So much to report! Where to start? And how much my life has changed! I actually had a dream (nightmare?) about a humungous blowout all over me. Seriously? I dream about baby poop now, LOL??? Anyhow, how about we start with some of Landri’s most exciting latest “firsts:”

Injuries. Landri had her first injury ever which happened to be self-inflicted. Because she is a rolling machine, she rolled her way across the floor of her room until her large belly bumped into the wall forcing her to stop rolling along. That wasn’t the issue, as her belly is quite – shall we say “cushy?” However, when she quickly swiveled her little head to look around at what had stopped her, she smacked the side of her head into the wall – HARD. It actually turned color and bruised instantly. And of course she FREAKED. It wasn’t pretty. And here we insert our latest Daddy Daycare Alerts (yes, that was plural). So Landri also had her first Daddy-inflicted injury! In fact, she had her first THREE Daddy-inflicted injuries, and at the rate we are going, there are sure to be many more. First there was the time when I was trying to video her sitting up and asked him to spot her in case she fell. Even though he was sitting with her and talking to her, he did not catch the Leaning Tower of Baby. She fell straight backwards and cracked her head on the floor. Then there was the time when he thought she could stand on her own holding onto a large toy (seriously? stand? at this age? and she’s never done it before?). Of course she could not. Her weight immediately toppled over the toy and she faced planted on the ground. And then there was the time he went to toss her up in the air while he was standing underneath the vertically open rear door of my Volvo SUV. Yes, he threw her headfirst into the door. Of course all three times she FREAKED. Poor Little Landri. Should I buy her a helmet???

As far as other firsts go, Landri attended her first high school basketball game, went on her first hike at Guadalupe State Park, had her first non-family member babysitter, and got her first eye infection (happened to be a double eye infection)! So a quick note about the eye infections. Landri’s eyelid strength (i.e. ability to hold her eyes squeezed shut even though you’re using two hands to pry them open to administer drops) seriously rivals the strength of a gator’s jaw. Truly amazing.

Now let’s talk about our little vegetarian (I like to tease Scott that she is a vegetarian because she totally is and it makes him mad). Landri still isn’t a huge fan of peas, but will kind of tolerate them as long as Mommy didn’t make them and they come in a jar that says Gerber on it. She loves carrots the most, but she also likes squash, sweet potatoes, and green beans. Rice cereal is about in the same boat as peas (just so-so). And one other thing to note… how is it that carrots stain so bad? Not only do they stain fabric, but they also stained her plastic spoon and high chair tray. And then when they come out, her carrot poop stained her changing pad. All of the above is highly disturbing.

So this is probably my new favorite Landri discovery in the last month even though saddens me to report that “Pontooning” has been replaced (see much earlier post about Landri’s affinity for a certain beer drinking country song). Landri’s new hobby and soothing technique that we discovered is equally cool though. We also feel that it might be a predictor of her future career as a prominent trapeze artist. The latest way to sooth a meltdown: Landri LOVES to hang upside-down by her feet. It’s awesome. She opens up her little mouth with wonder and gets so happy. I will post some pics although they don’t do justice. Girl makes a great upside-down face!

To answer the cliché question that everyone asks parents with babies… Yes, we are getting sleep. Landri now sleeps upstairs fulltime in her crib and has for probably a month or so. Most nights she still sleeps all the way through. We are SO lucky! I fully believe she inherited her father’s impressive ability to sleep. Don’t get me wrong, she wakes up sometimes, but in all honesty, I still haven’t been sleep deprived since she was born which from what I hear is EXTREMELY lucky .

So what does Landri look like these days? Well, she has definitely hit the “fat baby” phase weighing in at over 18 pounds and is one chunky monkey. We always grab her big fat cheeks and tell her “chunka-munka” and “chunka-chunka-chunka.” We also refer to her core as her “Plus Gut.” Not sure where Scott came up with that, but it’s stuck. When working on sitting up, we tell her to “use your Plus Gut!” She seriously looks like the Michelin tire cartoon guy. Her thighs are huge and she’s got a few leg rolls. She even has another set of rolls hidden under her diaper that you can only find when she is completely naked. It is impressive. She just moved up to size 3 diapers too! Scott says she is his little shot putter. Her hair is still a bit of a mystery as far as color, but I’m leaning towards strawberry brown. Yes, I made that up. Her hair on top is still very long and she’s still got her bald stripe on the back of her head. And one other description from Scott: “she is a very large skulled individual,” LOL. Mommy doesn’t think so though.

Landri has a big new skill: sitting up on her own. She still topples over sometimes (her Plus Gut isn’t as tight as it needs to be yet) so I don’t set her on tile or concrete unsupervised or without copious amounts of padding around, but she does great holding herself up for long periods of time. She also is very skilled at baby pushups, baby plank, and is almost getting to her knees and rocks her butt back and forward which leads me to believe that forward propulsion won’t be too far away (eek!). Her hand eye coordination continues to improve dramatically making it possible for her to put anything in her mouth that she can get her little hands on. This can be good (when she finds her own paci in her crib) or bad when it’s a poopy diaper she grabs (don’t worry – I caught her)! And speaking of her little hands, I think she’s a lefty like both of her grandpas. She always uses her left hand more. The doctor tells me that it is way too early to tell, but I’m not sure. Another new skill is pinching. And it HURTS. She is so talented that not only does she pinch and grab your flesh with all five fingers, but she also pinches with her toes. Even her toe pinches hurt. It’s amazing!!! Lobster Landri!

My new favorite Landri thing besides hanging her upside-down is the way she wakes me up every morning with her coos. She lays in her crib babbling and talking to herself. I need to record it. It’s priceless and such a better way to be awakened than by an iPhone alarm. She also entertains herself for a while too until I get to her.

And now, the part you have all been waiting for… I think I’m going to permanently dub this section “Scott Says” … Here it goes for Landri at six months:
Scott’s favorite thing about Landri is how she talks. He says that she sighs and moans. He then quickly added that he also likes “her fat little body.” When asked what Landri’s favorite thing is, he immediately belted out “EATING!” And after a second thought, he added bathing to the list and says that Landri’s new skill is “kicking water out of the tub.” When pressed for something else (i.e. the obvious skill of sitting up), he said, “she doesn’t have any new skills.” Seriously? What planet do you live on? Still trying to get him to acknowledge the fact that she now sits up, I asked what her BEST skill is. He couldn’t come up with anything so for fun I suggested holding her own bottle to which he agreed, “Yeah, definitely her best skill.” I probably could have said jumping jacks and he would have also agreed, LOL. In response to what is the best part of being a parent, Scott said that “every part is the best part,” and when I urged him to be more specific, he said that he likes that she almost talks back. And of course, the worst part of parenthood is “dirty poopy diapers” and when asked why, he rolled his eyes and said it’s because “they are gross.” Scott thinks Landri’s most unique/interesting feature is her 85% body fat (definitely a theme here). As far as what has been most surprising, he says seeing how fast she grows. And when asked what he has learned, Scott proudly replied, “that babies can’t eat dried cranberries!” (see previous Daddy Daycare Alert Post).

Pics below… Her six month birthday outfit came from Auntie Larysa and is SO cute (iPad pics)!

Until next time…