Just to compare...

Just for a point of reference...this is Mara at one month old, and then six months old. I just had to post the comparison! She was so little!!

Six Months!

Mara is six months old today! I can't believe it's been six months since the day she's been born! It really did fly by. She is changing so much. She's sitting up a lot, growing her hair back (yay! It's fuzzy and spiky!), 'talking' a lot, rolling both ways, giggling all the time, and bouncing around constantly! She had an appointment today, so we got some new stats:

20 lbs 14oz

26 inches

Yeah, she's a pretty big girl! Not like we didn't know that!! She was a good girl for her shots, and was in a good mood tonight, so we were happy about that. I was able to get a few photos taken, although none were really spectacular... oh well.

If the next six months fly by as fast as the past six did, Mara will be turning one before I know it!! (sob!)

Movies, Movies, Movies

Have I mentioned lately that I'm really excited to see Twilight in a few weeks? I saw an 'exclusive' clip online today and now I'm even more excited!! (check out msn.com -- the video clip is on the lefthand side).

I also want to see Changeling...and I think there are a few more coming out around the holidays that look good (I can't resist a funny Christmas movie!!)

Before Mara was born, Jay and I used to go to a ton of movies. It's harder to get out now obviously, but we've seen a couple in the past six months.

We decided that as our anniversary 'gift' to each other this year, we're going to sign up for Netflix, and start setting aside some time to watch movies together. I know there are a lot of movies over the last few years that we both wanted to see but never got the chance, so we're looking forward to movie time! Oh, and maybe some popcorn too :)

Headaches

A few years ago I started taking medication for headaches. For as long as I can remember I've suffered from a lot of headaches, and as an adult had started getting some migraines too. A lot of the time I had a headache EVERY day. It took a few different prescriptions before I got something that worked, but eventually I was mostly headache-free, which was fantastic! For someone who's never suffered from headaches and migraines, it's hard to understand how debilitating they can be.

When we decided to try to get pregnant, I knew I had to go off my prescription. Honestly, I was hoping to be 'drug free' anyway, so it was a good excuse. That doesn't mean I wasn't nervous about it though. I imagined I'd stop taking the pills and immediately be plagued with a daily headache again. I was hoping to be able to wean myself off of it by taking a lower dosage, but found out I was already taking the lowest dosage available. So, I decided to just quit cold turkey.

And...no headaches! I was so relieved!

Then when I got pregnant, I started to get bad migraines. They would last for days, and all I could do was lay in a quiet, dark room, and suffer through it. I was so happy when they finally eased up, and for the second half of my pregnancy, I was headache-free.

I wasn't sure how my body would respond after Mara was born. I really don't want to have to go back on a medication. So far, it's been ok. I've definitely had headaches, but so far no migraines. Although a few of them have been somewhat intense. But nothing like they were a few years ok.

I'm having one of those headaches today. I'm trying to drink a lot of water and take it easy. Hopefully it will go away...

Quilts

My Grandpa and Grandma always give homemade quilts as wedding and baby gifts. Both of them work on making the quilts - my Grandpa was usually in charge of cutting squares, and my Grandma always did the sewing. In the last couple years my Grandpa also did some of the sewing. Jay and I got a quilt from them when we got married, and at my baby shower I got one for Maralyn (I didn't know if it was going to be a boy or a girl at that point and Grandma told me if it was a girl and I wanted one with more pink, she had one for me -- but I assured her this one was just perfect!). This year one of my cousins is putting together a calendar for the family, and wanted as many quilt photos as possible. It was a good excuse to take some pictures of Mara with her quilt today! I love the fact that she will always have this quilt to remember her Great Grandma Angie and Great Grandpa Lloyd.

It's beginning to look a lot like...Christmas??

Yep...it was snowing earlier today. I knew it was going to be cooler, but I wasn't expecting SNOW! It wasn't enough to stick on the ground or anything, but it was definitely cold, and it was definitely snowing. Mara's first time seeing snow! Mostly we just tried to shield her from the ridiculous wind! She was nice and toasty in her carseat, and snuggled with Daddy on the couch later on.

We went to get Mara's 6 month photos taken this afternoon. She was such a good girl! Tons of smiles, sat up well, and just seemed to have fun! I think we will really have some great photos. The photographer (she and her husband were videographers at my wedding and my sister's wedding) was really laid back, and took a ton of photos. She emailed me a few only about an hour after we finished with a couple of the photos -- they are so cute! My parents came with us, so we got a few photos of them with Mara too. I was glad we decided to 'splurge' this time with a professional photographer!

The snow got me thinking about Christmas, and shopping I need to do, and projects I should be working on! Mara will be almost 8 months at Christmas, which just seems unreal! But, I guess we should get through Halloween first...

Carving Pumpkins

We got pumpkins a few weeks ago and decided that today would be a good day to carve our bigger one (the little one is the one Mara picked out - just her size!)

Mara actually sat quietly and watched most of the time, she seemed interested in what was going on. I helped dig out the 'guts' but Jay did the carving.

It turned out pretty cute! Note the matching teeth on the pumpkin and Mara (well, the bottom ones anyway!). She enjoyed getting her picture taken with it outside too...she loves being outside. I'm sure we'll be taking pictures of the two of them again on Halloween, when Mara has her costume on!