Happy Half Birthday, Nora Jane!

Nora is six months old today!  It's hard to believe that when we wake up tomorrow, we'll be closer to Nora's first birthday than her birth day.

On the one hand, it's hard to believe it's been six months since she was born and a full year since we made the public announcement that she was on the way.  On the other hand, it's beginning to feel like she has always been a part of our family.  We love getting to know her little personality more every day.

My biggest reflection on reaching her half birthday is that six months is enough time to get used to being a parent.  I no longer feel completely overwhelmed and clueless about what to do in any given situation. I feel like I know my daughter well enough to be able to go with the flow of our day to day lives without getting as discouraged as I did in the early months.  We've had enough days together that when she has a bad one, I can recognize it as such rather than fearing something is wrong with her.  She's finally old enough and cognitively developed enough to develop a loose routine for the day.  Most importantly, I think, she's come so far in these past six months that I can start to imagine where she will be in the future.  There used to be a time when I thought I'd never be able to set her down without her screaming or never be able to get her to go to sleep on her own.  A week ago, she seemed so far away from having the balance necessary to sit on her own, but rather than wondering when she was ever going to show improvement, I knew that one day soon she was just going to surprise me.  Sure enough, over the course of the week she went from being completely unstable to being able to sit for around 10 seconds on her own.

I guess another way of saying this is that I've finally learned how to take the "this too, shall pass" attitude to heart.  And I'm realizing that it applies to things I enjoy about each stage as much as things I don't enjoy, so I'm trying to do a better job of living in the moment.  For example, Nora's getting so good at going to sleep on her own that I am starting to really miss the days when I got to hold her while she slept.  I try to balance being proud of her improving self-soothing skills while also making sure to savor the times she falls asleep on my shoulder and to give her an extra snuggle when she falls asleep in her sling when we're out and about.

Despite plenty of really difficult aspects that I don't want to discount, the past six months have been such a pleasure and a delight that I am excited to see what the next six have in store.  Several of our friends are expecting babies in the next few months, so I'm also looking forward at getting to see them get the hang of parenthood, as well.  Today Nora and I went to the baby shower for little Joshua, who our friends Rich and Angela are getting ready to welcome around Memorial Day.  Nora was on her best, most adorable behavior, and she was rewarded by getting to meet the Oriole Bird!  She has liked Billy's Orioles hats ever since she was born-- we think because they have a high contrast logo-- and now when Billy says "Where's the birdie?" she looks up at his hat and sometimes reaches for the brim.  It seems impossible that she made the connection, but she was mesmerized by the mascot and she had her eyes fixed on him as he walked around the room.

I've been working on compiling some clips for a "Nora at 6 months" video montage, so be on the lookout for that update soon.  We don't go back to the pediatrician until closer to the end of the month, but I'll be sure to check back in with the details of her growth.  She sure seems like she's doubled in size!