My Two Front Teeth

Nicole is teething.  We've been able to see her two bottom teeth for months and we've thought she was maybe teething many times.  This last week they just all of sudden popped out.  Until today, they didn't really seem to bother her much either.  She looks so cute with her little gummy smile and I'll be sort of sad to see it go, but I'm also excited to see her grow as well.

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.

Exploring the World

Nicole is growing up too fast! The last few weeks she has been really exploring the world. She has really good control of her hands now and can grab the things she wants, she can put almost anything she grabs in her mouth, and she can pass things back and forth between her hands. Ever since she started solid foods, she is especially interested in anything I put in my mouth. The other day, I had a V8 can that I had just finished and she kept reaching for it. I gave it to her and she held on to it and really inspected it.

She put it in her mouth and she liked it because it was cold. She's also been doing that with my glass when I take a drink of water. I'll let her put it in her mouth and she just kind of sucks on the glass. This weekend we took her to a festival and I had a sandwich. She was staring at it, so I started to hand it to her. She went to take it with both hands and pull it to her mouth. I had to remind her she wasn't ready for that kind of food yet. She really is a pro when it comes to food though. If only her tummy was as ready as the rest of her is.

She had bananas for the first time a couple nights ago. She seemed to like them, but tonight she didn't like them as much. Tomorrow, we are going to try squash. So far, so good. No allergies or reactions. She gets pretty gassy, but she always has, so that isn't surprising.

Nicole has been a little sick for the first time. She seems to be allergic to something in the air. We have had a lot of rain lately and it is giving her a runny nose and cough. The cough is so sad. I hate to hear it. She coughs in her sleep and it sounds terrible, but it isn't keeping her up and she doesn't have a fever, so we are doing alright. I just feel bad for her. Hopefully, it will clear up soon.

5 Month Check Up

Today we went for Nicole's 4-month check up. It was actually on her 5-month birthday though. I almost felt like I was cheating on the test. I was able to answer "yes" to all the questions on the developmental questionnaire. She started the appointment off with a dirty diaper, which is always fun :) Then she got weighed. She is still a really small little girl. She seems huge to us because we look at how much she has changed. She weighed in at 12lb 3oz and 24 inches long. This caused her percentages to go down, but the doctor said it was fine as long as she is still gaining weight and hitting all her milestones and having the necessary diaper changes. We knew she was small, but her weight put her in the 13th percentile and 32nd for length. Her head circumference stayed about the same with around 50%. She loved all the docs and thought they were playing with her when they checked her out. She was as smiley as can be. Her next appointment will be around her 6 month point just to get her back on schedule and then to make sure we see a doctor before we head back to the US.

First Solid Food!!

Wow our little one is growing up sooo fast! We decided to try solid foods today. Here she is getting ready. The first time we ever handed her a spoon and she stuck it straight in her mouth like she had been doing it for years. Our little one is a natural eater. She used her spoons from her Aunt Jackie and her bib from her Aunt Stephanie. She's lucky to have so many Aunts that love her so much.




At first she seems a little confused and we couldn't tell if she liked it, but she kept trying it and making funny faces. Then she saw that we liked her eating it, so that made her smile. We didn't want to push it too much, so we only tried a little. We will try again this afternoon and see how she does.