Six Months

Half a year old!

Riley seems to enjoy all things adult. She wants to eat what we are eating, drink out of cups, do dishes with Papa, etc She is going to be a good little helper once she is old enough to help out.

She is getting more and more into clapping games like Pat-a-cake, and songs. We go to storytelling at the library if she isn't taking her nap at that time, and she sits in my lap, fascinated with all the babies, stories, and songs we sing. One of her favorites is Popcorn Popping, but she gets bored with it halfway through.

Something else she has been better with: reading!! Yay! She is so much better at sitting and looking at the pictures rather than grabbing it to chomp on or closing the covers repeatedly.

Rain is a strange phenomenon 

Our play date partners were very kind and allowed us to borrow a bouncer to see if Riley would enjoy it. At first she didn't want much to do with it, but as she warmed up to it she has come to love bouncing like a maniac as she expertly handles the tray toys and swivels to eat the monkey.

She holds her bottle like a pro. Sometimes even with her feet. She still loves to eat and has enjoyed every new food we have presented her with.

We have continued to take walks around the neighborhood. I let her feel different textures on plants and trees, but her favorite part is watching the cars go by. When she hears a car coming from behind, she will kick excitedly, which in essence means, "Turn around, Mom!!" in order to see the car whiz past and she follows it until it is completely out of sight.
 Almost every time we end up at the park to go down the slides or play in the sand. She has amazed me with her self-discipline around the sand. She will move it around with her feet and pick it up, but she didn't try putting her sandy hand to her mouth. One day I was basking in my daughter's unequivocal intelligence in not eating sand, when she quickly bent down and started lapping up sand like some sort of animal. So... she is still a baby :) The pebbly chapstick looked good on her.

This little girl is going mobile. She is now a pro! ...at going backwards! She gets up on all fours, but instead of using her hands to walk forward, she rocks and propels herself backwards. We have found out that if she wants to go forward, we put her hands behind her feet for leverage to push against so she can slide forward. But she doesn't like doing that for a long time. Maybe she gets belly burn or something...

If her toys are in a semi-circle like this, she can get to them by scooting around

She seems to better understand that she has the ability to get our attention and make us laugh when she does certain things. She has started making all kinds of faces because it is almost guaranteed to get someone to look and laugh.

6 whole stinking months!