Giggles + The Grump: 6 Months?!?

It's hard to believe that our little girl is already 6 months old...half-way to a year! It's amazing how fast the time goes when you have no clue what you're doing. At least we've had a lot of fun these last months; every step has been an incredible adventure and definite learning experience. This last month in particular has been awesome; LC is growing so fast and learning so much from one day to the next. She seems to wake up every morning with a new skill and can't wait to show it off to Jess and I.

Month 6 was a busy one for the family and for LC in particular. After getting back from Chapel Hill in late October, we rushed around most of November trying to take care of things before driving back up to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. The first order of business was introducing LC to "Santa Claus" and getting some Florida Christmas pictures taken on the beach. Of course, trying to time anything around an infant's nap schedule is nearly impossible, so LC was a little cranky when we met Mr. Claus and the photographer at Hanna Park.

Despite her suspicions about the whole process, we managed to get some pretty cute pictures. At least enough to use for Christmas cards.

Play time for the model before the shoot

Inspecting her Haute couture

Jolly or not, I don't trust you old man

For Thanksgiving, we headed to Rocky Mount to visit Jess' family. We were a bit anxious about another 7+ hour drive, this time with Annabelle, but it actually wasn't too bad. This was the first time Jessica's entire family was together since our wedding in 2009, and it was great to see everyone. One goal of the holiday was to get take a family photo. Helen was a trooper trying to get a good picture, but it was a bit of struggle....

Our attempt at a family photo

It was LC's first time meeting her Uncle John, Aunt Megan and cousins Vivian & John David.

Vivian & LC sharing toys

All of the cousins love visiting Grandma and Grandpa's - there are lots of fun activities, like jumping in the leaves -

And of course, fishing in the creek by their house -

Next year LC might be more interested in the leaves and fish, but this year she was content to spend time hanging out inside. Sometimes in laundry baskets....

Cuddling with Ella

Modeling her new Christmas outfit

Annabelle has decided that she no longer wishes to be photographed.

We tried on another day to get a picture of all of the grandkids, which proved to be another difficult task.

They look thrilled, don't they?

Hanging with Grandma

While in Rocky Mount, we were very excited to get to hang out with Helen, one of Jessica's dearest friends from high school, and her roommate at UNC. LC loved meeting Helen, and hopefully it won't be so long before we see her again.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and LC cooperated by napping during the actual Thanksgiving dinner. She was such a good baby during our travels and the adjustment to a house full of family. I think she was pretty worn out when we got home. Here she is resting peacefully in her adorable little turkey jammies.

Besides coming back from North Carolina a few pounds overweight, Trevor also came back with a pretty nasty cold. Naturally that spread to Jessica and eventually LC, which had the whole family out of commission for a few days. Trevor's cold turned into a painful sinus infection, so he was quarantined for a few days, leaving Jessica to tend to a sick and often cranky baby. Luckily, neither Jess nor LC caught the sinus infection and they were both over their colds pretty quickly.

The timing worked out well as LC went for her 6-month doctor visit just as she was getting over her cold. Dr. Connolly gave LC her check-up and said that she was doing great. She continues to be a long and well-fed infant--she was 95th percentile for height (28 inches) and 75th percentile for weight (17lbs, 2oz). We've started introducing some more foods, including fruit, but sweet potatoes continue to be her favorite. She is a great eater, and loves grabbing the spoon and bringing it to her mouth. This usually results in quite a bit of whatever is on the spoon ending up all over hands, which is mostly ok, until she decides she's sleepy and rubs her eyes, getting food all over her face.

The two biggest happenings for LC this past month were learning how to sit up and the arrival of her two bottom teeth (just in time for Christmas). She had a tooth getting ready to come out for a while and it finally broke through. Almost immediately after, the one next to it started coming up as well. They've been growing like crazy lately and a third has started to break through as well; we tried to get a picture but she's pretty self-conscious about her toothy grin and wouldn't smile for Dad. Naturally, she's been drooling like crazy and teething on anything she can get her hands on.

She first tried teething on the soccer ball

Bath toys are apparently the best

Watching LC sit up has been one of the most incredible things yet. It seems like she just woke up one morning and had figured out how to sit up. The balance was a little wobbly at first and we suffered a couple of falling backwards accidents, but now she sits up like a pro. It's funny because she only wants to sit up now; she gets cranky if we put her on her back or stomach. It didn't take her long to figure out how to sit herself up, which has made trying to change diapers or get her dressed a little more complicated. She looks like such a big girl sitting up...it makes us both so happy, yet a little sad watching her grow up so fast. At least we've been able to bring out some of the older, sitting toys for her to play with.

Month 6 brings another onesie competition. I have no clue how long kids are supposed to wear onesies, but I don't think we have too many of these competitions left. Of course, I'm sure I'll be able to find a way to turn the next step of child dressing into a competition.

For month 6, Mom went with a coordinated polka-dot look, while Dad took his inspiration from fashion, music and haircut legends, Right Said Fred.

Mom's Entry, Month 6

Milan, New York & Japan

Dad's Entry

We can't wait to spend our first Christmas together as a family. LC is a little young to get into the Christmas spirit this year (she's been giving the tree some unsure looks since we put it up), but it will be nice to spend Christmas at home with LC and Annabelle. We hope that everyone reading this has a wonderful holiday and a healthy and happy new year.

Here are a few more random pictures from the last month: