half a year already?

Dear Cassidy Lane,

Well, here we are, half way through your first year! Crazy. This past month has been a whirlwind with changes around every corner. It's been so much fun to see you grow and develop into the happy, goofy little lady you are today.

Let's recap. I would have to say the biggest overall change since last month is your energy level. You are such a wiggle worm. The only time you'll sit still is when you're ready to fall asleep. Other than that you bounce up and down when we hold you, throw all of your weight to one side or the other, dive head first into our knees, arch your back to flip around and grab whatever we're holding, or you're constantly pulling yourself up into a sitting position. It's a lot of fun, but exhausting! Your new favorite pastime is having Daddy toss you up into the air and catch you. You want to do it over, and over, and over again.

Last month you rolled in both directions, but it was usually in isolated instances. Now when we lay you down you roll continuously until you get what you're looking for. You also get frustrated when you run into a piece of furniture and can't roll any farther in that direction. We definitely can't just set you down as we run out of the room anymore, you require constant supervision. This has prompted some decorating changes as well. We already bought a smaller, more confined entertainment center and this weekend we plan on buying a new rug. I will also be going through the baskets in the coffee table because before too long they will be your domain.

You're still doing really well at daycare. I think everyone has finally figured one another out. My favorite time of the day is after school when we can go home and play and snuggle together. You're always so happy to see me and I love that! You've mastered the "hug". It's super cute, even if I have to remember to tie my hair back before picking you up or I lose chunks at a time. Sounds like it's time for the "mommy 'do". You also love to give kisses. Right now they're pretty aggressive. You grab the skin on the sides of our faces and pull us towards your wide open, slobbery mouth. It's very sweet, but a little hurty and quite messy.

Eating solid food is going fantastically well. You've had rice cereal, bananas, avocado, sweet potatoes, apples, peas, and pears. Your favorites are probably bananas and peas, but you're not a big fan of apples. Although if I leave them frozen, you love to gnaw on them through your mesh feeder.

You've mastered sitting by yourself. It's adorable because you always sit with your arms raised like you're going to give an eloquent speech. We're just waiting to hear what you have to say! I am more confident in leaving you sitting by yourself, but it always helps to have a soft surface like grass or a thick carpet to cushion your fall. You love the vantage point because you can see all of your toys laid out before you and you're getting really good at reaching and grabbing the thing you desire.

I've been super hesitant to say anything out loud, but your sleeping has gotten SO much better. Since last month you did about two weeks of only waking twice a night (12:30 am and 3:00 am) to eat and you always went right back to sleep within 10 or 15 minutes. And the past two weeks? Only once a night!!!!!! It's usually around 3:00 am and you eat for about 15 minutes and knock back out till we have to get up for school in the morning. This has made me a much more patient and happy Mommy.

You cut your first tooth last week. It's the bottom left one. I'm not sure if all of them will be this easy, but it seems as though it doesn't bother you in the least! You don't have a fever, you're sleeping just fine, and you're still happy as can be. In fact, I had no idea you were even teething until I felt it the other day. It's about half way up, but it's a wrestling match to even get a glimpse of it, let alone a photo.

We can also add two more oddities to your bag of tricks. You often tilt your head to the side and smile when you want to get our attention and you love to "growl". Both are super funny and adorable, of course.

I think that's it??? Your six month well visit isn't until next week, so I'll post your stats then. As always, we love you baby girl! Thank you for an amazing first six months, we can't imagine what life was like before you.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

If you have an extra 7 minutes in your day, I made a little movie about Cassidy's first six months. I mean it, it's really 7 minutes long. Brian thought I should post this as a warning:

Still want to see it? Grab some popcorn, turn up your volume, and click below.