Nicole Marie 6 Months Old

Nicole turned 6 months yesterday. It is amazing to think of how fast the time has gone by and how much things have changed. She is now sleeping in her crib at night and this week she only woke up once or twice a night almost every night. That is an improvement over the last month or so.

My What to Expect Book tells me that by six months, Nicole should be able to:

- keep head level with body when pulled to sitting - check

- say "ah-goo" or similar vowel consonant combinations - check

It says she will probably be able to:

- bear some weight on legs when held upright - check

- sit without support - for a few seconds

- turn in the direction of a voice - check

- razz - she loves to do this

She may possibly be able to:

- stand when holding on to someone or something - check

- object if you try to take a toy away - she doesn't seem to mind too much yet

- work to get a toy that is out of reach - check

- look for a dropped object - check

- babble - check

She is starting to scoot, too.

My Little Helper

Nicole just keeps growing up more and more everyday. I love her little personality. She is very inquisitive and checks out everything she can. These days, she will put anything she can reach in her mouth. Friday morning, I was getting her bottles ready for daycare, so I had to put her on the counter with me. We have a container full of our cooking utensils next to where she was sitting. She startedreaching for the utensils one at a time. She would put them in her mouth and then when she decided they didn't taste very good, she would throw them on the floor. It was cracking me up. She was very into it. Her face looked so determined, like she was looking for one that tasted good. She dirtied almost my whole container and I couldn't help but laugh at her. I had to grab some pictures.

Some people call me Baby-Phelps, I prefer Aqua-girl

Since the day that Nicole was born I've marveled at her huge feet and thought, she'd make a great swimmer! (I know what you're thinking, but it's one of the reasons Michael Phelps is so fast...seriously). This Saturday we put Nicole in the swimsuit that fit her best and set out to put those feet to work.

When we got to the pool, we found out they were having a two-year anniversary party, free swimming and Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for all...yeaahhh! The downside, a ton of kids hopped up on chocolate chip cookies, frolicking around in an aquatic playground with every squeal of delight reverberating off every wall in the glassed-in room. The whole experience was overwhelming for Nicole initially.

She eventually got used to being semi-buoyant and did her best Neil Armstrong impression around the wading pool...with a little help. She liked to look at the other kids and splash around, until she started being splashed in the face, she's still working on cause and effect. The water features were also very interesting, 87 kids under 5 agreed!

You're probably thinking, "Rooney, what gives? You talk about this junk about Nicole being the next Phelps, what's her 100M time already?" Well, I didn't clock an official time but let's just say baby dolphins would be impressed. Once she gets her flip turns down, watch out!

After a tough swim workout it was time for some "I got your nose...in my mouth." It was pretty fun and a great way to end the day. We hit the showers and enjoyed our cookies on the drive home; we're going to have to get a good night's sleep if we're going to go to Bernkastle winefest tomorrow.