What's Molly Up To At 6 Months Old?

Molly turned 6 months old this week and she's growing like weed! There are days when I get home from work and I swear she looks bigger than when I put her to bed the night before! She's changed so much recently and is doing new things all the time, so I thought we'd just give you a list of what she's up to and what makes little Miss Molly special at 6 months old:

• Molly loves to experiment with making different noises...squeaks, squawks, chirps, and coos. Sometimes she sounds so much like a bird that I've taken to calling her my "Little Birdie", especially when she starts flapping her little arms like bird wings. Lately, her two favorite sounds to make have been yells and these little melodic sighs. Anytime she's playing, she'll yell loudly in delight at her toys. When she's lying in her crib going to sleep, she likes to sigh over and over again, experimenting with different pitches...high ahhhhhhhh...low ahhhhhhhh...medium ahhhhh. I love to stand outside the door just to listen :-).


• One of Molly's favorite things to do is to play with "the other cute baby" in the mirror. She'll sit on my dresser for quite a while talking to, petting, and poking her look-alike playmate in the big mirror.


• Molly's favorite book, which we read every night before bed is "Baby Giggles." Each page has an adorable photograph of a real baby and she'll talk to and stroke the pages just like she does with her mirror reflection. She'll spend a few seconds studying each baby's face and then flip the page to see the next one. She prefers to read the book from back to front.


• Every night before bed, she likes to play with her caterpillar from her GG and Pop, especially the puffy pink antennae.


• She sleeps stretched out on her back with her hands tucked behind her head, like she's relaxing on a blanket at the beach staring up at the clouds.


• She LOVES to stand up. She'll stand fully upright in her exersaucer and step alternately with her feet. She's thrilled when Mommy or Daddy holds her up so she can "walk" or "dance."


• Molly technically started solid food when she turned 6 months old, but I'd say in the last week, she's actually eaten a total of maybe 2 Tbs. of brown rice cereal. Most of it either ends up on her bib or left in the bowl. She doesn't hate it, but she doesn't love it either. Occasionally, she'll open her mouth wide for another taste, but after a few bites, her lips are pursed tight and she's done. We're taking it slow and letting her get used to the idea gradually.

"WHAT?!?! You expect me to like this weird, squishy stuff?"

• One sure way to get a smile out of Molly is to play peek-a-boo. We started with a big burp cloth that we'd put over her face. She'd pull it down and smile broadly when we'd say "Peek-A-Boo". Her dexterity is getting so good that we've graduated to a tiny washcloth folded in half. She's able to, with great aim and accuracy, pick up the corner of the cloth and pull it off.


• Molly's most mobile time is when she's getting changed. As soon as she's naked, she starts kicking her legs, pulling her toes into her mouth, flapping her arms like a bird, and trying to roll over. Something about being naked brings out her rowdy spirit.

Here are a few pictures of our 6-month-old Molly:

Daddy and his little thug get into some trouble together while Mommy's at work.

Molly lets us know her opinion of all this snow by bringing out "The Lip."

"I triple-dog-dare you!" All we need is a flagpole :-)

Eric improvised a Batman utility belt for Molly so all her favorite toys are at her fingertips and he's not chasing them down from where she's thrown them all over the room. As you can see from her blurry arms, she's flapping her little "bird wings" at super-sonic speeds, as usual.