6 months already

Okay, so technically it has been a week (and a half) since Adeline turned 6 months old, but we've been SUPER busy since then and I've been waiting to have her 6 month checkup before writing the big 6 month blog entry. We had her checkup on Monday and all is well. She got her immunizations and had the dubious 'weigh-in'. The good news is... she's growing. :) Our little shorty has grown a whopping 4.75" since birth. She's only in the 25th percentile for her height. Obviously height is not her strong suit. She is, however, excelling in the weight category. She weighed in at 17lbs 1oz, which puts her in the 75th percentile for weight!! She's definitely growing 'out' more than she is growing 'up' and it seems so suit her well... she's the cutest little rolly polly around!

I still have a hard time believing that Adeline is 6 months already! It's been such a wild ride! I never could have imagined how much love I could have for such a tiny little person. And a little person she is indeed... such a strong personality! I'm amazed at what a strong will she has. Robert and I are still debating who is to blame for passing on such a strong will. I know it isn't from me... I was a very easy going child. Robert has only lately began to fess up that he may have been "a little bit particular" as a child. Then there's still the option that somehow my sister Natalie has a role to play in this. Whatever the source, I'm sure Addie will put her strong will to good use in the future. I just hope she goes easy on us during the teenage years!

On the flip side... she's also become quite a social butterfly. Around a month ago she learned to turn on her charm and it has served her quite well. No matter how bad a mood she's in, if a stranger seems interested, she's flash her biggest smile and put on quite an adorable show for them. Gets 'em every time, right Addie? She's also very in to hanging out with all her baby friends (which works well because I love hanging out with all their moms)! Of all the babies, she is certainly the 'aggressor'. She LOVES to grab faces and has figured out that babies fight back a lot less than adults. Poor kidos. They never see her coming, then *wham*... almost lost an eye (or lip, or nose... whatever her target for the day). She was grabbing a lot sooner than some of the other babies and she took full advantage of it since they couldn't defend themselves. She made a few of the boys cry in front of all their friends. She's got to watch her back now, though... some of them are out for revenge!

By far my favorite thing about Adeline is her laugh. She started laughing a lot around 3 months and there is just something about it that cracks me up every time. Her Daddy can make her laugh at almost anything, but mostly she laughs whenever something scares her. Anything that startles her is just the funniest thing ever, which is a bit frightening for a mom. I keep imagining that she's going to be into some crazy dangerous extreme sports later in life.

Another thing that has been amazing to watch develop over the past 6 months is Robert's relationship with Addie. It is so sweet to watch them together. Robert gets up with her in the morning and plays with her for about an hour or so while I get some extra sleep and I can almost always hear her in there laughing at him. He plays the guitar for her, sings to her and wrestles around with her on the floor. It is a really special time of the day for both of them (...and for me since I get to have the bed all to myself!) and I have a strong suspicion that Addie will be a 'Daddy's Girl' her whole life. Robert doesn't want to admit it, but I'm pretty sure she could get whatever she wants with the flash of a smile her Daddy!

Now that Robert and I have paved the way and our friends have seen us survive 6 months of parenthood... we FINALLY have some new baby friends on the way for Addie to play with. Emmy Allen is 7 weeks old now and sure to be one of Adeline's best friends. Jake Reynolds is coming along in December and baby Mitchell is due in January. We expect more to fall any day now. Robert and I are so glad that some of our best friends are joining us in parenthood, but we do think it's a bit unfair that they will get to benefit from our VAST parenting knowledge and we had to go it alone. (kidding, of course... we were certainly not alone, nor did we acquired a vast knowledge of anything... especially parenting!) Honestly, we're just excited to have friends that will want to have dinner with us at 6:00 (so that we can be back in time for bedtime, of course). Addie is excited about all the new babies because she'll be the oldest and is sure to boss them all around.

Looking forward to another 6 months (and beyond) of fun!