Happy Half Year Birthday, Little Girl!

6 months already?! What the heck?! I’ve taken to saying, “She’ll be 19 years old tomorrow,” as a way of bracing myself for how quickly time will go. You are a such a gift; I’m treasuring every moment. I find myself stopping and just being present with you even while I’m in the middle of working or cooking or being busy with one thing or another. You’re becoming so great at being a part of our daily, working, traveling lives that it would be easy to miss the gift in the little mundane moments. But then I look at your and respond with this gigantic, eager grin from ear to ear and I can practically hear you saying, “I love you, momma” with those big blue eyes.

I love you, sweet girl. I love you.

This past month has been tremendously developmental for you and subsequently tons of fun for your dad and me. Just this past week you started your first foods and loved it. You started grabbing the spoon and pulling it to your own mouth on the second round! I had planned to feed you pureed versions of the foods we love and so far it’s been a big hit. We did butternut squash mixed with breast milk for a week and then yesterday afternoon you had avocado mashed with a little breast milk. You did great with both!

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I was surprised to discover – both from your cues and then from the info I looked up for some guidance – that you would still want to nurse just as much once starting purees. Apparently your calorie intake goes up and nursing stays the same. One book put it a way I really loved: Baby will continue nursing for the calories and start eating foods for the fun of it. Eventually, she’ll be eating foods for the health and calories and nursing for the joy of it. And then stop nursing altogether. Sounds like a nice progression for me.

I’m so proud of both of us for making it to 6 months exclusively breastfeeding. We did it, little one. I had read that “they” say breastfeeding through 6 months is ideal, but I just discovered this official scholarly article by the American Academy of Pediatrics that states in its abstract: The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirms its recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, followed by continued breastfeeding as complementary foods are introduced, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant.

This month you’ve kicked up your laughter a notch (and we love it):

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You’ve been sitting up unassisted like an old pro for a couple weeks now and have really improved your standing ability, being up to stay upright for a few moments while holding on to something. (Not pulling yourself up yet and you’ve decided to not deal with rolling over…you just don’t care…)

You’ve been to a family wedding & sported a cute pinafore dress that I wore as a baby…

…gone strawberry picking at Whittaker’s Strawberry Patch…

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…hung out with Landon Loomis for mom & dad’s date night (we’re swapping date nights/babysitting with our Loomis friends!)…

…improved your falsetto…
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…spent an afternoon making a new friend – Selah May – and hanging out with friends of ours we hadn’t seen since their wedding in 2008…

You have made tremendous strides in the church nursery, no longer crying the entire hour that you’re separated from momma. I love knowing you’re happy and just fine, and that you’re surrounded by a whole slew of people who love you to pieces (even if you do cry the entire time).

You’re developing more diverse facial expressions and experimenting with your vocal chords.

You really love mirrors and give me the biggest grin when you see my reflection next to yours.

You love being outside, you mostly love taking naps. You still love baths and being outdoors.

You went to your first Detroit Tigers baseball game in honor of our new Mother’s & Father’s Day tradition…

and that same evening went to your weekly worship practice just like you’ve done since you were 5 days old…

We’ve become more and more crazy about you with each passing day, Kirsten. You are gorgeous. You are smart. You are strong. You’re our girl. And we love you.

Happy Half Birthday!