I cant believe it, she's 6 months old!!

I can not even begin to explain how fast the past 6 months have gone. On one hand, I can so clearly remember being pregnant, feeling my baby move within my body, and May 28th, 2011 one of the most incredible days of my life. I remember exactly what I was feeling and thinking knowing our daughter would soon be in our arms. However, on the other hand, I can not remember life without her. I can not possibly imagine what I spent all day thinking about or how my heart seemed so full of love but how much room she takes up now. I cant remember how much I loved my husband because when he kisses and loves on our daughter, I fall in love with him more every time. The past 6 months have been the best of my life, and I can not thank God enough for entrusting Scarlett into my care, for us to raise her and guide her and bring her up in Christ's name.

We love you Scarlett. You're amazing and loved so dearly.

So, how do we spend our days? They usually begin VERY early, which, for the first time in my life... I am okay with. I am not going to lie and say most days when I feel her moving next to me I don't try to sneak in another 2 minutes of rest, but by the time I come into consciousness I am very happy to be awake and smiling at such a beautiful little girl. Then, after a cup of coffee we play for a few hours. Scarlett likes to sit in the kitchen and watch me cook breakfast as I hand her (sometimes only moderately safe) kitchen utensils. She has no teeth but is constantly chewing. She sometimes sucks on fruit or vegetables (pomegranates, carrots, apples, celery, blueberries, and grapes) but that's about all the "food" she has tried. She likes to play in her exersaucer while I eat breakfast and catch up on the ever-so-important Facebook (haha). I also try to clean the dishes or get whatever little things I can get done around the house before she realizes I am "gone". Which speaking of, this little girl seems to now realize where I am at all times, and she is VERY aware of who is holding her and whether this person is a "stranger" (in quotations because very often this "stranger" is a loving family member). She usually cries in about 30 seconds to any new person but after she is back in my arms she cant wait to smile, squeal, and reach to touch their face.

So back to our typical, often times uneventful, day. It's morning nap time. Our "going down" routine consists of laying in bed cuddling while she nurses for about 15 or 20 minutes. Usually at first she's on and off latching while looking up and smiling at me, waving her arms around, and kicking her feet. Her movements become slower and slower until she is finished and I unlatch her and sneak away. At this point I would like to lie and say I immediately tend to the laundry, shower, or some other chore... but first, I probably re-check Facebook (haha, really.. quite sad). I have realized that this nap routine is wonderful for all reasons except ... Do you know the feeling of when you re moving and busy you feel wide awake but as soon as you lay down you cant think of anything but sleep? Well, its perfect for all reasons except while I am laying with her I often have to convince myself to not just drift off with her. I do nap with her a couple times a week to catch back up from the sleep I lose at night, but most often, I get up and take care of my other household duties. I love to cook with the crock pot so I usually make dinner about this time.

Once shes up were back to playing and figuring out what to do with ourselves for the rest of the day. I like to go into town to grocery shop, visit Beth, or whatever else I can think of. We play outside with Tasha for a bit and I sneak some pictures in. She is too cute to resist. If she hasn't fallen asleep in the car we will head home for nap number 2. There are usually between 2 and 3 naps in a day just depending on whats going on and if the **ahem, annoying** dog wakes her. When Nick gets home we play and spend time with her while I finish up dinner and talk about our days. Then its nap, or book, or both and finally bed time. I spend the rest of my evening loving up on my husband and soaking him in.

Scarlett is not sitting on her own for long but she usually manages about 20 seconds before toppling over. She babbles ALL the time and squeals which is my favorite. She YELLS "MA-MA-MA" every time I leave the room. I'm not exactly thinking she knows to call me that, but I swear to all the doubters, she yells it EVERY time I leave. I'm not trying to rush any of the baby time with her, but it will be amazing to hear her talk someday. Anyway, she chews and drools but never spits up anymore. She only poops every 3 days now... TMI?! And as long as I am close by, she is the happiest baby I have ever seen.

My darling daughter is 6 months old and I feel every second of every day that I need to soak her in because I can not wrap my mind around anything other than her always being my baby.

My mom used to tell me that I would never know how much she loved me until I had a daughter of my own and I can now say, she was completely spot on the nose with that.

Scarlett, your parents adore you. If we screw up everything else, please, always know that much!

My happy baby

Another example of morning activities,
ripping up magazines and rolling in them :-)