Lily--6 months old

Oh Lily. I was worried when I found out I was having a girl that I would struggle to love her as much as I adore my boys. I shouldn't have worried. This little girl lights up our lives--I don't know how we ever got along without her.

She is 6 months old now! I can't believe how fast time has flown. Here are her 6-month stats:

Length: 25 1/8 inches

Weight: 15 lbs. 11.5 oz.

She is 15th percentile for length, 50th for weight and 75th for head-circumference. Shorty.

This little miss is all smiles all the time. She is very much like her brothers--extremely social. She will smile and laugh at anyone who looks at her which makes taking her to the store a fun experience. Even crusty old men and little kids will stop and talk to her just to see her smile and hear her squeal.

Lily has the longest eyelashes ever. I'm glad our girl got them. They make her eyes so expressive.

She loves to "talk" and will babble to herself and to you. She's starting to say "da da da" and will use her hand to make silly sounds with her mouth. She is a squealer, too, which I think is absolutely adorable.

She is sitting up on her own! She's been doing this for a couple weeks now and is very sturdy. I love it when kids learn this. You can give them a few toys to play with and they're content for several minutes just sitting there playing. It also makes shopping easier because Lily is more content to sit up in the front of the basket instead of in her carseat. She can happily last a couple hours running errands if she gets to sit up and watch what's going on.

She is learning to crawl! She's almost there. Around 5 months old she started getting up on her knees and elbows rocking and she's now up to her hands and knees. She'll get up on her hands and knees and flop forward like a seal to get anywhere she wants to go or she'll lay on her belly and pull with her arms while using her toes to push. Although she's not "crawling" in the traditional sense, she is very mobile and we've had to be more aware with what we leave on the floor or how close she is to the stairs. 

I love this little "downward dog" thing she does now. I'm giving her a couple more weeks and we'll have a fully crawling baby on our hands.

She loves food. If you're eating or drinking anything, she'll try and grab it and put it in her mouth. She's been that way since she was about 4 months old. She doesn't have any teeth yet, but that hasn't stopped her from enjoying just about everything. Not one to be left behind, she is insisting more and more on feeding herself even though she's mostly unsuccessful. She'll grab the spoon and guide it into her mouth or she'll take the food out of my hand in her little fingers and attempt to eat her all by herself. 

George and I have a few nick names we use when we're talking to her. Our favorites are "Lillers", "Little Miss", and "My Squishy". I love picking her up, giving her a big snuggle and feeling her fit right in. She really is squishy and I adore it.

She loves her Daddy. When she wakes up in the morning I pull her into bed with me and George to nurse her. As soon as she sees George, she'll stop nursing and struggle and squirm until she can touch him. She smiles and laughs and smacks his face until he wakes up and tickles her. So sweet. George can't get enough of this little girl.

Jude is probably her favorite sibling so far. She can hear his voice and start laughing. He's rough on her, but she takes it in stride and seems to love it (for the most part). He can get her roaring with laughter and whenever he's around she'll try to get his attention.

She is a mama's girl. She prefers to be in the same room as me and if I leave she gets upset. It makes it a bit difficult to leave her. Lance, Jude, and Cole were the same way so I'm confident it will get better as she gets older. It does make me feel good, though, to take her crying from someone else and be able to comfort her almost immediately. 

I hope her hair starts growing soon. She was born with some decent hair but it fell out and she now resembles what her brothers looked like at this age. In fact, many people confuse her for a boy when we're out (to be fair, she's in a red and black carrier and is often wearing colors like teal, blue, and green). I think she's perfect, but it'll be fun when I can clip bows in her hair.

This little girl is wonderful beyond words. I love waking up to her smile in the morning. I love snuggling her at night before bed. I love watching her learn new things every day. I love hearing her laugh and squeal. I love watching the boys love on her and see her obvious joy at being noticed by them. I love this age because kids become your little buddy and want to be with you everywhere you go. I can't get enough of this little girl. So glad she's ours.