Thanks, But No Thanks....

Recently, Lila has become increasingly more mobile and curious. This combination means I can no longer leave her playing quietly on her mat. Quiet=trouble nowadays. So, to avoid certain disaster, she usually ends up moving around the house with me as I clean, cook, etc. She's fascinated by my attempts at domestication. While I welcome the company, I don't always welcome the "help". And to that I say, "Thanks, but no thanks."

For example, 

When eating in her high chair, she puts her head down on the tray to avoid me trying to shove the last few bites of oatmeal into her mouth. However, if you hand her the spoon, she will promptly put it directly in her mouth. Such a helper. I should mention that any food remaining on the spoon immediately gets slung all over the kitchen as she proudly swings the utensil back and forth in the air. Thanks, but no thanks.

 Lila often "helps" during diaper changes, removing the diaper as soon as the tabs are undone, or better yet, undoing the tabs herself. Thanks, but no thanks.

On trips to the grocery store, I rarely make it home with a bag of chips that is not smashed to pieces. The crinkling bag is a joy she can't resist. Thanks, but no thanks.

One of her favorite tasks is clipping coupons. The mere sound of ripping paper gets her excited. She is eager to "help" by offering to grab the scissors and finding the tiniest bits of paper I leave behind. Known for her discerning palate, she finds the advertisements for porcelain reproductions of Princess Diana or the Genie Bra to be the tastiest.  Thanks, but no thanks.

On a recent trip to JoAnns for some fabric, I was scanning a wall of options when Lila "helped" me find a coordinating print by unrolling the fabric bolt behind me. Thanks, but no thanks.

It's a bit difficult to transfer the laundry from the washer to the dryer with a baby on your hip, so Lila helps by hanging out in the hamper. 

Sorting and folding.....well that's another story entirely. Lila gladly "helps" by tasting each piece to make sure it passes the cleanliness test. Thanks, but no thanks.

And when I just need 5 minutes to fold the laundry, unassisted, then I resort to Baby Einstein. (Apparently, Baby Einstein is more enriching if you watch in the following position.)

Doing chores and running errands with Lila does take a little more time and effort. But, in perspective, it makes life so much richer and the unbearable chores just a little more fun. 

.........And if you find yourself behind in your housework, I have a 6 month old who's always willing.  

Vacay

Our sweet friends invited us to share a condo with them in beautiful Destin, Florida a few weeks ago, and we were thrilled. Taking a vacation with a baby is quite a bit different than our past vacations - less relaxing, but so much richer.  The temperatures in our area were exceeding 100 everyday, and we couldn't wait to relax on the breezy coast. We packed the car the night before and started our drive about 4:30 a.m. I woke Lila to put her in her car seat, and she just smiled at me until a couple miles down the interstate when she fell asleep again. She is such a good car rider. We didn't stop until 8:30. Lila was starting to wake up, but I needed the break more than she did. By the time we finished our first pit stop, we only had about 2 hours left in our trip. Success.

The next few days were filled with mornings spent at the beach, afternoons at the pool, and nights out eating great seafood and outlet shopping. And now, for the part you really care about, pictures....

Aunt Sandy gave Lila a pool float (which she loves). Here she is talking to a group of older women who were making a fuss over the ridiculously cute swim hat she was wearing. 

She loved any chance she had to stand in the sand, but she really loved to watch the waves as I stood about knee-deep holding her. On 2 occasions, she actually fell asleep while we were standing in the waves. 

On our last night there, we had planned to take some beach pictures. However, it was overcast and kept sprinkling rain. There was a small break in the rain just as the sun was setting, and we tried to get a few pictures.

Busted!

"Rice, Rice, Baby..."

In honor of Lila's half-birthday, we treated her to some rice cereal - her first experience with solid foods. She did pretty well. I thought she would continue to like it, but now she refuses to eat it. We'll just keep trying. In the mean time....... pictures for you.

Month by Month: 6 Months

Happy Half-Birthday to our sweet Lila Tate. You are growing too fast!

I'm not sure how much you weigh, but we go to the Doctor on Monday. You're still wearing several of your 3 months clothes, but you're growing into more and more of your 6 month outfits.

You've officially moved into size 2 diapers.

Up until today, we've been exclusively breastfeeding(and supplementing some formula). I'm 'demand feeding', which I thought I'd never do. However, it really works well with our schedule....since our schedule is different every day. You're so flexible when we need to run errands, etc. You are such a good baby on the go.

You are very mobile now. You roll over and scoot (mostly backwards) to reach any toy you want. You also roll all over your crib at night. Most mornings I can find you with one arm or foot hanging out of the crib rails.

Your motor skills are greatly improving as well. You can grab anything you want and put it in your mouth or hold it and look at it. You're pretty proud of yourself when you pull your bow off to chew on it.

You've also started throwing things out of your stroller/carseat. One particular day I had to go back to all the stores to retrace my steps after your beloved Wubbanub went missing.

You are almost sitting up on your own. You can sit by yourself for as long as you want until you try to reach for something far away...which results in you falling over. Your new favorite thing is to stand while holding onto our fingers.

You're still talking a lot. You blow bubbles and babble, making lots of 'b' sounds. Unfortunately, you've also brought back the excited high pitched girly scream.

Your hair is still growing....in no particular direction, just wildly everywhere. You still look like you have a nice comb-over, but at least it's laying down now. 

You love crinkling noises and have discovered that your diapers also make a crinkly noise. You take every opportunity to grab at your diaper, even undoing the tabs a couple of times.

You're still sleeping in your crib every night. After returning from your first beach trip you were waking up once during the night. You're still having a hard time making it thru the night without waking up, but you can soothe yourself back to sleep after a couple minutes.

I can hardly believe that six months have already passed. It's so exciting to watch you learn to do new and different things. It's bittersweet to see my itty bitty baby changing so much.