Six Months

Lana, 6 months old, threatens her mother’s livelihood.

It seems like six months went far too quickly.  Lana has been eating lots of different baby foods, some semi-solids (like tiny pieces of real banana) and baked finger foods (ones specially made to soften quickly), and seems to enjoy trying new foods.  (The only bum one so far has been hummus, and that was really my own fault: I should have known hummus was too heavily seasoned for her baby palate.)  Lana watches us eat intently, often looking like she’s about to grab what we have.  The cutest was when I was eating ice cream (a bowl and spoon, much like what she eats from) and she opened her mouth wide ready for a bite.  I didn’t give her any ice cream, but I mixed up some fruit and yogurt to feed her since she was clearly asking for food, hehe. Her two bottom teeth are really sticking out now!

She’s been to several softball games, which have been great fun for her; she likes the bright colors and the outdoors.  (And last night, Chico’s won!  Woohoo!)  We’ve also taken her on short non-essential store runs, though I am not quite confident enough to take her to the grocery store with me yet.  I’m not even sure why not, she’s always been good while she’s out, though I try not to push it with anything I think will be too boring for her.

Lana hasn’t quite gotten to a traditional crawl yet, but she’s close.  She gets up on her hands and knees to look around and examine things, and she’s recently started scooting both hands forward and then pulling her knees up to match, sort of a mix between scooting and inchworming to get to things she wants.  As soon as she realizes alternating left and right works better than alternating front and back she’ll have it down.

I’ve noticed that Lana wants to mess with any of the things we mess with: the remotes, the computer, the cats.  We got her a toy remote to play with since she was so interested in the television/dvd remotes.  I missed a fabulous photo possibility the day she reached up and stole the Ctrl key off my laptop.  (The baby has control!)  Mostly I’ve been trying to let her touch and explore these things that fascinate her while also making sure she’s non-destructive.  Her cat petting is improving dramatically (and yes she is now highly aware of the cats, watching for them and sometimes squealing at their presence).

The most fascinating thing so far about having a child is watching how she learns, especially physically.  I’ve seen her go from being “incapable” to doing things “with ease” in so many different ways; seeing the way she constantly works and exercises to reach a goal can make you believe that anything really is possible.

Happy 6 months, Lana!