Holy Moly 6 Months Old!

The last week has felt like a bit of a whirlwind.  Cora and I spent a couple days in Auburn visiting my sister and little Kai before they headed out of town again.  And I started work again.  I am fortunate that right now working is very part-time and at home.  But even so, it's been a transition I've been anxious about, and it'll be interesting to see how it pans out and how I am able to organize my time with Cora.

Little Beanie Girl has gone through some big changes this week.  Of course, we celebrated her 6 month day on Wednesday with fun at Grandma's house.

And somehow, it was that day that she started to "make strange" as my mom puts it.  Stranger anxiety, even with non-strangers.  Because only 9 days after seeing my mom and sister, Cora got pretty upset when held by them.  Out popped Lippy with tears to follow.  Back to me and all was fine.  Funnily, she still loved her Grandpa.  When he got home she was all smiles and love for him.  Go figure.

Last night we went to a birthday party and Cora was in full stranger anxiety mode.  The evening ended with Cora in a  full screaming meltdown and us sneaking out a side door to head home.  Not very Cora-like behavior, I would have thought, but maybe this new 6-month version we have has a few new quirks.

Cora showing her Lippy to Grammie

Time with the family was otherwise fun.  She still enjoyed time with Cousin Kai, as always and warmed up to everyone else by the next morning.

It's so hard to believe how big she's getting.  13 pounds, 4 ounces this week.  23 inches long.  15 inches head circumference.  What a big and beautiful girl.  Big by our standards anyway.

But still small enough to snuggle up in my arms.  Small enough to cuddle into me in the early morning after her first nursing.  Small enough to carry around (mostly) comfortably for long hours.

I've been finding myself getting nervous for the time when she won't be small enough for these things.  So I try to linger a little longer in these moments.  To hold her a little closer, stroke her head a little longer when she looks up at me with those baby blues and tells me what she's thinking.  To engage her, and play with her, and cuddle her up throughout the day.  To enjoy this time when she's still almost a part of me... close to me always, needing me to survive.

I guess I feel like I need her to survive too.  What a lucky pair of girls we are.