6 Months...Can you believe it?

Stella had her 6 month birthday yesterday! I desperately tried to get around to writing a post on that day but before I knew it, the day was over.  So here I am 1 day late...but who is counting anyway!

It is really hard for me to believe that 6 months has gone by since I had my beautiful baby on May 2nd.  They tell you time flies when you have kids but I had no clue how right everyone was.  I feel like I have spent the last 6 months anticipating the next milestone and they really have come to quickly.  Stella is now sitting up on her own, eating squash and sweet potatoes (and LOVING them), and she is even starting to imitate mommy when I make a raspberry with my mouth!  She is amazing! Soon she will be crawling and then walking...ugh! I can't get ahead of myself but I guess I should start baby proofing the house because I know that is just around the corner.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we had been working hard to get Stella back to her fantastic sleeping abilities.  I am proud to announce that we made it!  Over the last week, we have been allowing Stella to self soothe and, yes, cry it out.  The funny thing is that she cried a heck of a lot less without us there than when we were in the room trying to comfort her.  The whole thing was much harder on me than it was on her but now we can literally read her a book, lay her in her crib and she goes to sleep effortlessly.  And last night, she slept 11 hours straight! I am so proud of her.  She is such a good baby.  We are noticing that she gets especially cranky in the evening but I hear that is pretty normal for babies to have the nighttime fussies. 

It is amazing to me that 6 months ago, it was just Matt and me.  Now we have this wonderful addition to our lives and we feel so much more whole.  We are a family.  I won't romanticize it...the last 6 months have really had their ups and downs.  It certainly wasn't all bubbles, rainbows and cupcakes but all of the challenges and the sleepless nights and the frustrations.  They are all worth it when I watch Stella learning and growing every day.

Here are some pictures of happy Stella on her 6 month birthday.  Today we are off to the doctor for her 6 month check up but we think they will delay vaccinations because she has a bit of a cold and has quite the stuffy nose.  We shall see :)

I do want to take a moment to thank those of you who have been on this journey with us.  Your support and love means more to us than we could ever express with words.  Stella is a VERY lucky girl to have you all in her lives, as are Matt and I.

Here is to the next 6 months :) Cheers!!!