Half a year...

Where have the last six months gone?!?!?! BJ and I got engaged nearly 2 years ago and at that time, we had no idea what path our life would take, but we certainly never expected to have our first baby a year and a half later. Our lives are now centered around this amazing little girl and I have to say that we have adjusted to being parents very well. It is definitely on the job training. All of the parenting books that I read before she was born could not even begin to prepare me for all that I would need to know. Fortunately, there really is a thing called motherly instinct.

At six months, Kaitlin is:

* Very active.
* Rolls all over...including on the changing table, we have to watch her every second. And in her crib.
* Laughs and giggles.
* Plays.
* Smiles all the time.
* Sometimes mimics what we do.
* She can sit up alone...but is very apprehensive about it.
* On the move- ready to start crawling.
* Self soothes herself to sleep. When she starts to get fussy, we lay her down and she is asleep within minutes...And she goes to bed at a decent hour now.
* Is starting to eat solid foods.
* Sucks her middle two fingers.
* Has 2 teeth coming in.
* Lights up when she sees her mommy and daddy.
* Loves her Maddie girl.
* Is very ticklish.
* Laughs when I sing to her.
* Wears 6 month clothes, but probably not for long.
* Can hold her bottle on her own, but prefers mommy and daddy to do it.
* Talks all the time. I think she says "hey" and "hi" sometimes...trying so hard to teach her ma ma and da da. I swear she has said "pook" a couple of times(nickname for Maddie)...but probably just coos.
* New hair coming is blondish.
* Eyes are still bright blue.
* It melts my heart when she smiles at the sound of my voice. She does the same with her dad.
* We lowered her crib a notch because she is starting to try and pull herself up.
* Has such a personality!
* Happy as can be. :)

And how are lives have changed in 6 months:
* Everything, and I really mean EVERYTHING changes.
* Drinking alcohol, even just to unwind, holds little appeal.
* Late nights are staying up past 10.
* 8 am is sleeping in...late.
* Smelling like spit up is becoming normal.
* Taking twice as long to get ready to go anywhere.
* Talking in baby voices is completely normal and does not feel weird at all.
* Feeling like I just ran a marathon all of the time.
* Shopping now involves going straight to the baby section.
* Feeling proud everytime a stranger tells me what a good and/or pretty baby I have.
* Never EVER getting enough sleep...it is amazing what you can accomplish on no sleep.
* Watching cartoons in the morning instead of the news.
* Feeling heartache during the days.
* Worrying about all the bad things in this world.
* Praying that she will always stay sweet and happy.
* Hoping that we can always protect her and keep her safe.

We are learning everyday and I am accepting that I cannot do it all on my own. Thankfully, I have a lot of help. We are fortunate to have her grandmothers watching her, which keeps my anxiety down a lot. I have had a hard time recently with some personal things, but just seeing that little sweet face smiling at me makes everything better. It also makes me realize that as long as I have my family, nothing else really matters. Crazy to think that in 6 more months she will be a year old!!!