Happy half-birthday, Cora Katherine! You’re SIX months old!

Weight: 16 pounds, 5.5 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 26.5 inches (75th percentile)

Each month has added something new for you, but in the last few weeks you’ve changed by leaps and bounds. You have a great schedule established, have been rolling around, and have started eating solid food (yay!!!). And best yet: you do it all with a smile. You’re the happiest baby we’ve ever known, sweet pea. Thank you for going with the flow and giving us so much joy.

Eating
Let’s get to the fun part: We started Baby Led Weaning, the wonderful solid food philosophy that we used with Big Sister. Your first foods were tomato and avocado — and you were so excited! Since “food before one is only for fun” and you’re still getting all of your nutrients from nursing, we can let you free to play, play, play. It’s a hoot to watch you practice handling each new food, work it to your mouth, and eventually maybe even “bite” some off. Without teeth, there’s just a ton of gumming. But your happy yelps let us know you’re enjoying yourself. You’ve also had banana, cucumber, carrot, broccoli, red pepper, and orange.

On the milk front, you’re still a champ. We nurse every 2-3 while you’re awake, and you’re great at taking bottles when we’re apart. You’re more and more distracted as you eat (you’re becoming really curious about the world, and especially Claire!), so I’ve found that it works best in a quiet room. No complaints, though — just more time for baby cuddles!

Playing
You’re not yet sitting up unassisted, but you’re loving your walker and will happily play with toys for 30 minutes or more. You love cups, measuring spoons, your toy keys, and Chompers the dinosaur. You’ll carefully inspect each toy, gnawing away before throwing it on the ground. We’ve been especially impressed with your concentration. So cute!

Sleeping
You keep us on our toes, little lady. Most nights you’ll sleep through the night, heading to bed around 6:30 or 7…and sleeping about 11 hours. A few nights a week, though, you’ll decide to wake around 2 or 4 a.m. (yawn!). Thankfully a dry diaper and full belly will put you back to sleep for the rest of the night.

Nap times are more consistent. You go down for your morning nap when we return from taking Claire to school, usually 9:30 a.m. I’ve worked to sync your afternoon nap with Claire’s, aiming for 1:30 or 2 p.m. We remember that Claire loved sleeping on her tummy, but you’re still opting for your back — and still loving your half-swaddle wrap. Snug as a bug!

Your big sister…
is giddy over having you at the table with us! Mommy and Daddy don’t let Claire feed you, but she loves watching you eat — and tries to set a good example, too. She’s loving the fact that you’re becoming more playful by the day, and especially enjoys bringing you more toys and picking up things that you drop. We adore watching your growing relationship. Too sweet!

Daddy and I agree that one of our very favorite things about you is the way you snuggle. You have this precious habit of pressing your smooth, sweet cheek against ours when you’re held. Claire seemed to be more on the move, while you’re content to be carried. Or perhaps this time around I just know that the cheeks-pressed snuggle days are fleeting. Either way, it makes us want to hold you close forever. We adore you, Cora Katherine!

Loads of love,
Mommy & Daddy