Brooke - 6 months

Little Brook Nicole was 6 months old this week. The time has gone by so fast! It always goes by quickly, but with all the drama and chaos that our life has been filled with since March - it seems to have gone by even faster than normal! This poor girl has absolutely NO routine. I never realized that it was my job to get my baby on a routine of sleeping/eating/etc. She is the first one that I have had at home past 12 weeks old. Daycare does a fantastic job of getting them on a schedule, so I just kind of went with whatever they were doing with Adilyn and Kacy. I am not sure that even if I thought about getting her into a routine that I would have been very successful doing it with all the changes that we have gone through, but it still would be nice to have some sort of schedule. She rarely naps anywhere but in the car, so if we actually get to stay in one place for the day she only sleeps when I am feeding her. I got her to sleep in her pack 'n play for two hours today, and that is a first! She doesn't hate the car as much as she used to, which is fantastic since we are in the car so much these days. If she does get upset in the car, Adilyn usually does a great job of entertaining her or distracting her. Kacy tries, but I think she just bugs her more than anything. :) Brooke loves to watch the girls. For some reason when they jump on the bed, she cracks up every single time! I took her on the trampoline at Shane and Dana's one day, and she absolutely loved it. She also loves when they are acting silly or dancing around. One of Brooke's talents is grabbing things. She is dead-on when she goes for something. It is very rare that she misses her target even once. Her favorite thing to grab is hair, and she can even grab hair with her toes...toe-tally talented like the rest of the girls in her family! She is getting really close to being able to sit up on her own, but she definitely tips over easily when she is grabbing for things. I started feeding her solid foods about 2 weeks ago, thinking it would help her sleep better at night, but it didn't. She is eating pretty well, and she hasn't rejected anything I have given her. We have tried cereal, sweet potatoes, apples, pears, and prunes. I usually just give her some solids when we eat dinner, but it's been a challenge here at Ryan's house because our high chair is in storage. I have put her in the Bumbo seat on the table to feed her, but it's a constant battle of trying to keep her in the Bumbo and away from everyone's drinks, plates, and anything else within grabbing range. She loves to talk and scream. For some reason, she loves to do this little high-pitched hoarse scream all the time. It's pretty cute, for now. :) She loves Ryan, and anytime he is around, she will just watch him until he talks to her. When strange men talk to her, she has started crying. I feel bad because they are usually just trying to be sweet and say hi, but for some reason, it completely freaks her out! One old man responded by saying, "Don't worry, I always have that affect on women." Silly old fella! I am so glad Brooke came into our life. She makes our family complete, and she makes me smile even when she is waking up at all hours of the night!