six months.

eleanor has been around for half a year!

um, what?! 

i remember seeing six month babies when ellie was born and thinking that they were so big and developed and i just couldn't picture my baby growing so much. now my six month baby is that baby!

on february 22, she was 7 lbs 7 oz and 18 1/2 inches. now, she's working on 17 lbs and 25 inches (approximately - we have our appointment later next week). she's strong and healthy and beautiful.

 (she even looks blurry in person)

she has perfected the army crawl and can get around fast, especially if she spots an exciting forbidden object on the floor. if you put her on a floor full of toys, she'll crawl past them to get to the one permanent marker in the room. yes, trouble. she uses most of her energy scooting to me or daddy or judge and just hangs on to us. she can sit up okay, but hasn't quite perfected her balance. she doesn't sit still long enough to really be good at it yet. she loves to stand up and wants help doing it all the time. 

she has two teeth! she's eating cereal! i can't believe how grown up she is. she loves food. when we're eating, she makes "num, num, num" noises with her mouth to let us know she wants some, too. she wants to do pretty much anything we're doing - writing, talking, singing, cooking, laughing, typing ... in fact, she just grabbed the keyboard and somehow posted this post before it was finished. i had to delete it and transfer everything to a new one.

she's getting a little more hair, but it is really light. she makes some great expressions and i can usually tell how she's feeling with one look. scared, surprised, frustrated, mischievous, bored - she can blow through ten emotions in ten seconds. 

her favorite song is old macdonald - not sure why. i think she enjoys watching us scramble to think of more crazy animal noises to make. no other song has the same power. as soon as we start with "oooooold ..." she stops screaming immediately. weird.

she also likes:

food

sunshine

being held

outside

"helping" me do things

judge

making messes

crinkly stuff

going naked
singing

daddy hugs and kisses

wiggling

her friend in the mirror

bathtime

being in the kitchen

eating technology

being loud

smiling at strangers

finding yucky stuff

banging on anything

trying new things

mommy's hair

watches

(this is her new quilt, pieced by my mother-in-law's grandmother and sewn by her cousin. it's beautiful.)

she dislikes:

the vacuum

getting stuck

falling asleep and staying asleep 

not being able to wiggle

not being involved

tummy gas

she definitely keeps us busy. in fact, i need to go stop her from eating the plug on the vacuum cleaner (she only gets scared when it is on).

boy, we love our little girl.