Arkansas

Earlier this month, Gwendoline and I had the opportunity to go to Alma, Arkansas, to visit with my extended family who live there; other family members who live throughout Texas also met us in Alma. Jeph wasn't able to go with us because we went during the work week, but Grandma (my mom) met us at our house in Dallas and then rode with us the rest of the way. She kept Gwendoline very entertained in the backseat during the times she was awake. But fortunately, my little nugget sleeps great in the car!

This was a special trip for us because Gwendoline got to meet several family members for the first time. First and foremost, she met my sweet Granny. It was so special to have four generations of women under one roof: Great-Granny (my grandmother, Betty), Grandma (my mom, Liz), Mom (me), and Gwendoline. She also met several of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and second cousins. My mother, Gwendoline, and I stayed in a hotel because Granny's house was already full of visitors, and we also didn't want to keep a houseful of people up all night. Gwendoline slept pretty well in the hotel for the first two nights, but she let us know she was ready to be back in her own bed on the last night. Staying in a hotel with a baby was challenging, but overall it was easier and more relaxing than I thought it might be.

In addition to spending time with family, relaxing, and eating, we explored a little of the Boston Mountains. Or at least as much as a 6-month-old baby can explore the mountains. Gwendoline also got to pet a pig and a cow! Did I mention Alma is pretty rural? We had a great time visiting with Granny and all the family and can't wait to go back again this summer!

In the Boston Mountains with Aunt Carla
and cousin Natalie

Pig! This is Oreo, being held by cousin Nolan.

Four generations: Great-Granny, Grandma,
Mom, and Gwendoline

Getting to know each other

Pillow fort in the hotel!

Sleep-through-the-night counter: 5
Teeth counter: 0
Foods she likes: green beans, peas, carrots, squash, peaches
Foods she thinks are poison: sweet potatoes, bananas, pears

Happy Half Birthday!

Gwendoline Celeste is 6 months old! It's incredible to believe that she's been with us for half a year already. Time has flown by so fast and she's grown so much. I always heard people say that babies grow before your eyes and if you blink it's over, but now I understand what that feels like. It's bittersweet. On one hand, she's so much fun now and so interactive, and I love seeing her develop a little more literally every day. On the other hand, she's definitely not the tiny (less than 6 pounds), helpless, jaundice baby girl we brought home from the hospital. So while I mourn the quick passage of one stage, I'm overjoyed to experience all these new Gwendoline stages.

We met with Dr. Newton, our pediatrician, on Wednesday for Gwendoline's 6 month check up. When he came in the room, Dr. Newton was surprised to see Gwendoline sitting up on the exam table and playing with the paper that covers it all by herself. And even more surprised when I told him she's been sitting mostly unsupported for the last 3 weeks. He told us that by 6 months, most babies are sitting up with support, but few are as steady on their own as Gwendoline. He attributes this to her hatred of tummy time. Apparently babies who don't mind or even like being on their tummies can take a little longer to sit unsupported than those who detest being on their tummies, like Gwen. If the options are back or tummy, some babies create a third option of sitting a little early to avoid the "torture" of being on their tummies (Gwendoline certainly acts like being on her tummy is torture). Oddly enough, though, she will now sleep only on her tummy. Apparently being asleep on one's tummy is acceptable; being awake on it is not.

Gwendoline's new, 6 month stats are as follows. It looks like her height is leveling off a little bit (she was in the 82nd percentile for height two months ago) and her weight is slowly creeping up, too. Overall, Dr. Newton is very pleased with her growth and development and gave her another A+!

• Weight: 15 pounds, 5 ounces (34th percentile)
• Height: 26.3 inches (65th percentile)
• Head circumference: 16.8 inches (62nd percentile)

Given how well she is sitting on her own, Dr. Newton had no reservations with us starting solids immediately. I'd been looking forward to starting solids for a month because of how well Gwendoline takes her oatmeal cereal. I just knew she was ready! Since she loves her oatmeal, surely she would love food with an actual taste, right? WRONG. We gave Gwendoline her first taste of "real" food- sweet potatoes- on Wednesday afternoon. She seemed okay with them at first; she didn't exactly suck them down, but she certainly didn't hate them. Cue Thursday morning: same sweet potatoes, completely different reaction. She acted like I was trying to poison her. She gagged, she shuddered, she frowned, she gagged some more. So I put it away pretty quickly, thinking that maybe it was just too much flavor for early in the morning given that she'd never really tasted anything before. But when I tried again that afternoon, same shuddering response. And this time she grabbed the bowl of sweet potatoes and dumped it out in her lap. So I think we're probably done with sweet potatoes for now, though we'll circle back to them later. Up next: carrots!

Happy half birthday, Gwendoline!
Gotta have her car keys. She's her daddy's daughter for sure.

"What's on my tongue!? Get it off!"

Before she decided sweet potatoes = poison

Sleep-through-the-night counter: 3

Teeth counter: 0