6 Months Old

Kirksey, you are 1/2 year old today! You are such a sweet, happy baby!

So, what have you been up to?

You wear mostly 3-6 month clothes; however, you can still fit in a couple 0-3 month and 3 month outfits.We officially moved up to 3-6 month sleepers the other night when we were trying EVERYTHING to figure out why you were not sleeping.

You are still in size 2 diapers, at least for a few more days.

Most days you nurse 5 times (ocassionally you get a 6th feeding in). You are also eating cereal twice a day. In the morning you eat your baby oatmeal and at night you have rice cereal. We are going to try real food next week! So, we will see how you like your first meal of sweet potatoes then!

You have been sleeping really well at night. Almost every night you sleep anywhere from 11-13 hours! We are so very proud of you! When you wake up in the morning you "talk" for a while and chew/suck on your toes. Sometimes you fall back to sleep for a little bit, then you are ready to get up and start your day! When I turn on the light as I walk in your room, you stop talking and start looking around for me. As soon as you see me you give me the biggest smile! What a great way to start the day!

Not only are we proud of you for your night-time sleep habits, but you are getting better with naps and learning new things all the time.

We have been able to get you to take 2-3 naps a day over just the last few days. The longest your naps ever last are 1 1/2 hours, but they are usually about 30-45 min. Even though you are a happy baby, it is amazing how much happier you are with the extra naps.

You have started crawling. You always have a look of accomplishment on your face when you get to whatever you started crawling toward. We do need to working on your concept of heights and danger though. The other night you were playing with the shiny remote control on the couch. Right after it fell to the floor you lunged your body after it (you did this several times). Good thing daddy was right there to keep you from diving head first off the couch!

You are getting better at sitting up by yourself, but you still wobble every now and then.

You have sat in a highchair now. You looked like you were a pro even though it was your first time!

You like to stand a lot too. I don't think there will be too many months between you starting to crawl and starting to walk. I think you will get it down before the next 1/2 of this year.
You like your baths and have started splashing! The other night we had water all over the kitchen counter, kitchen floor, and even on the floor in the den!

You are starting to want to hold your bottle when you get one.

You will laugh for a while when you find something that is amusing. This is the best video we have gotten of you laughing so far...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4v_5bGtgmE

You have even been in a swing for the first time at the park. I think we will need a swing set one day!

You are our sunshine and we love you!

Recipe

We had a brunch-style baby shower on Saturday for our sweet friend Liz. I made Creme Brulee French Toast and it was AMAZING. My dad actually found this recipe on Epicurious.com after going to Fat Hen and having theirs. Since so many people have asked for the recipe I decided to go ahead and post it.

Creme Brulee French Toast (I can't even type it without saying "YUM" to myself)

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons corn syrup

an 8-9 inch round loaf country-style bread (I used King's Hawaiian round loaf and it was much better than using the Texas toast bread, which I had tried before. I also cut off all the crust, then cut it in 6 slices)

5 large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon Grand Marnier

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugan and corn syrup over medium heat, stirring, until smooth and pour into a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Cut six 1-inch thick slices from center portion of bread (this is where I just cut off the crust and used all of the bread), reserving ends for another use, and trim crusts. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them slightly to fit (I pieced some places together).

In a bowl whisk together eggs, half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, and salt until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bring bread to room temperature.

Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed edges are pale golden, 35-40 minutes.

Serve hot French toast immediately....and ENJOY!

Also if you are looking for a delicious cake, try the Strawberry Shortcake that Nicole made. It was SO good!

And of course, I have to share some pictures of Kirksey! We were practicing sitting up this morning after breakfast.

Kirksey is back into blowing rasberries again, all the time.

We Have a Crawler!

A crawler is...a person who crawls or creeps along the ground (according to Wikipedia). Well, that is what we have! Kirksey can now get to things she wants. Check out this video of Kirksey in action...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa1GPghcbgI

Just a glimpse...

Kirksey is getting closer to crawling everyday. She gets on all fours and rocks back and forth for a few seconds.

She doesn't dislike her Johnny Jump Up as much anymore.

But, she is getting to where she MUST know where I am at all times.

We have been working really hard on getting Kirksey to take an afternoon nap over the past 2-3 weeks. Most days she SCREAMS in her crib for about 20 minutes (that's all I can take, it makes me feel mean), but won't go to sleep. So, for several days she would cry for awhile then I would get her out and we would go for a walk and this would happen...

The other day we went to the park with Nicole and Mills. Mills is quite the expert on playing!

Kirksey checking the mulch out. Mills checking Kirksey out!

And then the sweetest thing happened. Mills came up to give Kirksey a kiss, but I didn't realize what he was doing at first so I pulled Kirksey away. When I realized that he intended to kiss her, I couldn't resist. It was precious! Richard of course says he is going to give Mills a knuckle sandwich. Richard and Mills always shake their fists at eachother.

Watching Baby Noah. She was completely into the video and no doubt learning.

We had an open house on Sunday afternoon, so we headed to the Market Pavilion Rooftop for a late lunch. Kirksey is really starting to look a lot like her daddy, don't you think?

Our little acrobat will not suck on a pacifier, but her toes she loves!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in our family. We love you!



We had a nice relaxed day for my first Mother's Day. Richard and Kirksey sent me some beautiful flowers. I love them both so much, I couldn't imagine a more perfect little family!

Moving on Up

On Sunday, Kirksey took her first stroller ride without the carseat attached! She looks like such a big girl sitting up in the stroller. I put lots of toys in with her since I didn't know how she was going to like the change, but she didn't touch them. She loved being able to see everything and was very content for the whole ride!

I snapped this picture last night during bathtime, just because she is the cutest baby girl. She really does like her baths...as long as she is in her tub and not a "make shift" sink (as we found out on our vacation).