Hadley Is Six Months Old!

Holy crap, where did the time go? Our little tiny baby is six months old! Hadley turned six months on the 19th and it's crazy to see how smart and strong she is, becoming a vibrant, independent little person. I know that it's my job as a mother to say things like, "Where did the time go?" but it's true! In just six more months she'll be a year old, walking, starting to talk, keeping us even more on our toes that she already is. I'm enjoying this ride so much, I only wish it went a little slower.
As I mentioned, Hadley has started to fight for her independence. She needs naps, but is not quite on any sort of nap schedule yet. Basically, the only guarantee is that she'll take a catnap in the morning and she'll definitely sleep if we take her for a drive. Other than that, we take what we can get from her. She usually falls asleep around 8:30-9:00pm and wakes at 2:00am and 6:00am for a bottle, and then is up for the day around 7-8:00am. Not too bad!
The phrase, "I'll do it myself!" might be one of the first things she ever says. She loves to grab her bottle from us and dump as much of it over her head as possible. She likes to hold things herself and gets mad if you try to take something away from her. It's so funny to watch and I wonder if she'll have a little redheaded temper in her!

Other fun 6 month factoids:
• Hadley will look for things now, like if we say, "Where's the kitty?" or "Where's Grandma?" she'll sometimes look around until she can find them. It's fascinating to watch.
• She has started to hate loud noises. The vacuum is especially scary, as well as loud crowds. We were purposely loud around her when she was a newborn, hoping to get her used to noise, but that didn't seem to work. This also means she's a light sleeper, so, yes, I'll be the mom whispering at everyone, "The BABY is asleep!" when they walk through the door.
• She has tried several different kinds of foods and has done well with all of them. As long as we don't let her get ahold of the spoon it's not too messy, but if she gets it in her clutches we're in trouble!

• She might have a bit of a sweet tooth, as I found out when Avery, Sevy, and I were at the mall. They were handing out free cookies and while I was holding the cookie, I bent over with Hadley in the front carrier and when I stood back up, she saw that she had shoved her face into the cookie and had devoured as much as she could. She had sprinkles and crumbs everywhere and was saying, "Mmmmmm."
• She has favorite toys like her Fisher Price Chatterphone (Thanks Aunt Barbara and Rylee!)

• Hadley loves sitting in her high chair watching Grandma cook. Those two have a special bond and we are so lucky to have her as Hadley's caregiver. I can't think of anyone better!

We are so lucky to have our little Hadley. Even now, whenever we go out, people stop us and tell us how sweet and cute she is. She is a ray of sunshine in our lives and I can't wait for the upcoming months. She's going to be a wild little girl before we know it! We love you Hadders!