6-Month Checkup

I'm very very anal about making sure Gabby's doctor visits happen on time, but this one didn't because her pediatrician was having a not-so-minor family crisis. So, I called up the appointment line to get the soonest appointment with the first available pediatrician, and inveigled the poor lady on the phone into giving me one this morning.

We saw this awesome older Irish pediatrician at another office who seemed so amazed at how happy Gabby is. "Is she always this content?" he asked. Yep, always, even first thing in the morning with a soaking wet diaper and a mother who'd rather be face-down in a pillow.

Gabby has gained 5 pounds in two months, in a concentrated effort to make up for lost time. The child just wanted her solid food, apparently, because formula and breast milk just weren't cutting it for her. She went from a skinny but healthy 11 pounds, 13 ounces at her 4-month visit to 16 pounds, 10 ounces today.

I can't believe the howling red thing that we brought home from the hospital is now a healthy 6-month old, ready to walk and screeching at the top of her lungs as a form of "communication." Soon enough -- dare I say it? -- she'll be celebrating her first birthday! Right after that, college!

We Went to the Beach!

This was more than a month ago, but I am a major league slacker, so here we are.

We took Gabby to our annual beach trip, and a good time was had by all. Well, mostly. Bill and I learned that getting a baby to the beach involves toting more crap than you thought was possible, but ended up using anyway. Fully loaded diaper bag? Check. Baby sunscreen, not quite approved by the pediatrician but necessary all the same? Check. Sun-screen tent? Check. Beach towel? Check.

Gabby wasn't too thrilled with this place called the beach the first time. We took her down to the water's edge, and she looked fascinated by this giant bathtub... until the first wave lapped against her feet. She howled with outrage at the cold water. We went back up on the sand and hung out for a short while, then went back to the house.

Second outing: Not too bad. We go down to the water again, and she gets splashed from head to toe and laughs! We did a little wading in the water, and she got totally wet, but all is well. We went back up to the sand and had a little baby photo shoot.

Our last day, we're sitting at the water's edge, letting random waves tickle our feet. I hear a slurping noise and look down to see that Gabby has decided to see what sand tastes like. I don't think she liked it too much. All in all, it was a fun beach trip! Photos are below. Goodness, how this kid has grown!