6 Month Visit and & 7 Months Old!

Alexis is growing leaps and bounds. She is doing so many new things since the last post. She is holding her head up well, eating solids and any day now I think she'll figure out the crawling thing. Right now, she just rolls around and scoots to whatever she wants to get to! One thing that hasn't changed, she is still the most smiley girl I have ever seen. Since she's started to smile, she hasn't stopped. Alexis is by far the easiest baby as she hardly complains. As long as she sees you, then she is a happy girl.

At Alexis 6 month appointment she was 27 1/4", which is in the 90-95% for her age. She is a tall girl! I can't remember Ben ever being in the 90-95% for his age group. She also weighed in at 16lbs 30oz, which is 50-75% . Her head circumference is 43 1/2 cm which is also 50-75%. Her pediatrician says she is a healthy girl and hitting all of the right milestones for her age, so we're very happy with that!

In other news, a couple of weeks ago we had Alexis tube surgery for her ears. She hasn't been able to pass her right ear screening test since she was a new born and after five failed tests, she was referred to an ENT. The easiest solution for her was to get tubes. Her Dad and I both had been through this step with Ben, but it wasn't any easier. She was a smiley pie the entire morning even though she was not allowed to eat since midnight the night before. At that point she was still eating a bottle through the night, so we were really worried we would have a cranky baby. Thankfully the extra few ounces we gave her before that midnight hour helped her hang through until after the surgery. She cried a bit from the anesthesia, but after a little while she quieted down. Her post op appointment looked great and her ears are fluid free now. Hopefully at her next audiologist appointment, she will pass her hearing test. I certainly have said prayer after prayer for my little girl to hear the way she should. I hope this surgery was the correct answer.

Alexis is also loving her solids now. She started with rice cereal and quickly graduated to eating her first set of veggies and fruits. So far Alexis has eaten carrots (her first solid meal other than rice), sweet potatoes, peas, apple, pear and banana. She really picked up eating these new foods so easily and its so cute seeing her little mouth open up like a little bird for each bite. Every so often Alexis will surprise us by wanting double or even triple the amount of her usual intake. She certainly a healthy eater!

Alexis is getting more and more mobile. I am not pushing her to be like I was with Ben as I know what being more mobile means. She certainly is finding a lot of new things to play with these days including her brother's toys. While typically he doesn't mind too much (we do have our moments), it certainly is a huge change for Ben as he's used to having toys and his space as he wants them without his sister disturbing things.

Speaking of Ben, he completely loves his little sister. Ben is all boy, but he has a special soft side that only comes out when it comes to his sister. He constantly thinks about her, makes sure she's okay and tries his hardest to make her happy. When she is crying for any reason he tries to find a paci, orders us to hurry up and make her a bottle and has even brought a picture of Alexis over to her to show her what a happy baby looks like. The other day I asked Ben if he would like to have another sibling. I guess I didn't explain it very well because Ben told me he did not and that he wanted to keep Alexis. He thought I was going to trade her in for another sister or brother! How silly is he! Alexis is certainly loved by her brother and we have had several comments from family, friends and even strangers saying how doting he is on her.

Alexis certainly has meshed into our family. Its like she has always been here and I can't say enough what a sweet and beautiful little girl she is. She always has a smile for everyone she sees (minus the photographer) and it is so fun seeing her little personality emerging. I love you sweet pea!