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Ali-gator. That’s your new nickname from our first vacation to Florida (and a hint at your real name). In your seventh month you flew on an airplane for the first time when we went on a fun mother-daughter adventure to Tampa and Sarasota to meet up with Daddy for a few days. You are a great traveler and such a joy to be around. You were called a happy machine because of how you affect everyone. Your first time at the beach was a disaster when you face planted into the sand. Sorry baby! But the swimming pool—another first—was refreshing. I am really excited about swimming with you this summer. You have been trying new foods all the time. I’m thrilled that you will eat just about anything and seem to especially love broccoli and bananas. Speaking of eating, your first two teeth came in within a few days of each other at 6.5 months old. You’ve been dealing really well with the discomfort and gnawing on everything, especially your hands or our thumbs if we’re not careful! Sometimes in the morning or after a nap I hear you babbling or cooing in your crib. When I go in to check on you, I see you’re playing with Little Lucy, the stuffed cocker spaniel Daddy and I bought a year before you were born—a special gift for our first baby because it looks just like our dog, Lucy. I used to hold Little Lucy and pray for you—before I even knew anything about you. It makes my heart happy to see you enjoying it. This month we moved out of our home and in with Grandma L and Grandpa. We’ll be here for a few months while our new home is built down the street. It’s exciting to think that our new home will be the one you grow up in and probably the only home you’ll remember from your early life. You get to see a lot of Grandma L and Grandpa now, and Grandma K has been babysitting you more lately, too. I’m so thankful that you get to grow up with your grandparents nearby. Also noteworthy, Daddy’s first solo album came out this month. It’s called Acoustic Lullabies and it’s dedicated to you!

You are a month behind on your check-up and vaccination appointments so you just had your 6-month well baby visit on your 7-month birthday. You are 26.5 inches long and weigh 18.25 pounds—our beautiful, healthy little girl!

Little girl, it’s hard to believe you are already half a year old! Happy 6 Months, Choongie. You still seem like a tiny baby until I look back at your pictures from September when you joined our family. You’ve changed so much. And my arms and back can verify that you’re getting heavier. In fact, you’ve already grown out of most of your 6-month size clothes—especially the pants and sleepers. Shortly after Christmas (and your 5 month birthday) you started sitting up on your own. Now your balance has improved so much that you’ve started rolling from your back to belly and back more frequently. The same week you started saying Dada for real. We’re not sure if you know what it means yet, but you get a positive response when you say it, especially from your Daddy. When he kisses your cheeks you still get a speckled red rash from his prickly face and everyone can tell he’s been kissing on you. Now that you’re 6 months old, we have the go-ahead from your doctor to start you on solid foods. We’ve shelved the bland rice cereal and moved on to avocado and carrots. There are sweet potatoes and bananas waiting in the wings. It’s fun to watch your reaction to new tastes. You’re still sleeping like a champ through the night, even though teething pain wakes you up from time to time. You’re great at putting yourself back to sleep sucking your thumb. You’ve been napping less, sometimes just two naps a day now for an hour or two a piece. It’s getting harder to get anything done when you’re awake because you’re so much fun to play with!

Precious is 5 months old! On one hand, it’s hard to believe she’s been with for 3 months already, and the other hand, it feels like she’s been with us forever. We love our little daughter. She brings us so much joy. She is almost always happy. Choongie has become her nickname to Jason and me, because of the sound she used to make when she sneezed. (She doesn’t anymore. Boo.) She is not too interested in getting around yet. She still hasn’t figured out how to roll but she’s thisclose to getting from her back to her belly. Precious is talking up a storm, though. We love to hear her babbling and squealing. She often sounds like she’s saying “hi” and “hey,” which would make sense since we say, “Hi Baby!” to her every morning when we greet our smiling girl in her crib. And when she’s crying, it sounds like she’s saying “Dada!” and “Daddy!” Jason is the best at soothing her when she’s got gas pain so maybe she knows what she’s doing calling for him.. She’s grabbing toys, especially the crinkly ones, and she enjoys looking at her reflection in the mirror. Her new tricks this week are reaching out for our faces and grabbing on to our arms/necks when we pick her up. So sweet. Precious is a jolly girl and she makes our lives much richer.

Here are some runner-up pictures. It was hard for me to decide.