6 months!

I know what you’re thinking … “Um, is this thing on?” I’ve been busy, y’all.  BUSY I tell you!  Doing, er… stuff!  Yeah, raising a kid and all.  Mmmhmm.  It’s sort of the predicament when one of my non-parent friends asks what I’ve been up to – you know.  Stuff.

But the big news is we’ve made it to 6 months and no one has one lost their mind (me), gotten frustrated (him), or lost patience (her) with it all.  In fact, I have to say that the last few weeks (despite a few rough bits) have been exceedingly awesome.

Mia is just a doll right now.  She has become very cuddly and even publicly acknowledges that I’m her parent when I pick her up from daycare (even though I do not have the beard).  When she was tiny she hardly ever wanted to snuggle against me for more than a few minutes – now all of a sudden she must have some loving before naps or she will yelp to no end.  It’s such a strange contrast to how independent she was as an infant, but hey, I’ll take what I can get!  She is very active, flipping back and forth like some exotic legless creature and itching to start crawling.  Unfortunately she is not quite ready, so her version of this is a sad attempt to do the worm and flailing her arms about as she screeches.  Charming!

We also took a trip down to Orlando to visit with my family.  Mia was a trooper for the long car ride and did not implode upon contact with the humidity (the Mr., on the other hand, melted into a puddle immediately).  She had a great time at grandma’s and snuggling with her aunt and cousins, which also allowed for a lot of mommy time (wine + naps = AWESOME).  We even took her on her first trip to the beach.  She did so well, though she was certainly more interested in the sand than the water.

She has started solid foods, which is a lot of fun now.  In addition to breast milk, she gets oatmeal cereal and various new organic fruits and veggies.  It has been a lot of fun to try new things and combos with her.  So far she loves mango, banana + avocado, pears, and peas.  She is not a fan of carrot or yams.  I have kept up with my promise to taste everything that she eats, and I can definitely say I don’t blame her for a lot of her opinions.

Low points include us getting sick.  A lot.  Baby got a nasty cold, which then turned into a double ear infection.  I can now truly understand what it means to be a parent when you’re faced with an ill child and your every thought and emotion is consumed with worry and pray that she’ll just. get. better.  When she would stop crying from the pain and fall asleep, I would go lay down on the bed exhausted and instantly have the urge to call my mom and just say “Thank you.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.  I had no idea.”   I just fretted over her fever and obsessed over her temps.  Poor thing got so used to a thermometer being up her butt she hardly noticed it.  The Mr. and I got bugs as well, including pink eye for myself.  Yeah, I could have done without that in my life fuckyouverymuch.  Mia is also teething and has all that comes with it, including drooling, rashes, pain, and sleeplessness.

But even with that, things are just … great?  Mia also has a new baby cousin, we celebrated the Mr.’s first Father’s Day, and love visiting with the grandparents.  We laugh and play and have adventures, then some days we just chill out at home and… well, I know it sounds stupid to write over and over again how wonderful things are, but I just can’t imagine us being happier.  And now I kind of think she feels the same way.