More on the half birthday girl:

As if yesterday's blog about Miss Fancy Pants' half a year birfday wasn't enough, I'm 'bout to add to it....if you're a mommy, you'll relate; if not, you might wanna grab a Coke and some popcorn folks, 'cause it'll be a doozy I think.

So in case you missed yesterday's post or even the mention of it seconds earlier, our baby is 6 months old now! Six months ago, at 7:15 pm, after what seemed like a bazillion contractions, 10 attempts (yes ten!) at inserting the epidural, multiple liters of fluid pumped through my exhausted veins, 24+ hours of labor, and 2.5 hours of straight, horrendously painful pushing, Miss Lauren Anne was born! I can still see the image of her being held up seconds after she was born and feeling an overwhelming sense of love, pride and peace (okay, and relief that she was finally out!) . And now I look at her and she is doing six month old things like sitting, babbling, screeching, attempting to crawl, screeching, eating baby food, pulling mom's hair and dad's glasses, and screeching some more...

Yep, believe it or not, she is happily screeching here:


And yet despite constantly "testing out her voice" and the fact that her slobbery little fingers always manage to find their way to my hair, I am already missing this stage. I know they will soon be replaced with talking and walking and doing all things toddler-related.

Annie is very close to sitting completely unsupported:


She can sit by herself for about 3 minutes, and then she topples over. There is no mention of "da-da" yet but the incessant babbling and screeching makes me think that those words are coming very soon. She loves to play in her exersaucer and jumperoo and finds great joy in pulling on the cat's tail and attempting to eat the dog's ears. Heck, even scooting her little pint- sized body around the carpet is a thrill for her because it means that she is mobile, which apparently, is very important when you have so many things to explore. We read alot and Miss Banani has developed a love for books that make noise. Justin and I bought her a talking Strawberry Shortcake book a few days ago and she giggles and smiles whenever she hits the music buttons. And when the buttons no longer excite her, there are always delicious fingers to chew on :0)

But one of my most favorite things about my girl is that when she smiles, she smiles! I mean, she wrinkles up her cute little nose, squints her little eyes, and shows every.single.inch of her toothless little gums:

Six months have passed. All I can hope is that the next six will be just as rewarding and fulfilling as the past months have been... But knowing Miss Annie, they will be!