Garden of Heather: Vivian is 6 Months (plus)…

As Vivian turned 6 months, we went to her well-check and then right back in the car that day to head out of town for her 6th (!) trip out of state. This child has traveled a lot in her young life. At her doctor’s appointment we found that she is still in the 90% for height at 26 3/4 inches tall and 75% for weight at 16 lbs 10 oz. We went to a different pediatrician in the office this time, because our other doctor was out. She was so cute with the children that I’m honestly / tempted to switch over to her.

Vivian,on her half-Birthday on our drive up to Utah

I can’t believe that Vivian is already 6 months old! It doesn’t seem possible that so much time has gone by….I may just be getting old since she has been alive a shorter percentile of my life at this point than Christian had at the same age…. maybe it’s just a learning curve thing.

Development

6 Months old in the guest bedroom at Grandma’s house

This month Vivian scared me one morning as she discovered that she could get where she wanted to go. I was in the study and had left her playing in the front room on her play mat and came back to….no baby! It turned out that she was under the coffee table. I was glad to discover her rolling capabilities at a time when she was on the floor…

She also started being able to sit pretty well supported and as we spent her first week of being 6 months in Utah she started getting the hang of sitting up by herself. Now she is sitting! and playing with toys! I LOVE this stage! So much fun…until Christian decides to show her how to “really” play with a toy and she freaks out at him…yes this girl does have a healthy temper (she gets it from her mother).

A funny thing about her is that she has a thing for towels. Whenever she sees a towel, she’ll lounge for it and start chewing on it carnivorously. It reminds me of Snoopy in “Your a Good Man Charlie Brown” when he says “I feel every now and than that I’ve got to bite someone”. Maybe she’s just teething, but it’s humorous when I’ve got a towel wrapped around my head and she dives for it with her mouth gapping open and then won’t let go of it without a fight and angry protests.

Eating

Ready to eat, in the garden at grandma’s house

Vivian loves her baby food! She will eat the whole serving of the 2nd’s foods without stopping. Her favorite is squash. The first time I gave her squash she was making Christian and I laugh and laugh as she squealed for each bite and then licked anything that got any of the orange goop on it….when I feed her squash there is a lot less mess than usual.

Sleeping

Napping in Uncle Michael’s arms…

She is now taking 2-3 naps a day. She really should take her 3rd more consistently, but she’s a little distracted once her daddy gets home from work and has a difficult time staying asleep if she does go down then. At night she will go down and sleep about 10 hours. I’m wishing she’d go to bed a little sooner though as 11 O’clock is not my favorite bedtime and what she thinks is the time to go down. I really think it’s due to that miserable excuse for a 3rd nap and that she’s wired and over-tired and won’t go down until she’s a zombie. My goal for this month is to work out that little problem.

Language/Babbling

She is still quite verbal and likes to squawk and join the conversation. It’s very cute. Christian and I have been trying to teach Vivian baby sign. It’s been about two months since we started, but she is now signing “milk” whenever she having a bottle.

Vivian has also started to make the “Ma-ma” sound…but only when she’s distressed. I don’t know if she really associates that sound with me, but whenever she does it, Christian and Jared both refuse to help her because they say she wants me….

Christian and Vivian

Hanging out on our first day home…in pj’s!

Vivian really loves that brother of hers and he loves her too. If she hears his voice she is instantly distracted and wants to know what he’s up to right now. He is showing so much patience in the way plays with her--it really warms my heart. She is pretty much always happy if he’s around and paying attention to her.

Daddy

Making daddy be a pack-animal

Maybe I’ve mentioned this before, but little girls really bring out a protective streak in daddies. Let me tell you… I’ve never seen Jared get so uptight before as when Christian is teasing Vivian with something. Vivian really has Jared wrapped around her finger. Her favorite daddy activity is to watch him shave…while he’s holding her. I really think it might have more to do with mirror time, but anytime he’s shaving and not holding her she’ll start acting upset until he notices and picks her up.

Vivian and Me

Relaxing with mommy after she finished frosting a cake

I am loving this little girl. She is pretty independent though ever since she started rolling places she is much more attached to me. Honestly, I love it. I want my baby to want me. I am her mommy. She’s not too cuddly still, unless it’s dark. I still can’t cuddle her like Christian liked to--she likes a little more space.