Eleanor - Five months, six months

Five months...and twenty-four days...(June 20, 2017)

Six months...and twenty-one days...(July 18, 2017)

For those of you keeping tally at home, here we are at the halfway-to-Ellie's-first-birthday mark, which blows my mind. I cannot believe how quickly this last half-year has gone, Eleanor!

You continue to shine as our our giggly, squirmy, happy, bouncy Ellie-belly.

Big brother Sam can't get enough of you these days. He wants to shove his face as close to yours as possible, and grab your arms, and help feed you. He wants to hold you in his lap. He will pile your toys on top of you when he thinks you want to play. He calls you "Ellie-belly" like I do, and likes talking to you in the same sort of high-pitched voice that grown-ups use when they are talking to kids.

I'm a little late in writing up this two-month update, so the timeline is a little out-of-whack, but this past weekend, at six months and three days or so, we decided to transition you out of our bedroom and into your crib in the room you now share with Sam. You'd had a good stretch of good sleeping: falling asleep around 9pm, waking up at midnight or so to eat and transition into your bassinet in our room, waking up around 2am and 4am to eat, falling back asleep easily and quickly. But then, in the last couple weeks, you gave up on sleeping. You still conked out from 9pm-midnight-ish...but then woke up inconsolable. You'd eat, but not doze off. We'd put you in your bassinet, and you'd scream. You wanted to be awake, and you wanted us to pay attention to you, no matter that it was the middle of the night. We had a few rough nights where I ended up sleeping on the couch downstairs after convincing you to fall asleep in your bouncy seat, but even that was tenuous. So we took the gamble and put you in the crib Friday night. It wasn't an immediate success. Lots of awake time Friday night. But then Saturday night, you nursed yourself to sleep while we were working through Sam's bedtime routine, and slept in your crib from 9pm-3am, and then from 3:30am-5:45. And then last night, you slept from 8:45pm-4am...and from 4:30am-7:30am! You like the crib! It is soft. And there's room to roll on your side or tummy. And I think you like having Sam in the same room as you.

I'm glad that you are coming around on sleep, because your active little body needs its rest at night! During the day, you are one bundle of energy. You roll both ways - back to tummy and tummy to back, and you use rolling as your main means of mobility. You are aware of objects and you reach for them. You are aware of people and you want to be near them. When we put you on the floor, you explore by rolling yourself around. Sometimes you dig your toes into the carpet and pull up a knee like you want to crawl, but then you just tip yourself over onto your back. You are almost able to sit up by yourself - if we set you down in a sitting position, you can hold yourself there for a few minutes, if you are really concentrating, but you still need a little more balance to keep yourself stable. You still love to kick your legs. You still love to suck your fingers. After long periods of playing or being held by strangers, when Mama picks you up once again, you like to reconnect by putting your fingers in your mouth with one hand and reaching for an available patch of Mama's exposed skin with the other - usually, face or neck. You have started to wave your hands at yourself and you are fascinated by watching your hands move. Your newest trick is raising both your arms over your head and waving your hands, which Mama and Daddy clap and cheer for. You like the attention!

Your personality continues to develop. You love smiling and are doing more and more giggling, especially when we tickle your belly. When you are particularly happy, you smile as big as your face can manage, sticking your chin up and making happy, dinosaur-like noises. You keep exploring your voice, which sometimes sounds nice and sing-song-y...and which sometimes sounds downright shrieky. You flirt with everybody - all you want from the world is for people to pay attention to you, and you offer giant smiles in return.

Two big developments this month are 1)Sitting in a high chair with us during mealtime (and throwing your toys to the ground repeatedly!), and 2)Starting solid foods! You loved rice cereal the first time you tried it, and had no problems eating off of the spoon. You can take down a LOT of cereal in one sitting, little lady!

At your six month appointment, you checked out great! You're a pretty petite baby - just over 13.5 pounds - but you more than make up for it developmentally. You charmed the pants off of Dr. Locke, smiling and giggling and being totally good natured through the whole exam. You weren't so pleased by your three vaccines, but you bounced back quickly.

We've spent a lot of time at the pool this summer so far, you and Sam and Mama. You look so cute in your swim rompers and your variety of summer hats. You don't mind the water except when it's a little too cool and breezy outside. You have started to figure out that it is fun to kick your feet in the water. You still love being outside, whether at the pool or on a walk or just sitting out on the deck.

Seriously, little girl, you are crazy happy and good natured nearly all of the time. I don't know how you stay so content, but I love it. Your smile melts hearts, mine included. We are so excited to watch you explore your world and grow into your big, sweet personality.