Happy half-birthday, Hennie James! We cannot believe the first year is half over, though we also wouldn’t say it has flown by with this kid. Our little girl has never done anything half-heartedly; she cries with intent, she plays with a purpose, she does everything at full speed (or full blast!). When she learned that she could roll both ways this month she immediately started flinging her weight left and right, limbs flailing, to get to whichever toy had caught her eye. She isn’t mobile yet but when she spies something that she wants that is out of her reach, she will get to it. She will find a way. I hope she never loses that determination.

Current Nicknames: the three most common are Bugaloo, Little Bear, and Goblin

Things We Want to Remember about Hennie at Six Months Old: how there is almost always a blurry limb in any given pic of this girl because she’s always on the move, how much she loves being strapped to Tom in the dad carrier for hours on long walks (perhaps with a cheeky pint while she snoozes), her spazzy right arm, the way she rolls all over the rug and onto the hardwood (and under the bookshelf, and into the hall), the grunts she makes when she’s determined to do something and the huge grin that follows when she has succeeded, and that although we have had some pretty low moments lately it’s been her best month so far because she’s interacting a lot more and her personality is really starting to show! It’s definitely a fun age, most days 😉

New Skills: the developmental ‘leap’ that babies go through between 5-6 months is a big one, so there have been lots of changes happening. Hennie is SO active now, sitting up and standing with our help, leaning down to grab toys or up to grab faces, and wanting to crawl so badly. Unfortunately she doesn’t sleep nearly as well as she used to, we suspect as a result of a teething-and-growth-spurt combo that’s requiring extra night nursing and comforting, but we’re doing our best to deal with the current phase with as much patience and coffee as is necessary.We have given her some solid foods to try and it has been fun to see her reactions as she already has such an expressive little face! She seems to love all sweet things and feel rather indifferent towards the other flavours (perhaps she inherited her dad’s sweet tooth). Her favourite snack so far has been frozen banana or frozen mango chunks inside of a mesh teether – soothing on her sore gums, I’m sure! Hen has mastered a lot of new hand movements lately and will enthusiastically reach for whatever is nearby that looks interesting; we are constantly pulling things out of her reach and infuriating her by doing so. Little busybody! We are very much looking forward to seeing Hen learn and grow even more this spring and summer!