6 Months of Spunk

Gotta get that thumb in there between spoonfuls.

How is it possible that our baby is 6 months old today?  In some ways it seems like just yesterday we were nervously driving her home from the hospital; in other ways we can't remember life before she joined us and made our family complete.  I think my Mom said it best when she joked that Sarah Beth is going to think her name is Thank You Jesus because that's what she says every time she holds her.  I whisper it every night as I rock her to sleep.  She is an absolute joy and we are beyond blessed to have her.  Today was her 6 month checkup at the Pediatrician.  (Sidenote: Is it odd that I want to say Vet instead of Pediatrician?  I guess that comes from having dogs for so long.)  As we suspected, she is once again perfect according to professional medical standards. Weighing in at 15 lbs 14 oz and 26 3/4 inches long, our girl continues the 50/90 percentile ratio.  Such consistency at such a young age.  Clearly she is on the road to success already.

As I have mentioned, Sarah Beth has been exploring the wonderful world of baby food.  She's been eating the Gerber Organic stuff, which she likes just fine; but we quickly realized that baby food is ridiculously expensive.  One 2 oz jar is around a dollar.  So we're basically paying a dollar a carrot?  Probably not even a 1/4 of a sweet potato per jar.  Enter the Beaba Babyfood maker!  http://www.beaba.com/  I picked it up yesterday at Williams Sonoma, and we spent the afternoon chopping, steaming, and pureeing ourselves silly.  Or I should say Kurt did.  While cooking and baby care is technically women's work, (I hope you can hear the sarcasm oozing from that remark) this nifty appliance also qualifies as a gadget, so my husband was naturally intrigued.   Oh those clever French...their design is simple and brilliant.  Do it all in the same container - nothing fancy, no bells or whistles, just one dial.  We made batches of fresh zucchini, carrot, and sweet potato purees to freeze in ice cube trays for future baby enjoyment.  Probably made at least 50 dollars worth of baby food for about 10 dollars worth of produce, not to mention it's fresh, healthy and made with love.  Now I'm sure the Gerber people love babies and all, but not as much as we love our girl!  She gave it the baby seal of approval with her carrot-smeared grin last evening.

All cleaned up, munching on Sophie le Girafe. 

Also French.  Also a clever product.  Hmmm... I sense a trend.

One thing we've noticed now that we are parents, is that our taste in entertainment has changed.  We no longer care to watch violent or depressing movies.  We want happy.  So imagine our disappointment in our last two choices, "Up" and "Bridge to Terabithia."  First of all -- spoiler alert -- if you haven't seen these movies yet, this is fair warning that I may ruin it for you.  Ok, so "Up" is a fantastic movie.  Totally loved it, HOWEVER, do they really have to start out the movie with the old guy and his wife first having miscarriage and then the wife dying??  Seriously?  This is a KID movie, right?  Good grief, we were both tearing up five minutes into it.  Now don't let that dissuade you from watching the rest of the film; we did enjoy it, but the first part was gutwrenching.  And, yes, it is a cartoon.  We were crying over a cartoon.  Jeez.
Next up was "Bridge to Terabithia" - another good movie.  If you haven't seen it, think "My Girl" but in this case it's the girl who has the tragic accident.  So much for light-hearted family film.  Can we please find a movie in which someone does not die?  Is that too much to ask?  I think we'll stick to Sesame Street for now, although Big Bird is getting up there in years.  They may up and kill him off with our luck. I can see it now: "Sesame Street - A Very Special Episode..."  Maybe I will watch "Yo Gabba Gabba" after all.  If any of those characters kicks the bucket, I won't really care, they're so flippin' annoying, I wouldn't exactly burst into tears.  Sorry, weird afro-flowerpot-head guy with horn-rimmed glasses.  I'm just not that into you.  Oh, and speaking of programming, are we all ready for another riveting season of American Idol?  The only show I'm more excited about is Toddlers and Tiaras.  By the look of the promos, they really poured it on this season.  Those babies look like little oompa-loompa hoochies.  Orange is not a natural color for a 3 year-old's skin, but it does offset the rhinestone string bikini with tassels nicely.  Now that's what I call responsible television.  Sarah Beth, if nothing else, I promise I will never teach you a stripper routine and yell at you for not shaking your booty enough for the judges.  Happy Half-Birthday Sweet Baby!