A Happy Half-Birthday

That's right! Can you believe it???!!!?!? MAELLE IS 6 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

Can someone please tell that sweet little baby of mine to stop growing up so fast?!?
She is officially now eating solid food--in fact, today was her first taste. She had rice cereal, nothing fancy, but she loved it, and of course, she got it absolutely EVERYWHERE. It was so great.

The Whole Tooth...

Maelle has been teething for quite a while now, and today, all that gnawing and chewing and drooling paid off. She has officially cut her first tooth. It's on the bottom front, and a sharp little sucker. I know it's a little funny, but Matt and I are bursting with pride...every little accomplishment and indication of growth has us beaming, and this is no different.

Way to go Maelle! WE LOVE YOU!

Cutting ties...already

So tonight is the first night that Maëlle is going to sleep in her own room, and not in ours. I know I know. By most people's standards we're probably well behind on this. She is almost six months old now.

But believe it or not the first ties that we are cutting with our first daughter are quite difficult. We'll see how the night goes. We're hoping that her being in her own room will lead to better quality sleeps without us disturbing occasionally.

Because Babies Are Meant to Be Spoiled...

All babies need grandparents--especially ones that spoil them. My parents came to visit with my sister for a week, and it was great to have them. As always, it was a whirlwind, but so great. We went shopping (oh did we go shopping--wish my sister was closer, we'd do it more often,) we went to the Palmyra Pageant, Niagara Falls (the boys went on the Whirlpool Jet Boat Tour, the girls...shopped...) and we had a generally great time spending time together and watching Maelle get SPOILED!!

Grandma and Grandpa spent a little bit o'money and Maelle came away with one fantabulous exersaucer, a piggy bank, and clothes, clothes, clothes...It was awesome, and Maelle LOVES it all. The exersaucer is super fun, and Maelle LOVES it. She is reaching for toys and there are so many lights and things to grab, it keeps her very occupied. :)

Grandparents and Aunties are amazing. I am so very glad they got to come and visit!

The Flick of a Switch

It is always amazing to me how Fast everything can change. It's kind of like the flick of a switch, first it's OFF, and then it is ON. No 'half-way' here.

Maelle is like that.

Last week she was a tiny baby, sleeping in her

tiny bassinet, still and quiet....

and now FLICK,

she's a big baby, in a big crib and a little tornado in bed!

It feels like it happened overnight, out-of-the-blue, and all-of-a-sudden!

The scary/exciting part? I'm not sure which switch will be flicked next!

On a Roll...

My goodness...Maelle is now over 3 months old and changing SO much! Let me give you few examples:

1. She can now hold her head in line with her body when she is pulled up from laying down. Although I am no longer able to use this exercise as a way to clean under her double chins, it is exciting to see her gain more control over her giant noggin.

2. Tummy Time is becoming less and less traumatic. She actually is able to smile a bit when laying sunny-side down, which means I don't feel like I'm killing her when I put her that way.

3. She has become an excellent Kicker--in fact, she loves it when the bar on her floor gym starts to lean towards her feet--she kicks at the little hanging toys like crazy. We call them "her friends" because she smiles at them and gets very excited when she is laying underneath them--hopefully, her drop kicking them is not an indication of how she will treat any real friends she makes.

4. She is learning how to sooth herself to sleep. Not only does this mean she sleeps longer at night, but it also means she is able to go down for a nap much easier--although, I must admit, helping her learn to self-soothe might be making me go a touch grey. We have had a few tears over this (me and her) but, it is working, and she is beginning to understand that nap time does not have to be a traumatic event...most days.

5. Perhaps the most exciting thing: She can roll from her stomach to her back. It is still a big effort, and sometimes she doesn't quite succeed, but she has done it about 3 times, without assistance. It is pretty crazy to watch. You can tell she is concentrating really hard and trying to get her body to do what she tells it.

On a different note...

For those of you who know Matt and are friends with him on Facebook, you might have seen a recent post detailing some of our text messages to each other. For those you who missed it:

As a follow up, a friend suggested this...I got a kick out of it, maybe you will too...just remember: Beware the Number 3:

I Survived!

Okay--so being a sick while being a mommy is not fun. Not fun at all. Last week, I did not leave the house from Saturday night until Thursday evening. I was deathly ill, with a super sore throat, achy muscles, a super-sized headache and chills. Blah. I felt terrible, not only because I was ill, but because I was certain Maelle would be the darn things next victim--however, breastmilk rocks, and my little Jelly Bean is still healthy and smiley, and for that I am grateful.

Maelle is getting stronger each day, and is now making a pointed effort to reach for things. She still isn't super coordinated in doing so, but she really has more purpose in her movements, and her fingers are beginning to cooperate. It is so very cute to watch. Matt and I about burst with pride.

She is almost ready to move out of her bassinet, which will be a tough day for me; but with her head touching one end, and her feet touching the other, it won't be long until she is ready for a bigger bed.

We bought a swing the other day off of Kijiji, and she LOVES it. I wish I had gotten it sooner.

She also LOVES reading. Every night before bed, she gets a story, and her eyes are glued to the pages and she smiles and coo's right along with us reading. It is precious to watch, and one of those moments I treasure every time it happens.

**SIGH** So many moments, so many memories...so wish time wouldn't go by so darn fast!