Lauren Elizabeth

Fall in Michigan 

Grace at 6 Months 

We have been having some really beautiful Fall weather in Michigan this year. Luckily we have been able to get out quit a bit. Mike has been on rotation up in Traverse City over the past 2 weeks. Those are always really hard times for us because I play single mom. We count on Mike a lot in the evenings and it has made it a bit trickier without him around. It also always seems like the girls decide to have their melt downs when he is gone. I have been trying to take the girls out to do different activities. We went apple picking and got donuts from Wasem Fruit Stand. We have gone to Jenny's Farm Stand and 3 Cedars. All of these places are fun little outings in the Fall. I love getting to see the leaves change and the air get crisp. We are hoping to get a few more things in before it gets too cold around here. 

Grace is now 6 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone with her. Vi's first year seemed much slower. Grace is our sweetheart. She still has the most gentle disposition. We have been going through a bit of a rough time the past few weeks. She is having a hard time with sleep in general since she turned 6 months. She just started waking up in the middle of the night more and kicking her way out of her swaddle. She can't go back to sleep with her arms all free, so it has been a tricky time. Her naps have also been suffering a bit. Vi never had the 6 month sleep regression, so I felt a little unprepared for Grace to go through it. 

She started solids and really loves them. She has given us some pretty sour faces for peaches and prunes.  Vi likes to come over and sample all the food when we go to feed grace. Vi ate almost an entire thing of sweet potatoes and prunes. I figure it's fruit and veggies. Can't go wrong right? She always gets slouched over when she is eating in her bumbo. She just falls forward and likes to stay there. She also bites and her spoon and tries to chew it over and over. She still loves to nurse and we haven't dropped a feeding there. 

Grace can roll from front to back and sometimes from back to front. She has been able to sit up on her own for periods of time, but sometimes gets a little scared. She is kind of a pansy when it come to being up high in the sky. We will lift her up and kind of twirl her in the air and she gets this panicked cry right away. It's pretty sad. Mike is just waiting for a child that likes to be tossed around.

She loves to be outside. We try to take her out in the evenings when she starts to get fussy before bed. She really loves the car now. It's kind of funny because she didn't like it for a long time. Now she is always happy when she gets clicked in. 

She has started to like watching Baby Einstein. She loves playing in her exersaucer and is starting to not really care about her bouncer. Gracie loves her daddy, just like Vi did at her age. They both just have such a sweet spot for him. Grace doesn't suck on a binkie but she likes to chew on them. She loves her silver rattle and chewing on stuffed animals. She adores Vi and tolerates so much from her. She loves to grab Vi's face when they are laying on the floor together. Grace loves to chew on her bows and toes and hands. She is a big time chewer. 

When she gets mad or frustrated she likes to kick with both of her legs together. It is kind of like a dolphin kick. She still sounds like a screeching cat when she is trying to talk or starting to get mad. She still has her sweet mellow temperament. She loves to facetime and see people. Sometimes when I go to put her down for a nap I lay her down to swaddle her and start singing. She rolls to her side and grabs for her toes and starts to smile. Those are the days she doesn't even make a peep when I lay her down. 

We are hoping to figure out this sleeping battle soon and get back to a more regular nap schedule. She is still the sweetest girl and we are so happy for the 6 months we have had her in our family.