6 Months Old!

We had several more milestones this week. It seems like there is something new to write about in every post. On Wednesday, Emerson turned 6 months old. A half a year! The photo shoots are getting a little more difficult, as our little girl loves moving around and grabbing at things. She loves to smile, and I did my best to capture her gummy grin.  

And here are a few of the outtakes...

Wednesday was also the annual Young Life Golf Tournament. This ministry is very special to our family, and Boomer has a big role in organizing and executing the tournament. With careful planning, we were both able to volunteer for the day while also bringing Emmy along. Em got to meet several new people, many that have prayed for her all throughout my pregnancy and now during her first six months. We are so blessed to be a part of such a loving community of believers. Grammy and Grandpa met us at the course, and after lunchtime, they headed back to Kernersville for Em's afternoon nap. Boomer and I stayed on through the tournament and dinner. Both of us were pretty tired from working during the day, but it was beautiful weather and overall a big success. 

On Thursday, we had Em's 6-month doctor's appointment. Our last visit to the doctor's was for Em's 4-month appointment; it has been a blessing that our girl has stayed so healthy throughout the winter and spring. She now weighs 15 pounds, 6.5 oz (36th percentile) and is 27.5 inches in length (96th percentile!) She is following a healthy growth curve, and she continues to be long and lean, like her Daddy. My genes must be in there somewhere, so I think it is likely that her height will plateau at some point. But if not, perhaps we will have a basketball or volleyball player! Grammy has come to most of Em's appointments, and not only does it make for a convenient handoff, it is also helpful in answering the doctor's questions. Grammy knows a lot about Em's daily routine, and she helps me remember any questions that I may have. You'll notice in the photos below that Em had to have a few shots. Each of her appointments have had vaccinations, and luckily after the initial stick and a few tears, Em doesn't seem to be too fazed. I cuddled her for a little bit, and then it was off to Grammy daycare while I went on to work.

We just moved up to size 2 diapers, and Em is wearing 6-9 month clothes. I've noticed over the last few months, she typically outgrows onesies and sleepers first, anything that may restrict her legs. Her feet are also growing quickly; I had to buy several new pairs of socks at Babies R Us this week after the usual 6-8 pairs I had in rotation were getting a little snug. The weather has been back and forth from hot to cold; some days she goes barefoot, and I think it is just the cutest to see her little toes wiggling around! She loves to be active and kick her legs; the exersaucer is one of her favorite activities right now. We are still using a pillow under her feet because she can't quite touch the ground, but even so, she gets a pretty high bounce! The exersaucer has come in handy in the evenings while we are eating dinner and also on the few occasions that I have worked out at home. I'll pop in one of my DVDs and put Em in the exersaucer; she loves watching me and jumping along. Em likes to play hard, but she equally likes her beauty sleep. Bedtime continues to be around 7:00PM to 7:30PM, and she will generally wake up between 5:00AM and 6:00AM. I prefer when she sleeps until 6:00AM, because this is the time I have to get her up anyway when it is during the week. On the mornings when she wakes up earlier, my alarm is her gibber-jabber coming through the monitor. Usually I'll find her looking up at the camera and waiting patiently for me to come in to her room. We sing the 'Good Morning, Good Morning' song (a Mommy original), and then we start our day. We have continued feeding Em rice cereal, and just a few days ago, we introduced sweet potatoes! She has had mixed reactions to the sweet potatoes. Sometimes we are able to get in several spoonfuls; other days, she blows raspberries and thinks the spoon is part of some silly game. We introduced carrots earlier this evening, and that was again met with mixed reviews. The plan is to continue introducing different fruits and vegetables; hopefully Em will become more consistent with taking food from the spoon.

Rewind to last weekend, we took Em to her first Kernersville Spring Folly. It was a chilly May day, but we had fun walking around and eating lots of yummy fair food. We also had a couple of evening walks this past week, and last night we went out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Dinner continues to be a challenge, in that it is hard to find time to fit it in, much less actually cook something! Em is also in the in-between stage where she doesn't like being contained in her car seat, but she isn't quite stable enough to sit in a high chair. I think it will be just a few more weeks before she will be ready to do that, so until then, we either pick up take-out, microwave frozen meals at home, or try to entertain our little girl as best as we can at a restaurant. At the Chinese restaurant, we were the only ones there, and Boomer and Em had fun making faces at the mirror. Boomer is a good sport and has gotten quite skilled at eating one-handed. 

As I write this, we are closing out the week but also getting ready for a busy Mother's Day weekend. Laundry is in the dryer, and we are packing for a night away. Tomorrow morning, we will be leaving before the sun comes up to go to Boone for Carlin's graduation. She will be graduating with her degree in Public Relations and English. Congrats to Aunt Carlin! And fingers crossed for a smooth trip!