Happy Half Birthday to You!

Yesterday was Madeline's first half birthday! We celebrated over lunch -- Ning came over with birthday cookies and Rob came home to join in the fun. We sang the half-birthday song ("Happy half-birthday to you, happy half-birthday to you..."), and Madeline had her first bite of pure, shock-to-your-system sugar (good thing our pediatrician doesn't read my blog). After Madeline finished licking all the frosting off her cookie, she dropped it on the ground to share with her big sister, Maple (no wonder the dog and the baby get along so well).

In addition to fructose, Madeline tasted peas this week. Her expression of distaste for cereal graduated to a dry heave for mashed peas, combined with a look that said, "How DARE you!" I smelled the olive green paste and thought it was gross too (which Rob took advantage of, putting a pea ban into effect for all of us). Thankfully, we have the whole thing on video.

So after peas and cereal (which dries into concrete, by the way), there's only one thing to do: dunk Madeline into her bath. She has always loved bath time, but never more than this morning. It finally dawned on me that at six months, she probably doesn't need the infant hammock anymore that fits into her tub. So with the newfound ability to sit up and move freely, Madeline played for 30 minutes, gleefully splashing to her heart's content (and not quite understanding that she was responsible for the tidal waves that kept hitting her in the face).

On a more serious note, a college girlfriend's three-month-old daughter, Elena, is undergoing repeated surgeries on her intestines to help correct her inability to gain weight. It's a serious condition, and heartbreaking to hear Lily's account of the pain her baby is enduring. We're pulling for the new family. It is a reminder that we must be grateful for the seemingly insignificant things.