Penny will be six months next week. It blows my mind. She is soooo much fun at this stage, and for the first time ever I’m really starting to wish time would stop.

She’s eating solids and loves everything. Rice cereal, sweet potatoes, acorn squash, the occasional banana, and pears. She’s in 6-9 month clothes with the length getting iffy on some of those pants. She’s taking good naps and is back to sleeping through the night. Her first tooth just came through on the bottom middle! She can sit up, she can roll over, and she loves playing with noisy toys now.

We had a really fun weekend celebrating Christmas with my parents and sisters’ family in town. Penny absolutely loved watching and playing with my sisters’ kids, and they were so good at playing gently and including her. Next week we’ll see the other side of the family, and I know she’s gonna love interacting with Matt’s nieces and nephews as well.

Our days have been busy hosting parties and guests, but this week it has started to calm down and we are back to the usual – laundry, errands, a trip to the library and out to pick up Matt’s Christmas gift. She continues to be great when I drag her all over kingdom come, although she hates riding in her carseat, which will make our drive to NJ next week very interesting.

For every rough night we have had in the past month with constipation and teething and growth spurts, we have three or four fabulous days together, and I still can’t believe how blessed I am to have her as my daily companion. When I realize that I am halfway to my breastfeeding goal (if I can make it that long! UGH!), I realize how quickly this first year really flies by. I have a feeling the second half will speed by even faster than the first with all her many upcoming milestones.

And as for her smile, well it just melts me.

From Daily Daguerreotype

Today my tiny turtle turns five months old. This month might have been the most fun because she’s changed so dramatically in the past thirty days.

We started her on solid foods this month, and so far she is digging white rice cereal (hated the organic brown rice I tried to shove down her throat… go figure), bananas and squash. Next week I’m going to start her on sweet potatoes.

She can sit up unassisted for a few minutes now, but then falls over and is quite miserable. Each morning I have her practice sitting in her crib surrounded by pillows, and she seems to really enjoy being able to look out at the world.

My pediatrician chided me for not being more persistent about tummy time. Looks like my kid might roll back to front before front to back.

She is totally digging the dog, and the dog is totally digging her. Each morning when Berlin and I go to get Penny out of her crib there is much squeeing and wagging of tails. Berlin licks Penny from head to toe which seems to delight both of them. I am so happy Turtle is going to have a pup to grow up with.

The sleeping and napping seems to be getting slowly better now that she’s getting more solids in her. I am pretty hopeful that we’ll have a more recognizable schedule within the next few months.

And now for gratuitous pictures…

From Daily Daguerreotype

From Daily Daguerreotype

From Daily Daguerreotype

From Daily Daguerreotype

One of my favorite parts of the upcoming holiday season is sending out Christmas cards. My list grows bigger each year since we keep on moving, and I keep on reconnecting with old friends on Facebook. I actually really love picking out cards, sometimes writing up a letter, and stuffing and mailing all of the cards. It’s a tradition my mom always took seriously, and somehow it has stuck.

This year I feel obligated to include a photo for the first time in a long time because we have something gorgeous and brag-worthy to show off. Need I remind you?

From Daily Daguerreotype

So I’m planning on putting together photo cards at Shutterfly. I’ve already convinced Matt that we need to get our Christmas tree as soon as we get home from Thanksgiving in NH so that we can decorate it and pose for a Christmas family photo shoot. Meanwhile I need to determine just which card I want to use.

I’m also going to make my Christmas shopping a bit easier this year by using my cute daughter’s smile to personalize a few gifts. Who wouldn’t be a sucker for Penelope smiling back at them from their cup of coffee?

My fingers are itching for that first cold night in December when I get to snuggle up on the couch in front of the fire with a cup of cocoa and start addressing envelopes. And then the fun of checking the mail those weeks before Christmas to find cards from my friends and family that wind up decking out one of our doors each year. I am jubilant just thinking about it!

* Many thanks to Sarah for tipping me off to Shutterfly’s Holiday Card blog promotion!

Ever have one of those weeks where it all just keeps on coming, and all you can do to survive is dream about vacations you’ll never be able to afford because all of your money from here til the end of time will be going towards your house and hospital bills?

I knew you would understand.

We have roots. The kind that get into your septic pipes, not the kind that make Jimmy Fallon think he’s actually kinda cool. So there goes a few thousand dollars.

And Matt shot his finger with a nail from his nailgun, so we were in the ER last night. He barely winced, which started a whole conversation about what a great EMT he would make. Guy’s made of steel. Meanwhile I was shaking like a leaf.

But before he was maimed he did this:

From Daily Daguerreotype

Which, frankly, is the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. I spend a lot of time in my kitchen because cooking (and subsequently eating) is my favorite hobby. So I’ve spent a lot of time bent over this sink gazing into the ugly and dusty window gaps that are now beautifully covered!

When his finger has healed, and he feels up to picking up that nasty wasty nailgun again, he’ll add the top of the window trim that looks something like the top of these doors:

From Daily Daguerreotype

And then we’ll caulk, prime & paint her up, strip the window hardware, repaint the window, and it will be ready for the little curtain I plan on making.

It’s been a helluva weekend, but somehow just typing about these home renovations and our future plans has cheered me up.

That’s sick.

Today I turn twenty-eight. I think for a mom’s birthday she should be allowed to put her daughter in her all-time favorite outfit.

From Daily Daguerreotype

Jeans from Target, butterfly shirt from Old Navy, and sweater and hat were handmedowns from her big cousin. Who made those, Big Ma? I love them forever and will never let Penny grow out of them.

All but one of Matt’s appointments cancelled today, so we are having an awesome day together as a family. This seriously rocks.

Too bad Creature made it into the picture.