GREAT!  We get her up around 7:30.  She takes a morning nap from about 9:30-11 and an afternoon nap from about 1-3 or a little later.  Then she takes a cat nap from about 5:30-6:15.  She nurses around 8:30 and is in bed before 9. 
• NURSING/FOOD - She nurses in the morning when she gets up, then has some oatmeal and fruit.  She nurses again around lunchtime and also has some veggies.  She nurses sometime after her afternoon nap, usually around 3:30.  Then if we are home I'll let her nurse a little bit after her catnap (really only to help keep my supply up).  If we are out and busy, then I don't worry about letting her nurse at that time.  But either way she has a pretty big "supper" with oatmeal, maybe some fruit, and veggies, and now we are adding meat at that time.  Then I always nurse around 8:30 before she goes to bed.
• She takes a bottle just fine when I'm working or if we are out doing something.
• She is starting to sit up all by herself pretty well, and she is starting to army crawl!  WHAT??
• She has become QUITE the little jabber-box.  She makes all kinds of silly sounds...ga ga, la la, ha-la, da-da...just a string of jabbers and it is so cute!
• She loves to sit in the jumpers and little exer-saucer things.  
• Her new favorite toy (that we just got back out) is Sophie the Giraffe...she also really likes this flat crinkly teddy-bear toy .
• EVERYTHING goes in her mouth...everything!  She is really good at reaching out for toys and holding on to stuff.
• She has the BEST little belly laugh and she loves when we blow on her belly...we can always get her to laugh when we do that.  
• She still loves her bath time...especially if she gets to get in with Brynn and watch Brynn play.
• One of her favorite things is getting to be in the "carrier".  I put it on for the grocery store or if we are out running errands and she sits in that and looks out and just LOVES it.  Grocery runs are so fun with her and Brynn!  (I can't believe I'm saying that...but it's true!) 
• People comment a lot about how happy and smiley she is...they are right!  We love our sweet little Emory!
• And I know this seems like such a happy mushy post, but this really has been a great month!  (I know with teething just around the corner, things may not be so rosy!  HA!)

And to compare...Emory (above) at 6 months...and Brynn (below) at 6 months!  (I should have put Emory's hair in pigtails to help compare!)

We are just SO THANKFUL for our Emory!