Ohhhh where do I even begin with this one?! For some reason, 6 months has seemed like a huge milestone in her life. When we first brought her home I remember thinking with awe about how, in just six months, she would probably be sitting up and eating solid foods, among other milestones. Now that we are here and she is doing just that, I've caught myself reminiscing so many times about how tiny she was when we first brought her home.
My last update was over 2 months ago, which in baby terms was a lifetime, so here are all the new developments and exciting things going on in Willow's life now that she is halfway to one!
On the adoption front, we will soon begin the paperwork to make everything legal and have her officially join our family. This may seem incredibly slow, but that state does not allow us to begin the process before the social worker visits us 3 times and she has been with us at least six months. Our placement date was June 23, so we really can't begin the process until after Christmas - and then it could take months! Thankfully, there's no risk involved and she is securely in our home. She just doesn't officially have our last name - yet!
Some exciting milestones...
She has been moving since she was 2 months old, and has only gotten more determined. I wonder sometimes if she'll skip straight to walking, because right now she does the inchworm and has no clue what to do when I try to place her on her hands and knees.
She has been laughing for a little while now, which is the best thing EVER. Nathan and I will seriously make ourselves look like idiots just to get her to laugh. Totally worth it!
We started solid foods at around 4 months and it's been very slow going. I have a few reasons for not hitting pause on this which I won't go into, but we are steadily working every day to make sure she can transition well. So far her favorite food is avocado, and she will gobble that up!
She can sit up fairly well on her own at this point - as long as she's not distracted. She balances herself on her hands and gets better at this every day. It's amazing that just a few months ago she couldn't even hold her head up!
Adventures with Willow
Just a few days before she officially turned 6 months old, we took her on a plane to Texas. Traveling with a kid that young just blows my mind - I don't even think I flew that early in my life, and Nathan didn't experience that until after we were married!
We get to have our 'firsts' this year - Thanksgiving, Christmas, and all of the fun that holidays have to bring. Willow is pretty into our Christmas tree and (as with everything else) desperately wants to put the branches in her mouth at all times. Thankfully we can control this pretty well for now! On top of that she giggles a LOT when we dance to Christmas music ;)
I have a little calendar that I update on a regular basis, and almost every day she is experiencing something new or getting out to do things. We have a very active lifestyle and she has meshed pretty well. She's a great sleeper and does well in her pack n' play, she LOVEs other people and is a total extrovert, and she's just adaptable on all fronts. We are so very thankful!
As we turn the corner to enter 2018, I continue to marvel at this little life with which God has entrusted us. What an honor, privilege, and blessing to watch her grow...only 6 months away from her first birthday! Ahhhh!
