6 months

Baby Cakes is growing up, and definitely takes the cake for the sweetest baby girl ever!! Her 6 month milestone was January 14th. That means that as of right now, she is 7 months (look for those pictures and updates soon)


She has slimmed down and slowed down with her growth.
Weight: 16 lbs, 7 oz - 47.5%ile
Height: 2"2.14" - 51.63%ile
Head Circumference: 44 cm - 82.5%ile. No wonder I have a hard time pulling her clothes on over her head. She is so smart that her head is big to hold all of her brains.
I guess Eliza's weight before every appointment. This one was my largest error at 3 ounces off. (2 months, I guessed right one. 4 months, I was 2 ounces off) I thought she would be 16 lbs, 10 oz.


Loves:

• When both mom and dad are home. When Bruce comes home from work and picks her up, she is full of smiles and giggles the rest of the night. As she looks around at us, her face is full of utter delight. She likes to be home with her parents






Getting her picture taken. If the camera is out, she looks at it and smiles. She's a total ham. Often times we have to take the same picture 2 or 3 times because she will throw her arms up in the air and throw her head back in excitement. These pictures sometimes make it look like she is throwing a fit, but really she is so excited. After the picture is taken, she wants to see it right away. If you put the camera down without showing her the picture, she whines.




• Bath time. No matter how tired or grumpy she is, her frown turns upside down and the excited squeals begin when you turn on the bath water. One evening, I was out doing some grocery shopping. Bruce had a long day and wanted to take a bath. He put Eliza in her bouncy chair in the hallway outside the bathroom. When he turned on the water to fill the tub, Eliza got so excited. When he got in instead of her, she threw a "fit" - tears and screaming. If Bruce didn't get the water so hot, she may have just gotten in with him. As it was, that was the shortest bath Bruce has ever had.
• Giving hugs and kisses. Her hugs are sweet - her kisses are sometimes painful. She hugs me around the neck every time I pick her up. She gives me dozens of kisses everyday. They would be super sweet if she didn't use my hair as a means to draw my face closer to her. She pulls on the hair at the nape of my neck. I usually have it braided or pulled back, but in all of her excitement to give me kisses, she usually pulls my hair out of the braid or pony tail. Sometimes she even has strands of hair wrapped around her fingers, and my face is caked with slobber when she is done. How do I teach her not to pull hair? I absolutely love her kisses though - they make me feel loved.
  
  
• Looking in the Mirror. She loves, loves, loves to look at herself in the mirror. Every morning after she gets dressed, she has to look in the mirror. When she sees herself, she reaches out towards herself while she squeals, smiles, and poses. It's so funny to watch her look at herself. She definitely knows she's a beauty.
• Doing Housework. She is completely fascinated with watching me clean, cook, or fold laundry. The problem is she wants to be at my side while doing it. In the past 3 months, I don't think I've made a single meal without her on my hip. She wants to watch every ingredient, every machine (blender, microwave, toaster, grill, etc), and every stroke of a spoon. She likes laundry. She prefers throwing it rather than folding it, and eating it instead of organizing them into piles. She is attracted to the laundry detergent bottle. Every time I open the laundry cupboard door, she lunges for the detergent. She simply has to touch it. Lucky for me that's all she does, touch the container. Finally, she is strangely obsessed with vacuuming. When I pull out the vacuum, she gets excited. She reaches for it and wants to "help" me. I'm sure she would crawl towards it if she knew how. The girl will cry if I vacuum without her. Maybe she will be an amazing house keeper - probably much better than myself.

• To sing: She sings all the songs in sacrament meeting, and most of the songs in primary. She sometimes sings with the ward choir albeit from the congregation. Her eyes light up when Bruce or I sing to her. She is instantly calmed when she hears music. She also loves to play the piano.
• Looking at mom (when others hold her) Being held by mom, being sung to by mom, being read to by mom, sitting on mom's lap, playing with (pulling) mom's hair, being around mom, touching mom, and playing with dad. She is both a Mommy's girl and a Daddy's girl. She sometimes can't decide who she wants. She is our utter delight - the apple of our eye.
  

The Cakester is so in tune with our feelings. One day I was feeling a little bummed. I felt particularly lonely that day. I thought about how much I missed my friends from both Utah and Illinois and I was missing my family. Eliza gave me extra sweet hugs, kisses, and smiles. She knew I needed extra love, and she cheered me right up. One Sunday, I was extremely ill with a stomach bug. Miraculously, she was perfectly content lying on the bed next to me and playing with daddy's pillows for an hour. She was okay with the fact that I had to feed her lying down and take my dear sweet time changing her diaper. And she took a three hour nap so I could sleep too. What an angel she was for the 5.5 hours Bruce was gone at church.

Eliza, you are my Baby Cakes. I can't believe you have been in our family for half a year. You make me so happy every day. I'm so unbelievably grateful to be your mother - I'm the luckiest mom in the world. I Love You!