Caroline turns 6 months

Caroline all ready for church in her "ellow dress" as Rylan calls it.


Like a true woman, Caroline can already multi-task.


6 months old


Getting so big!


I am not so sure about this rice cereal, Mom.

Caroline reached her six month birthday last week, a big milestone in my mind because now we have the new adventure of starting solid foods. With Rylan we were so excited we started solids earlier, but I learned my lesson and am in no hurry to leave the ease of only nursing behind. These six months have flown by and I can scarcely remember life with just one child! I wanted to write some memories of Caroline at this age. We received a clean bill of health at the pediatrician on Monday and she weighed 20 lbs exactly and measured 26 3/4 in. Her 9 month clothes fit great and she even wears a few 12 month outfits.
At six months, I have finally dropped our last night-time feeding and just nurse four times a day. Caroline is a much faster eater than Rylan ever was, maybe because she has more entertainment to look forward to when she is finished. She also spits up more, a lot more than Rylan did at her age and I haven't figured out a cause for that. She spits up so much while rolling around on her quilt, that Rylan is grossed out and won't even play on it! We tried rice cereal and peas in the last few days and neither were a big hit with my girl. She liked bananas only slightly better and then mostly liked sucking them off her thumb!
Caroline is still a great sleeper, sleeping 12 hours at night and taking a 1-hour morning nap and a 2-hour afternoon nap. Now that she can roll both ways, she really likes sleeping on her tummy. She almost always cries for a few minutes before her bedtimes and sometimes rocking helps, but a lot of times she just needs to blow off steam.
I am amazed at how much more active Caroline is than Rylan was at her age. Of course, Rylan has more than made up for it now, so I am not sure what this predicts for Caroline's future! She can easily roll over both ways, scoot backwards on her tummy, and I have even caught her up on all fours rocking lately. I am constantly having to pick her up and put her back on her quilt to play, because she wiggles all over the place. She can sit by herself for a few moments at a time. She has become quite "grabby" lately whenever something new catches her eye, and inevitably everything new must be tasted At church last week, she was fascinated by our bulletin and kept trying to eat it. She also loves to chew on the ribbon on her toy basket and a string of beads. Those seem to be her favorite "toys" lately. She gets so excited and starts waving her hands around so wildly that it reminds me of a kitten playing with string. She is still content playing for long times in her bumbo seat or bouncing in her jumperoo.
We heard Caroline say "da-da" for the first time this month and she is quite fond of her daddy, especially touching his scratchy chin! She laughs and babbles and always has a smile for Rylan. It is fun to watch them interacting with each other. Rylan occasionally tries to take her toys or pull her bow out of her hair, but mostly he calls her "sweet pea" or "princess" and talks sweetly to her. He has a special high-pitched voice he reserves just for babies and animals!