Hallie--6 1/2 Months Old!

It is long over due that I write a post about sweet little Hallie. She is now 6 1/2 months old and just as delightful as ever. She is still nursing, but refused to take a bottle for a good month or so. That was a bit of a bummer for me because I couldn't leave her for too long, but at least Jared or the babysitter could give her food. I think she thought the nipple was a spoon and just gnawed on it. She's finally started taking a bottle again.

Hallie still sleeps in the co-sleeper by my bed, but she'll be sleeping with Marissa as soon as we get around to moving the crib in there. She is usually a great sleeper at night, but for the last little bit she has been waking up a lot at night. I think we need to load her up on rice cereal just before bed. She also doesn't take very long naps during the day. She pretty much just cat naps all day. This is probably my fault because I leave her in the middle of all the chaos, which wakes her up. But she's always happy after her little cat naps, so I can't complain. She sleeps in the car and is good when I take her places.

Hallie is still really skinny (only just over 13 lbs., 13.4 with clothes on and a full diaper) but she seems healthy and happy. I take her back to the doctor this week so I guess I'll see what they think. I'm always amazed by how big other babies are that are her age and younger, but then I remember that they are the normal ones and she is the one that isn't on the charts. I'm just so used to her size. She started really eating baby food at about 4 1/2 months and now eats food 3 or 4 times a day. She loves apples, bananas, squash, carrots, sweet potatoes, pears, oatmeal, rice cereal, yogurt, avocados, and she tolerates beans. I love her high chair because it is so small and easy to clean.

Still loves that thumb!

Hallie is a really wiry and stiff baby, not cuddly at all. When you pick her up she holds her arms and legs straight out like a starfish. We used to call her Archy because her back was always arched when you held her. She likes to be on her back and hasn't really caught on to the idea of rolling yet. I knew she could do it because I would walk away and when I would come back she'd be on her tummy, but I never once saw her do it. She was like the stealth baby. I finally witnessed it last night when Jared was giving her a rolling lesson. Instead of rolling, she prefers crunches. She's always got her legs sticking straight out in the air and her head off the ground, similar to what I do in my turbo kick class. The difference is that she actually does have abs of steel while I only wish I did. I'm sure if I spent as much time in this position as she does I wouldn't shake half so bad. I think she plans to roll straight up into a sitting position instead of rolling sideways. Funny kid! Here as some examples.

 

This one was taken before she could sit up on her own. She would always try to get out of the bumbo by doing "Stiff as a board". I love how serious and determined she is about it.

This one just reminded me of "A Christmas Story" because of the coat and her arms straight out. "I can't put my arms down!" And she does still like her swing although she tries to get out of it stiff as a board style if she isn't strapped in. She hasn't fallen out yet.

Hallie has a great pouty face when she is sad.

And sometimes she is serious/tired.

But most of the time she is very happy. I love that she is so content with life.

 

  

She loves playing with toys. This one is a favorite. I finally went upstairs and rounded up all the baby toys for her to play with in the family room. Now she's got a basket-full.

 

 Playing with the castle.

 

I thought this one was cute of Erin holding her while she reads. All the kids love to play with her, even Alex now that he doesn't feel like she will break. Marissa can really get Hallie laughing. It's very cute. She loves people, especially her siblings, and will go to anyone who is willing to hold her. It's so nice to have lots of helpers.

 

  Sunglasses!

She is a great little sitter now. She also has a great reach. She folds in half to get things and sometimes lands on her stomach in the process. She also started babbling a lot lately. Her first sound was "ba ba". Currently she loves saying "da da". I call her my Sweet Snucks and Hals.

We love this amazing, sweet, happy, loving, darling child! She brings so much happiness into our lives.