6 Months!

Well folks, we've made it to six months. Margot has become so much fun and has entirely taken our hearts. I'd swear that she was the greatest person ever born, but I've been around the block to know that every parent feels that. What a wonderful treat the biology of parenthood is! If you don't have kids, it's hard to understand. Try imagining the gloriousness of the first time you fell in love and then multiply it a million fold. That gets close to how indescribably incredible it is when I look at Margot. And this sort of magic happens every day around the world between parents and children. Who knew! This "having children" thing is pretty darn great. I'd say that I'm for it.

Anyhow, enough gushing. You're probably wondering what has been happening in the A-S household. Well, month number five brought a lot of new adventures. The biggest and most exciting of which is FOOD! Yes, Margot has entered the realm of those-who-eat-from-a-bowl. The eating sequence is hysterical. It starts with an excitedly open mouth like so:












Next comes the negotiation of the spoon:












Then the food is contemplated. I especially like this stage because the mood switches from an eager "I want to eat that!" look to a "why is there something in my mouth?!?" look.












Another excitement was M's first train trip (as documented on mom's cell phone). We took the Acela down to New York for a business meeting. The little bean was a model traveler once she was taught not to eat the ticket. Getting on the train, some guys said "I don't want to sit near the baby" and I found myself being offended. Then I'm thinking, "wait, I've been on enough of these trains to know that you business guys talk on your phone loudly the whole time. Margot makes a lot less noise than that!" And, I was right. She barely peeped until 20 minutes outside of Manhattan when she became all chatty. So, 4 hours on the train and no crying. I call that a real accomplishment. Maybe we'll try a big plane ride next!

Apart from that, Margot has been sitting up somewhat unaided. She's not the most stable baby, but she's doing well given that my technique for getting work done has been to hold her rather than do things like tummy time. If Margot never sits up on her own, you can blame my company. I'm sure she'll understand the sacrifice.

Separation anxiety has hit. People who aren't mom are now highly suspect. They might take her away and THAT WOULD BE BAD. This is actually a fascinating stage to watch. She can now anticipate things and will grab tighter on to me when someone comes to take her out of my arms or I move to put her down. I'd say that she:
1. knows what is coming (not being attached to mom)
2. has an idea of what to do about it (hold on tighter)
Developmentally, those seem like big steps to make. I'm not saying she's unusual in anyway, just that it's interesting to see her develop. Part of me thinks that this parenting thing is an incredible experiment in observing biological development. It's amazing to watch.