6 MONTHS

I think it's going to say I published this almost a month ago when I started it but I didn't finish until today (Nov. 6th). Bentlee turned 6 months old while we were in Michigan and I didn't have access to all of my pictures and I haven't been motivated since. The night before we left for Michigan, we celebrated her "half birthday" with daddy. My friend Lindsey in California has a family tradition of celebrating half birthdays with half birthday cakes and we liked it so much we decided to copy. Since Bentlee couldn't eat her cake, we let her play with it.

                        She's started giving kisses! Not really on demand-it has to be her idea :)

People find it hard to believe she's 6 months old because she's such a little peanut. In a way I like that she's so small because it's not as sad for me to see her get older. It's probably nice for my parents also because she doesn't change much between our visits. I don't think I've ever heard anyone in Michigan say, "She's geting so big!" My milk supply has continued to decrease so I have been giving her mostly formula and just nursing a couple times a day. For the most part I'm okay with it, but when she lunges for my chest looking for food it makes me a little sad. What worries me though, especially as winter is approaching, is how often she might start getting sick. Other than a UTI a few weeks ago, Bentlee has never had even a cold! She has stayed healthy while Kyle and I have both had horrible bugs including the stomach flu. I definitely understand now what amazing immunity breastfed babies have. On a brighter note, she LOVES her bottles. She spots them from across the room and starts panting like a dog. I can tell if she's hungry or not by her reaction to food. If I have a bowl or plate of something and she freaks out, I know it's time for her to eat.

Bentlee grabs people's attention everywhere we go with her happy personality. Someone at Jiffy Lube yesterday told me that she has a great disposition. Another man's eyes were glued to her as she stared back with a perma-grin. She's so much fun. It's hard to stay in a bad mood with her around. There is a family (the Snyders) that always sits behind us in church and they love taking Bentlee from us. They get a kick out of how happy and smiley she is. It's fun to see her interact with other people and I love seeing guys get all mushy over babies.

This is her famous closed-mouth smile. Love it.

About a week ago Kyle and I were talking about how it didn't seem like she was even close to starting to crawl. I mentioned that I'd never seen her push herself up on her arms. The very next day she started doing it. And although she's technically not scooting yet, she's moves ALL over the place. It amazes me how fast she can get from one side of the room to another by just rolling. My mom told me in Michigan, "You know that when she starts crawling she's going to be into everything right?" (I guess I was a little troublemaker at that age) Two days after we returned home I walked in the living room and found Bentlee under the TV like this....

Kyle is so great at entertaining her. She can always depend on him to find her "toys" to play with, no matter where we are. Last night we went to JCW's  for shakes and he kept her occupied with a plastic spoon, a little ketchup cup, and a lid. She had a blast with them in the restaurant and on the way home. She's always happy when daddy's around. Today I came home from running an errand and found her in his office:

Bentlee thinks she is really helpful. Whether she's "helping" you shove her food in her mouth, or "helping" you fold laundry, she'll never let you down. She's continues to be much more serious when we go places but at home she's super goofy and quick to laugh at us. The other day she started giggling for no reason while I put on her diaper after her bath. So funny. (At the end of the video I was making faces)

I asked Kyle what his favorite things are about Bentlee right now and he said how smiley and vocal she is. My favorite thing is how excited she gets when I walk in the room. She kicks her legs and arms so hard that I'm afraid she's going to break a rib. I've tried getting it on video but she gets too distracted by the camera. And when she's on her belly and I walk up to her, she leans to the side and lifts one arm up to me to let me know she wants to be picked up. Cutest. thing. ever.

 I also love this....

I could lie and tell you she's saying "Mmm" in the right context, but she says it when she gets picked up, when she gets her binki, etc. Basically whenever she gets her way. It's adorable.

Last but not least, we finally had her 6 month check up on Friday and these were her stats:

Weight: 13 lbs 12 oz (15th percentile)
Length: 26.5 in (70th percentile)
Head: Can't remember but it is the 40th percentile

Dr. Savage told me we can start giving her table food already. What?! The only 2 things we need to avoid aere honey and milk. Products with milk are ok, she even mentioned ice cream. What kind of Dr. tells their 6 month old to start eating ice cream? Ours. We love her. She also said to start giving her a sippy cup once in a while so it will be easier to ween her off a bottle later. Basically Bentlee went from a baby to a big girl in one day. Not cool. I don't plan to actually start her on table food quite yet but I'm still a little sad.

I'm adding this part today....she has had rice cereal, oatmeal, whole grains, sweet potatoes, squash, zucchini, avocado, pears, and bananas and so far she seems to like everything!