I can't believe my girl is 6 months old!

*The day after her half-birthday, she started eating sweet potatoes, followed by bananas. And oh, how that girl loves her food! She is my little bird, always opening her mouth for more.

*She also loves her puppies. She loves watching them and giggling at them. Jake will sit right by her and let her grab his fur and ears, all while not moving a muscle. Tucker still licks her incessantly, but they are definitely love-licks.

*She loves to read too. And she has favorite books- in particular, her nursery rhyme book, I Know a Rhino, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and B is for Baylor always get smiles.

*And now she doesn't just smile at herself in the mirror, she reaches out to touch her beautiful reflection.

*And what a jumpin' bean! The pediatrician said he would be surprised if she wasn't pulling up to walk by her 9 month visit. The girl loves to stand and jump, all the while squealing because she thinks she is just such a big girl now.

My mom and Milt were in town last week, and we went to the arboretum in Ann Arbor for little a photo shoot. Eleanor is so expressive, I think these capture some of her many "looks."

Norre and her Honey.

We also went to our favorite orchard to pick strawberries and cherries--yummy!

We sure do love that girl.

Eleanor wore her strawberry outfit.

Because, of course, as everyone knows, you can't pick fruit without a coordinating outfit.

This just sums it up...

On the way to eat BBQ two nights ago, Adam stopped to put gas in my car. And as we were pulling away...

[Kelly] Thanks for putting gas in my car, babe.

[Adam] No problem.

(Then looking back at Eleanor).

 'Cause that's what daddies do, Norre. We take care of our girls.

Oh. my. goodness.

Be still my heart.

Daddies. take care. of their girls.
I had to catch my breath.

Thank you, Adam, for taking care of your girls. You are my best friend and the best daddy to our perfect little girl.

Eleanor and I wish you the happiest 30th birthday (yesterday). I hope your next 30 years are even better than the first.

Yummy yummy yummy I got [oatmeal] in my tummy

We recently started Eleanor on organic single-grain oatmeal. I wanted to wait a bit longer, but a few days ago she got up three times to eat during the night, followed by 4 feedings between 6am and 11am...so I decided that we needed something to change. :)

And oatmeal it was!

By the third bite, Eleanor was grabbing the spoon and putting it in her mouth herself to "help" me feed her.

I think my baby girl was quite hungry.

We have a high chair that straps on to a kitchen chair, which is perfect for our limited space. But we soon realized that she can't quite sit up straight enough to keep the food in her mouth between all the bites, smiles, squeals, and giggles that go on during oatmeal time.

So after a few attempts in her high chair, we started feeding her in her bouncer. Which works fairly well, but I kid you not....this child gets so excited about eating that she kicks her legs and gets the bouncer going so much that it's kind of difficult to get that spoon in her mouth.

But I suppose there are worse problems to have in life.

Our little Baylor bear. Thanks for the greatest bib ever, Uncle Alec!