Sixth Month Snapshot

This month seems to have been a big one for Ainsley developmentally.  (We don't have her 6th month check up for another week, so I'll update her height, weight stats as soon as I get them.)  She can now sit up almost entirely on her own.  She still needs balance checks but you can tell she likes this new vantage point and the freedom it gives her to play and reach for toys.  She has also learned to roll from her back to her tummy, a tool she has started using when toys are just a bit out of her reach.  When she is on her back she "head scoots" off her play blankets by arching her back, balancing on the crown of her head, and pushing with her feet.  This can't be good for hair growth but she looks hilarious doing this and it gets her where she wants to go.  She is also become a jumping machine in her exersaucer!  Before we left for Christmas she wasn't sure what to make of this "toy" and just sat in it.  We even had to put a book between her and floor so her dangling feet were able to touch the ground.  But then when we got home after being gone for only a week, she no longer needed the help of a book to reach the floor and much to her delight, realized how to jump like crazy. 

Loves:  Ainsley takes after her parents and loves to eat!  She is so content to sit in her high chair and gobble down rice cereal, sweet potatoes, peas, and carrots all the while grabbing the spoon and humming and singing.  It is a sweet, funny sight to see.  Surprisingly the only food she hasn't loved is bananas, which gave her the "shudders" before she spit them out, but so far everything else she embraces with a wide open mouth!

I think I've mentioned this before but Ainsley loves, loves, loves her lovey.  She rubs it all over her face and snuggles it every time she goes down for bed or a nap and anytime she sees it, it brings an instant smile to her face.  She loves this little thing so much that this month after realizing that it had been discontinued, I called several Restoration Hardware stores until I found a store that still had some in stock.  And then I ordered two more... just in case.

Another random love of our daughter's is when I sneeze.  She just stares up at me with a huge satisfied smile like, "That was funny.  Make it happen again."  She also loves to suck on the wash cloths we use after her meals and during her bath.  My mom knitted these from super soft soy-based yarn and Ainsley always reaches for them and chews and sucks the water out anytime we're trying to clean her up.  And she still loves the made-up songs George and I sing to her when she wakes up, during diaper changes, in the bath, and other spontaneous times throughout the day.  I love this too and hope it never changes about her.

Dislikes:  Our little princess is becoming a bit more vocal when there is something that she needs, ie. she doesn't want to be held, she's bored with her position and can't figure out how to change, or she wants to eat whatever we've just taken away from her.  When she's tired of us holding her she now puts both hands on our chests and pushes off with all her might.  She's still snuggly when she wants to be but she's now not quiet about when she's not in the mood.

Our spunky little girl continues to amaze us and we fall more and more in love with her everyday.