Bathtime

Dan and I normally bathe Lua together, but lately she's been big enough to sit up on her own.  This means that I can scrub her down myself, then rinse her while she sits and plays.  She really loves the water-- bathtime is becoming increasingly more fun as she learns to splash around. 

Here's Lua in her "tub." The other day, she stayed until her toes got wrinkled!

Wrinkled toes from a good, long bath

Sonoma

On Valentine's Day weekend, Dan and I took the decided to take a trip to wine country... to tour a college campus with his family.  The trip wasn't sappy or romantic, but it was so, so nice to get out of town and get away from homework.  (And besides, says Dan, who needs romance when you've already successfully mated?)

We met Wendy and her kids at a vacation house in Santa Rosa, located on the edge of Annadel State Park in Sonoma County.  The purpose of the trip was an hour-and-a-half long tour of Sonoma State, where Dan's cousin Paige is thinking of attending college.  And while the campus itself was fine-- small, functional, slightly isolated, with great dorms-- we were blown away by the beauty of the area.  It's simply one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.  

Most of our free time was spent walking, especially in the State Park.  The trees and grass were almost unbelievably green, several different flowers were in bloom, and the weather was ideal-- we could hardly believe that it was February.  We kept looking at one another and saying, "You know, we could totally move here."

It was a lovely little getaway, and Wendy and her kids are just fantastic people.  It was comforting to walk and talk and sit and eat with the people that we love.  And it was fun to watch Peter (Dan's younger cousin) meet Lua for the very first time!  

Wendy at Annadel State Park

On the trail

Hiking at Annadel

Blooms in February

A stream in Annadel State Park

The family at Lake Ilsanjo (Annadel State Park)

On the trail

More flowers in bloom

Out to eat in the town of Sonoma

Peter meets Lua for the first time!

Between the hiking, food, and family, it was the perfect Valentine's Day weekend.

Fluffy Head

Now that Lua's hair is growing in, it's getting pretty wild!  It's especially great after bath days, when I fluff it with a towel or (even better) zap it with a blow-drier.  She loves it!!

Look at that crazy hair!

Babies and Beer

Every Saturday for the past month, Dan and I have been meeting up with other parents for walks, lunch, and drinks.  The group is called "Babies and Beer."  It's sort of like a playdate, but for grown-ups!  We really enjoy it, and we're thankful to have so many new friends in the area!

Here are some pictures of our last meetup-- a party at our apartment with pizza, beer, and Cards Against Humanity.  It was totally irreverent and loud, which was perfect.  We fit 16 adults (and 8 babies) into our little living room!

A shot of the group from the couch

Ryan (far right), Amy, and Noah (5 months)

Noah!

Another shot of the group.  We all fit pretty well!
It's really nice to include the dads-- not just moms and babies.

Lua sits with her dad in between naps

Sequoia (3 months) and her mommy

Lyra (3 months) and her dad.  Tired from all that partying!

Baby Laughs

Here's another video of Lua laughing.  It's so great to catch it on video!

She loves it when we're being silly-- making faces, singing, or just saying the same sounds over and over again.  On this particular night, she was laughing at the sound of her own name!

I love it when her laughs turn into squeals of pure joy.

Solid Foods

Now that Lua is six months old, we're taking our first tentative steps towards giving her solid foods.  She's not exactly a good eater-- she ingests almost nothing-- but she's playing and having fun.  In the past couple of weeks, we've been working on what's food (broccoli, carrots, bananas) and what's not (plastic and fingers).

In terms of feeding methods, we're doing a mix of traditional baby feeding and Baby-Led Weaning.  Traditional baby feeding is the normal method of giving pureed baby food on a spoon.  Baby-Led Weaning is the process of putting regular grown-up food on her tray and letting her pick it up and eat it on her own (more info here).

After two weeks of experimentation, I can say that the traditional method is much, much easier.  She can swallow more of her food from the spoon, and it doesn't get all over.  It's simply less work and less clean-up afterwards.  Baby-led weaning is more promising in the long run, though.  I would love for Lua to be an autonomous and self-sufficient eater.

Here are some pictures of her first attempts at solid food:

Baby-Led Weaning:  Eating cooked broccoli

Squishing her food and losing it in the bib

Baby-Led Weaning at it's finest

Making a huge mess!

A more traditional approach:  Rice cereal and breast milk

So proud of herself!

Playing with her spoon

So far, Lua likes both methods of eating!  They're both fine with me, too.  We'll just keep experimenting.  Like they say, "Food is fun, until age one!"

6 Months

Our little girl is 6 months old! 

You'll have to forgive me if I get a little emotional on this one.  It's hard to believe that this little creature-- who laughs, cries, and reaches for toys-- who takes up all of my time and energy-- who dominates my every thought-- is already six months old.

Some part of me feels like she's older.  I've loved her since I learned I was pregnant, after all.  I've cared for her-- nourished her and carried her-- for more than a year.  She was a presence in my life long before her actual birthday.  But another part of me is amazed at how fast she's growing.  Just six months ago, she was pink and red and lock-limbed, tiny and helpless and fragile.  Now she's a laughing, sturdy baby.  

As of this month, Lua is:

Starting solid food 

Standing with support

She is still not rolling or crawling, but we aren't trying to rush her.  She seems very content with her lack of mobility, preferring to watch people and interact through babbling.

Compared to her friends at playgroup, she is probably the most expressive.  She's one of the most talkative and one of the easiest smilers.  She's also, without a doubt, the least athletic by far.  Haha.  Her friends will run in circles around her.  

She's exceptionally good at:

Entertaining herself.  She can play with books and soft toys for a long time without help.

Sleeping anytime, anywhere.  She is an amazing sleeper.  She still falls asleep with absolute abandon-- with her hands straight up over her head!

She's exceptionally bad at:

Moving.  She simply doesn't care to be mobile.  We affectionately refer to her as "the blob" or "the blobfish."

She loves:

Reading.  She cries when we finish a book, or reaches for another one.

Dancing.  It makes her laugh.

Singing.  She "sings" more and more-- often in the middle of our songs or when she's left alone.

Hiking.  We go walking every day.

Holding her own spoon.  This makes eating is a special challenge.

She dislikes:

Putting her arms through arm-holes.  The worst!

Getting dressed in general.  Torture!

In general, she is a sweet and loving little person.  She is affectionate, warm, healthy and happy, which is all that we could ever ask for.  We're so grateful to have her in our lives.  I absolutely can not imagine life without her.

Happy half birthday, Lua Claire!  We all love you so incredibly much.