::6.3::

Madelene Kate is 6 months, 3 days old.

Already.

Today, we saw our beloved doctor for Madelene Kate's 6-month well-child visit.

James took his little stuffed dog, Happy, saying, "She needs a check up." The good doctor and the physician's-assistant-in-training both looked in Happy's eyes, listened to Happy's lungs and did an assessment of our darling boy's favorite stuffed pet. Happy is healthy (phew!) and so is our growing girlie.

Madelene Kate finds herself between the 50th and 75th percentile in head & height measurements. But she's our chunker in weight, showing up solidly on the 75th percentile line. (You should see her thighs!)

Height - 26 inches

Weight - 16 lbs 15 oz

Head Circumference - 43 cm

She rolls back and forth with absolute ease. She loves to lie on the floor, rolling back and forth, babbling. She's also fond of the exersaucer. She sucks her fingers, thumb and pacifier but definitely seems to prefer the pacifier.

Little Miss takes a bottle okay - but under rather particular circumstances. It must be relatively fresh (any frozen milk from more than a month ago seems to be rejected). It must be just the right temperature. And she must be lying flat on her back on my bed. If one tries to give her a bottle while holding her in their arms, it will be flatly refused. It's quite funny to watch her swat at the bottle trying to get it out of her face. But when she takes it, boy, does she drain it quickly!

She naps pretty well - at least one 1.5 to 2 hour nap each day and another couple 45 min to 1 hour naps. Overnight, she's still waking at least once between 1 and 2:30. But she eats and goes right back down awake to fall asleep on her own.

Unlike her brother, Madelene Kate only protests going to bed when Mommy has forgotten to change her diaper. Sadly, that happens more than one would expect. (Although I did realize the trend and have been better about changing her before naps!)

Cloth diapers have been a great blessing - not a challenge at all, in fact. I run a load of diapers (8-10) every other day. I also collect other laundry at the same time, so although I'm doing it more frequently, the loads are smaller, and that helps for following it all the way thru to folding and putting away (usually).

This past Wednesday, I put away all the 3-6 month clothes and brought out the 6 - 9 month and 6 - 12 month outfits. It's hard for me to believe that we're already there. Time is flying.

It's so fun to have our girlie interacting so much more. She loves to babble. I haven't heard any "da" or "ma" yet - we're still getting lots of "la" and even some "ga." But she loves the sound of her voice. When anyone talks to her, she gets so excited, and her volume increases. Something tells me Madelene Kate won't be shy!

She loves Peek-A-Boo, especially when it starts with a blanket over her head. She loves to be tickled. She seems to be connecting the dots of hearing the word "kiss" and opening her mouth (Mommy makes such big noises when kissing her open mouth, it would be hard to miss that, I suppose!) And she adores her big brother. Oh - to see those two side-by-side and to hear them laugh together - what a precious gift!

It's hard to believe we're already half way to our baby girl's first birthday. Each day brings more "relationship." I don't find myself missing past stages but thoroughly enjoying each new one. More times than I can count, I hear myself saying, "I'm so glad I get to be your Mommy," as I kiss her soft cheeks. She looks in my eyes and I see her happiness (even if she is just happy to see me cuz I provide her food!).

I often wonder what she will be like growing up and as an adult. I pray, most importantly, for God to save her soul while she is a young girl. I pray, too, for a God-fearing, gracious, servant-leader husband in her youth. I also pray that God will give her an enduring friendship with James. And I pray that God will fashion her into fun-loving, others-focused, joy-filled young lady who draws others to Himself - all for His glory and her joy.