Scarlett's six months old!

And she's very happy about it.

I am too, even though these six months have gone not a thing like I thought they would six months ago. I remember sitting at the table with my mom after Scarlett's first hospital stay for bronchiolitis, and saying that I just couldn't wait until Scarlett was six months old. Then, I figured, she'd be bigger, stronger, not so vulnerable if she got sick, way past her feeding difficulties.

Well, we're not there yet. She's bigger, for sure, and stronger. But things still aren't easy, especially with her feedings. Every day, actually every feeding, is a challenge. I worry about whether she'll start eating, then I worry about how long she'll keep eating. Then I worry about whether she'll keep it down. Will she eat as much as she's supposed to this feeding? Will she eat as much as she's supposed to for the day? I was never so glad as I was to pull that feeding tube out for the last time, but I do now appreciate its benefits -- it put us in charge of her eating, rather than her.

We are working with a physical therapist every week to bring Scarlett's motor skills up to speed, and she tells us that we've been treating her as if she's fragile for too long. She was fragile, before, but now she's not. And we're grateful for that.

Here's a look at Scarlett at six months:

Her newest skills: She laughs pretty often now. She talks all the time and can make some consonant sounds, including B and M. She's quite good at sticking her tongue out and saying thbbbbtttt. She's very good with her hands, and she has started reaching out and feeling everyone's faces. She started playing with her feet, and she's getting better at tolerating being on the floor and out of her chair.

Her nicknames: Miss Scarlett, Scarlett Marlett, Miss Marlett

Things she likes to do: Sit in her bouncy seat. Chew on all her toys (no teeth yet, though). Play peek-a-boo. Play with her feet. Say "thbbtt." Listen to books. Pull my hair. Yank off my glasses. Cuddle with her stuffed animals. Watch TV. Sit in her bouncy seat. Scratch her head. Try to scoot out of her bouncy seat. Even though she does not actually want out of her bouncy seat. Sit in her swing. Take walks in the neighborhood. Go to the grocery store. Go outside.

Her best talent: Sleeping! It's a good talent to have. She goes right to sleep when we put her down for the night, and usually sleeps from about 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Jason feeds her a bottle before he goes to bed around 1 a.m., but she goes right back to sleep and doesn't even wake up crying for her pacifier very often anymore. Hooray for sleep!

Here are some more new six-month pictures:

Her "who, me?" look.

Hey, I have feet!

She's cracking up!

Scarlett is still a huge fan of her bouncy seat. In fact, if she had it her way she'd sit in the darn thing 24 hours a day. But for a lot of reasons, we're trying to wean her off of it. Not least of which is she's about to grow out of it! Soon, she's going to be so heavy it'll topple over backward when she sits in it!

To show you how big she's grown, here's a look at two-weeks-old Scarlett, sitting in the chair.


Look how tiny she is! And since that was so much fun, here's a quick look at Scarlett, month by month.

Zero months

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months