Halfway Around the Sun

Well, she went ahead and did it.  Hazel turned 6 months old.

I'm going to contradict what I said in my three month post by saying it's hard to believe that six months ago I was sitting at my kitchen table wondering when the heck I was going to go into labor.

 

 My births are precipitous.  One moment it would feel like the baby was never going to be born, then a few short hours later, without much warning at all, I'd have a newborn in my arms.

 

That time of waiting is still so vivid in my memory.  It's hard to believe that all happened 6 months ago already and yet, as I said in my 3 month post, perhaps even harder to imagine life without Hazey Mae.

Here she was, in Dan's lap, just three days old.

 

Maybe even a little bit skeptical of the world on the outside.

 

I think I waited a full week before cutting off her hospital bracelet.

 

So, it seemed fitting to take these 6 month photos on the same back porch.

 

It's amazing how much they change in 6 months time, isn't it?

 

Being my babies have been early crawlers, that time of them being a bundle-in-arms is shorter than most.  But her early crawling is matched with an good dose of separation anxiety.  It's pretty slick the way babies were designed like that, venturing out while still wanting to touch base with mom.

She'll play happily on the floor for awhile but still spends lots of time in my carrier or on my hip.

She almost always cries if someone else tries to hold her... and sometimes even if they look at her!

 

She often makes us laugh with her strong preferences.  For example, if we see her crawling toward the dog's bone and pick it up off the floor, she'll dissolve into a puddle of tears.   We joke, "How dare we not let you eat the dog's bone!"

 

If I walk past her and she's anticipating that I will pick her up - she goes into puddle mode again.  If Dan is holding her and she hears me talking to him from the other room - puddle!

Because she's more interactive now, she's pretty much the center of attention around here.   The kids love to make her smile and laugh.   They adore her.

 

Indigo and I talk about Hazel's 'gummy grin' or 'toothless grin'.  We love it so much.

 

So, I was very surprised to feel two little teeth popping up.  My other babies teethed later so I wasn't expecting it just yet.  The kids were so excited while I made it my mission the very next day to capture her gummy grin on camera!

 

Jude turned 10 at the end of last month.  I can't tell you how much I love having a 10 year old and a baby.  Jude likes to tell me, "Mom, won't it be crazy that when Hazey's my age, I'll be 20?!"

 

I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes on parenting- and life!- which is, "You can't slow down the train so you better enjoy the ride!"

And I absolutely do!  Though in the spirit of full disclosure, I will add that between colds, teething and a new motor milestones, Hazel has been sleeping worse than ever.  In those instances, I take a deep breath and gently remind myself that this too shall pass, that someday we really will sleep again.   But for now, I seem to be Hazel's personal human teddy bear and pacifier, as well as #1 fan of that gummy grin!

 

{Hazel's heart onesie was a gift from Kristin.  We love it!  Thank you, Kristin!}