May 20th

We had our 6 month trip to the doctor yesterday. 27 3/4 inches and 16.5 pounds! All is well and happy.

She has two teeth now, on the bottom. You can see them when she smiles. Getting a bit sharp when she wants to chew on your finger! Fortunately, one of her favorite things to chew on is a toothbrush. Wonder how long that will last?

We've started solid foods. Well, gnawing on them, at least. Her favorite thing is frozen fruit in a small mesh bag that she can hang onto herself. Probably feels good on the gums. She does sort of end up wearing it from head to foot, though! We had raisins the other day (she wanted them, and happily swallowed several) although those kinda came out in the same shape they went in. Also gnawed on an apple. I was a little surprised, because it was a pretty tart apple, but she happily sucked on it for quite a while, with occasional sounds of teeth scraping. We also tried the inevitable Cheerios. She had a good time pushing them around and picking them up, but she wasn't all that interested in actually *eating* them. She hasn't quite figured out how to get the sippy cup working on her own. She'll suck on it if you hold it, but kinda makes a face when the water comes out. I'd like to get her drinking a little water since it is now getting hot here.

She can sit up all on her own now. I put a pillow behind her and some toys and she'll sit there and play for several minutes (as long as I'm in sight). She still tips over now and then, but basically pretty stable. She seems much happier being vertical. Still can't put her on her tummy for more than a minute without being informed that this is not fun. I've been trying lying her on a bolster and that helps a little, but not much. So we may not be rolling over for a while. She can stand up with just something to balance on for a minute or so now, although she kinda crumples pretty quickly.

We have hair... well, sort of. It's very light colored, and there's not much of it. But it is there. Debating about cutting off her little duck's tail in the back.

Naps are still coming and going - we were doing really well for a week or two, but the last couple days haven't been so good. We had one night where she slept for nine hours (!) but most of the time she's still waking up at midnight, 2, 4, 6... and sometimes times between. At least she goes back to sleep fairly easily.

We're getting a little bit of "want mommy", mostly when she's tired. 'Course, mom's a sucker and always picks her up and carries her around. She's still quite happy to visit other people, though. Bill's taking a bit more of the baby care duties, so she has a few hours with him while I type frantically away. It's getting harder to take her to work for any length of time because she gets tired and won't go to sleep there. But while she's awake she's fine - sits and plays with toys in your lap. Although the keyboard and paper and pens are far more entertaining than any of her toys... She's been helping me with my paper reviews by shredding the papers....

We start day care (tu/th) in June. It's a very good place, but I'll be sad to put her in it. It's close enough to work that I'll be able to bicycle down and nurse a couple times a day, though.

Gotta go, we fly to Philly tomorrow.