Julia's 6 month stats

This post is strictly for my bookkeeping.  Julia had her 6 month check up:  15 lbs. 2 oz (30%), 27 inches long (90%).  I talked with the doctor about Julia's sleeping issues, and he said "tough love" might be in order.  We discussed keeping an eye on Julia's left eye.  It appears slightly smaller than her right eye.  It could be nothing, but if it gets worse, could be an indicator of a weak muscle, and we would need to visit an ophthalmologist.  That's it, I think.

Tastes of winter

 It has been bitterly cold this past week, but we haven't seen a lot of snow.  I think we've had a total of 1.5 inches all winter, but we've had a few days when snow flakes were falling.  The kids have made the most of those days and gone outside when they could.  I took these pictures just after Christmas.

Julia's Dedication

Yesterday, we dedicated Julia to the Lord at our church.  Twenty-two children were dedicated, as our church focused on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday.  This day was started in 1983 as a marker of sorts to the 10th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  It is a day to focus on the importance of all life regardless of age, gender, race, health, or economic status.  As I think about the 50 million babies who have been aborted since that decision, my mind races to not think about it.  As I think about the senseless massacre in CT, I try to chase the thoughts out of my mind; when I think about the more than 60 school aged children who were killed in Chicago last year, I feel relieved that my children don't live there and try not to think of the grieving parents who have to face that reality every day.  How sad our Lord must be as He witnesses the callous views of his "very good" creation!  How very patient our Lord must be to allow us to continue on His Earth!

As part of the dedication service, we, as parents, promised to raise our children in the knowledge of the Lord, and the congregation promised to assist us as we strive to raise God fearing and Jesus loving children.  Here are some pictures taken yesterday:

Julia at 6 months

Julia is 6 months old, and I'm exhausted. She's such a sweet girl but sporadic in her sleeping habits, and we're going through a particularly rough patch right now.  She's going to bed easily enough, but she is waking 2-3 times per night. This is quite the change from when she was sleeping all night.  I'm trying not to get discouraged, but it's also hard to keep my eyes open and focus on daily tasks.

Otherwise, things are going well.  When she's awake (and not supposed to be sleeping), she's an easy baby.  Chatty, smiley, and social.  She enjoys her siblings.  She's getting so strong and can do decent push ups.  She loves her Exersaucer and jump up.  She's eating three solid meals a day and still takes 3 naps most days.  She wakes around 8:00 am, nurses and eats breakfast, naps 9:30-11:30, nurses and eats lunch, naps 1:15-3:00, nurses, naps 4:30-5:30, eats dinner, nurses around 7:00 and goes to bed.  Then, it's anyone's guess as to what will happen.  We love her, though, and are so glad she's in our family.

Potty time with Isabel

Isabel:  I need to go potty.  I need help.
Me (as I help her with her pants):  Okay. 
Isabel (standing up and facing the toilet):  I'm going to pee pee standing up.
Me:  No, honey.  Girls can't do that very well.
Isabel:  Okay.  When I get bigger and get my penis, I'll stand up.

A New Perspective

 I discovered that the Boppy makes a great supporter for Julia as she learns how to sit on her own.  She has a tendency to want to lean forward and grab whatever might be close to her, and then she quickly loses her balance.  The Boppy gives her just enough support to lean on and be able to boost herself back up when she wobbles.  We were watching a little HGTV this afternoon.

 I think she liked it:

Work and play

 Julia is working on a new skill.  We have short spurts of this:

 

(This only lasted a couple of seconds.)

And she loves this toy: