Happy [Half] Birthday!

Y'all, I cannot believe I am writing this. I almost don't want to write it because if I write it, it's true: Maleah is six months old! Six months! SIX MONTHS! To say this time has flown by is a gross understatement. I know every parent says this. But when it's your first time to see this happen right before your eyes, it is truly amazing. Anyway, let me climb back down to reality!

Still not into smiling for pictures...

Stats
Maleah weighs 15 pounds 1 ounce and is 26 inches long! She is in the 30th percenile for weight and 50th for height. She has officially doubled her birth weight - finally!!!

Schedule
The past month has been a little weird because we went on vacation and moved. So, we're trying to get back into something more predictable. She seems to be moving towards going 4 hours between feedings, so we're just letting her lead the way there! She goes back and forth - she'll go 4 hours one day and then only 3 the next. We're not pushing anything, just letting her tell us when she's hungry. So, I can't really give a sample schedule we haven't totally kept one this past month! We are trying to move to something like this:

7am - solids & bottle
9-10 - nap
10:30/11 - bottle then solids (for fun ~ gum on rice crackers, fruit, etc. - not a full solids feeding yet)
12:30-1:30 - nap
2:30/3 - bottle
4-5 - nap
5:30 - solids & 2-3 oz formula
7:30 - bath, bottle, bedtime (usually in bed by 8)

The evening nap is still a touch-and-go thing - some days she needs to sleep around 6:15/6:30 and some days she doesn't. We just keep playing it by ear!

Eating/Solids
Maleah takes 5-6 ounces per bottle, usually. She is a good eater and really likes different flavors and textures of food! So far, she has tried: avocado, banana, apples, pears, peaches (which she does not like!), apricot, prunes, sweet peas, green beans, zucchini, carrots, sweet potato, and squash. We have also let her try watermelon, which she really enjoyed! In coming weeks, I hope to let her try: asparagus, blueberries, plums, and maybe meat. The meat thing grosses me out - I refuse to puree it. If we let her try it, I will just let her gnaw on it! Now that she is six months, I am going to try to let her gnaw on more foods more often - this morning I let her gum a large piece of apple - she loved it! Oh, did I mention she LOVES water and likes to hold her own cup/bottle!? She doesn't hold the bottle for too long - just during random bouts of independence!

Activity
She can sit up fairly well on her own, which really happened so quickly! The daycare ladies told us they let her sit up to play for a while one morning and we were like, "What???". We hadn't seen her hold herself up - but this is probably because we only had her in the evenings when she was tired. So this weekend, that's all we did - practice sitting up! She still needs the Boppy around her if she's sitting for a long period of time because she leans too far, but she'll learn! She also gets up on all fours and "crawls" backwards. She gets really frustrated that she is going the opposite way of what she wanted, but she'll learn! She loves to grasp onto things, too - her favorites being my earrings, necklaces, and our phones! Quite possibly our favorite new development is that she will lean towards you if she wants you to hold her. Blake & I passed her back and forth about a dozen times one night because she would lean towards us! So cute. She's a very noisy baby, too - once she gets warmed up, she will blow raspberries or "roar" or just let out a good squeal! Love it!

(Please ignore all the mess surrounding her - we are still unpacking!)

Personality
Maleah seems to be a teency bit bashful, but once she opens up, it's hard to get her to settle down! Sound like anyone we know? (Me!) She loves to be active, but can sit through a book or two (and likes to help flip the pages). I can't wait to see how her personality develops in the coming months as she becomes more active!
We are loving this little girl! Today she had a little shots-hangover from her doctor's appointment yesterday, so I spent the morning with her. It becomes more and more difficult to let her go each day because she is so precious and I just love spending time with her. She is a joy, for sure, and we are so grateful for her!