6 month Anna

This has also been sitting on my computer for weeks.  Again, eventually I might get pictures done.  Maybe.


I have not posted a whole lot since Anna was born.  There have been good things happening around here.  But when I think about Anna, I just sigh.  It is sad that I do it, but so often I hear myself say, "oh, Anna," in a fairly exasperated way.  That is the baby we love- Anna banana.

At 6 months Anna weighed 16.2 pounds and measured in at 26 inches.  Anna had her 4-month shots on her 6-month birthday.  Yes, that's how far behind we are in life here.  Speaking of which... It seemed to me that when we hit baby #4 it wasn't much of a change.  Just one more little person to add to the fun dynamic of the family.  We had food allergy issues with Ryan, but otherwise nothing too overwhelming.  Then Tommy was a dream baby.  He is the reason people adore babies.  And now Anna.  Life is a million times harder with Anna.

Some things Anna can do at 6 months:
- Roll over both ways.  She will instantly roll over to her belly when placed on her back.  Then she gets mad that she's on her tummy and usually forgets that she knows how to undo what she just did.
- Grab and play with her feet (still not to her mouth)
- Grab at toys and get them to her mouth
- Push all the way up on her hands when doing tummy time
- Can almost sit up on her own
- She is very observant and insists on being in the middle of the action when awake
- She occasionally laughs.  She does enjoy smiling quite a bit
- She will occasionally eat cereal.  She has to be in the mood, though
- She has amazing balance and loves to do the stand-on-daddy's-hand-and-float-trick.

Other notes about Anna:
- She is not a very good night sleeper.  She is up every 4 hours at night.  If we try to let her cry it out, she always wins... even if it's 2 hours later.  Thankfully she usually takes two consistent naps every day.  A short one in the morning and then her afternoon nap typically lasts around 2 hours.
- She cries... a lot.  If she is not being held she is usually pretty upset.
- She absolutely LOVES to be naked.  If she's having an especially crabby moment, a diaper change will usually perk her up a bit.
- Her siblings love to take care of her- until she starts up the crying.  Sarah and Katie are the ones who usually fight over Anna.  Even Ryan likes to come up and give her hugs and kisses.
- She still detests her car seat.  Running errands with Anna is a necessary evil.  I can usually get about an hour before she loses it.  Thankfully the two boys are typically champs when we go shopping.
- She no longer sounds like a seagull when she cries.  That went away about a month ago.  Now she just has an ear-splitting scream.

I wish Anna was an easy baby.  I really do.  I feel very jealous when I'm around or read about moms that just adore this stage in their child's life.  Life with Anna is pretty tough.  So I just have to keep reminding myself... "Come what may and love it."  Or follow Elder Uchdorf's admonition not to wish away this time in my life.  I'm trying.  I tell ya, it's a good thing she's cute!  :-D

But also, it's not all bad.  She does laugh at times.  And she really likes to smile.  She is just a very social baby and makes sure she's always being social.  I actually think she's just like Ellie.  I remember Ellie having a similar personality.  I had to be attached to that girl as well.  But it wasn't as hard, since she was the one and only baby.  I could give her 100% attention whenever she wanted it.  Anna just doesn't get that privilege and doesn't appreciate it.