6 months

6 months milestones
* Supports herself very well - nearly sitting on her own
* Likes munching on her toes
* Teething - little drool monster
* Rolling over to interesting things and wiggling to them, not quite army crawling
* Stands well with support
* Eats rice cereal and vegetables
* Babbling up a storm
* Grabbing toys for long periods of time
* Loves her playmat
* First Halloween - as a tiger
* First time seeing the President of the United States in person
* First babysitter so mom and dad could go on date night
* Lots of visitors

sporting the babyhawk

Seeing the President

Colorado is a swing state. As such, President Obama has been visiting often. I've never seen a sitting President in person before and thought it would make a good story for Kiri too. Finally an appearance came up where I didn't have meetings and could take an afternoon off.

This was our first major adventure with just the two of us. I was grateful for the Baby Bjorn lent to us by a friend. The line was very long to get in, but Kiri was a trooper. I bought a couple buttons to mark the occasion as well as a t-shirt to serve as another layer on a cool day.

Once in the stage area, we asked permission to sit on some sits saved for the disabled in order for mommy to rest up for the speeches. Mayor Michael Hancock, Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Governor John Hickenlooper were among the other notables who spoke. Then it was time for the President. The atmosphere was very enthusiastic despite the chill to the air. Kiri was great the whole time and was engaged with her surroundings and babbled but never cried.  We sat next to a one-week-old baby for a while. Wow, I would not have been able to get out of the house for an adventure like that one week after birth.

We could see and hear the President well. It was fun to see him in person and to give Kiri a good story.

Long line for security

Governor Hickenlooper

President Barack Obama

Here's coverage from The Denver Post

Playing with Daddy

Kiri was looking so cute today while playing with Daddy.

Touchdown!

New York Visitors

Some of Kiri's Great Grandparents from New York visited. This was the Fishers furthest trip west and we were honored that they came to stay with us on their big trip.

Great Grandma, Ryan, Kiri, Great Grandpa

  

First Snowflakes

Kiri had her first snowflakes hit her face today and she loved it.

Bundled up for the snow falling from one cloud on a crisp, partly sunny day

Tuckered out on the way home after it had stopped snowing

See how I've grown - in my carseat

Yep, Kiri is still a little baby, but she's come a long way in less than 5 months.  Here's a comparison in her carseat. The first picture is on her way home from the hospital at three days old. The other is from last weekend when she was 4.5 months old.

3 things I didn't expect when becoming a mom

Now that I am approaching 5 months of being a mom, I thought I'd reflect on the things I didn't expect. I have many friends having babies right now and thought this may be useful.

1) Milk and baby dishes
I knew that keeping at breast feeding was important and I took full advantage of the lactation specialists at the hospital to get help. However, I totally underestimated the full-time job of being a food source. Between feeding, pumping and baby dishes, there just wasn't a lot of other time in those first couple months. Most surprising to me was baby dishes. I bought extra bottles and pumping supplies, but you have to keep washing in order to have them ready for next feedings. To this day, I spend more time on this activity than I had ever perceived as needed. And to those of you who have multiple kids, I'll need to know how you juggle this with other little ones running around.

2) Healing takes time
Birth, in my case, was a bit of an ordeal. But even if it hadn't been, there is some real healing for your body. As I felt better, I realized that I hadn't been in very good shape right after birth. I had a very healthy pregnancy and was working out with my trainer until the end, but birthing took a lot out of me. Give yourself time and rest.

3) She is portable and personable
Want to go out? Do it now while your baby is little. We happened to have a bunch of big occasions right after our baby was born - birthdays, 10th anniversary. We brought baby along to fancy meals out and she was always great. The servers and patrons remarked on our cute and quiet baby. She's so easily fascinated by lights and other people that restaurants are an ideal setting for her best behavior. We have the advantage that Colorado's fanciest places are still more casual than other places, but we didn't have a problem bringing her out to any fine dining establishments.