We’re here at the 6 month mark of Audrey Bell’s first year and I can’t help but feel astonished at how quickly the time has passed. We all remember the day that she arrived, how our family changed forever. She is the sweetest of babies and by far much more laid back than her older sister was at this age. We’re different parents this time around – more than once I have found her chewing on the bottom of Maggie’s sandal….ooops! We love her hard and she loves us back, showing us by squaking, squealing, squeezing and smiling.
Audrey’s smile is one of those where she opens her entire mouth as big as it’ll go, she really commits to it. She’s starting to hold on when we carry her, as if she knows that she’s along for the ride. She also sits up with confidence, I’m not quite ready to test out her sitting abilities on a hard surface, but it is rare that she topples down. I ‘know’ that she’s not too far away from pulling herself into a standing position, because that is her favorite ‘hobby’ when we’re sitting with her. She loves to jump, bounce and move.
We’ve tested the theory that she adores Maggie by having Maggie move around the room and trying to block Audrey’s view of her sister. Without shame, Audrey searches and scoots until she has a view of whatever Maggie is up to. And Maggie? She is the most incredible big sister, doting and loving her little sister more than I could have ever imagined.
The other day I put Audrey down on the center of Maggie’s bed as I moved around the house to put laundry away. I passed Maggie a couple times hauling a ton of pillows into her room and I finally asked her what she was doing. Turns out, she was moving all the pillows for “Auge-Podge” and sure enough, I looked in and saw a perfect circle of pillows surrounding our Littlest Peanut. Maggie proceeded to climb on the bed behind Audrey and start to play ‘Airplane’ as she pretend buckled Audrey in for them to ” ‘last Off!!” to space. Audrey, being the little sister that adores her big sister, was delighted to have Maggie’s arms wrapped around her as the ‘airplane’ hit some turbulence. I hope the bond they’re building will carry them through life and no matter what they’ll keep each other safe.
I haven’t been as dutiful in documenting Audrey’s first half year – or at least writing about it.
Here’s the short version: SHE IS AWESOME.
Other details? Sill nursing her, but she’s SO interested in food and so she has tried rice cereal, avocado, banana, frozen mangos and tastes of whatever we’re eating. She is a foodie, I have no doubt about that. She has just moved in to size 3 diapers and mostly wears 6 month clothes. We’ll get her measurements this week, but I’m pretty sure she’s loooonnnng and lean. She doesn’t sleep through the night and comes into our bed probably around 2 or 3 each night, if not earlier.
Right now she’s teething and is a drool-master and fuss-buster. She already has the lower two and I’m pretty sure she’s working on the upper front ones now. I feel sorry for her and nursing seems to be the only thing that makes her feel better.
6 months. We’re here. Half way to a year. I’m committing myself to taking portraits of her for 31 days in a row. A photographer I admire did this with her daughter, and I LOVED it.
We love you, Audge Podge.
