Dear Bennett Grace (6 months)

Dear Bennett Grace,

Baby girl you are getting so big and mommy and daddy can't believe you are already half way to a year old. We had your six month pictures taken about a week ago and you were perfect! We could not have asked for you to have been better behaved. Last month was a bit of a hard one but this month you have been so fun! You are doing everything you were last month even better. You have such a little personality already and it is so fun to watch you play to a crowd.

Here is a little of what you were up to this month:

-You wear mostly 6 month clothing with a few 3-6 and 6-9 months.
-You wear size 2 Pampers diapers and they are a little big on you so you have had more diaper explosions this month than you have in the past 5 months combined. You wear Pampers Baby Dry diapers at night and they are size 2s but seem to fit you better.
-You still have 7oz of breast milk 4 times a day but this month you started "real" baby food too! You started with apples, then pears, sweet potatoes, sweet peas and peaches. Next up green beans! Mommy has been making you homemade baby food and so far you have loved it. You weren't sure about the peas at first but now you like them. You have cereal twice a day with a fruit in the morning and either 2 veggies or a fruit and veggie at night.
-now that you're eating solids from a spoon, you are really aware when other people are eating and you open your mouth really wide to try to convince people to give you a bite. It is so funny!
- We tried to introduce rice cereal again but it bothered your tummy so we swapped you back to oat cereal which you like better anyway.
- You sleep full time in your crib. You start out on your back and quickly flip to your tummy. You sleep "semi-swaddled" with your arms out.
-you are obsessed with anything with a tag. You will play with tags forever.
- you suck your lips in and make a smacking sound and you look exactly like a cabbage patch doll. Your Papa D thinks it is the funniest thing ever!
- when you get fussy we rock and sing the ABC song which is your favorite song.
-most nights you snuggle with mommy for a few minutes before you drift off to sleep. As soon as daddy feeds you your night time bottle he brings you to mommy for a little quiet time and you fall right to sleep. You look so peaceful when you sleep.
- you are starting to hold your hands out to go to be picked up. It's really cute.
- you graduated to your pink bath tub without the sling and buddy you LOVE it. You love to splish and splash. You really love to be in the big tub but you get too excited and your legs come out from under you and we are afraid you will hit your head. We also busted out the bath toys this month and can't believe we didn't think to get them out before. You have so much fun playing :)
- you started sitting up without assistance a couple days after you turned 5 months. Now you are a pro! You leaned down to get toys all the way to the floor and you lean side to side. Your balance is great.
- you are still a little chatterbox. You love making loud noises and you really love it when people imitate you and repeat back noises to you.
- you will not turn over from your tummy to your back and buddy does it bother you and your mommy and daddy. You get so frustrated because you think you can't do it and you cry about it. You wake up in the night and try and you get really upset.
- you have so much fun with toys now. You love all kinds of toys and to make toys out things that are not toys, like mommy and daddy's iPhones and remote controls.
- you have found good friends in the puppies. They come to greet you when they get let out of their crates and they get concerned out you when you cry. You try to pet them or stick your hand out so that they can lick your hands. Mommy tells you its gross but you don't seem to care.
-You have the best smile. It is the cutest thing EVER. Your smile and laugh literally melts us every time.
- you are interacting more and more with people. You pretend you are shy sometimes and bury your head into mommy or daddy's shoulder. Then you peek out and smile your best smile. You also love to look at your reflection. We ask you who that pretty baby is and you smile :) You LOVE to video chat or FaceTime on the iPhone.
- you are off the Zantac!!! Yaaaay!
- you love to play Pattycake and you have started to do it on your own. It is so cute and Gigi loves it!
- you met several family members for the first time including your Great Grandma Taylor, your Great-great Aunt Laine and your sweet cousin baby Cooper!

You continue to amaze us every day. We love you so much and can't wait to get to spend some extra time with you with the holidays coming up over the next few months. We are afraid that we will blink our eyes and you will be crawling and walking and we will be chasing you around the house. You are in such a good place right now and we have so much fun with you. We are in no hurry for you to grow up too quickly and hope time will slow down so we can enjoy this age for a little bit longer.

We love you so much shuggie!

Mommy & Daddy