Half a year!

This baby girl is 6 months old already! Where has the time gone? It seems like each of the kids grows faster than the one before.

Here's a rundown of what she's all about:

*Still loves the bath. Everything about it - loves being naked, loves the warm water, loves the water sounds. This is a special treat. Most of the time, she showers with one of us, a habit we got into when Isaac was a baby and HATED the bathtub. In either form, the warm water is very soothing and relaxing to her.

*Loves watching her brothers. It's neat to see how they each interact with her differently. Samuel is the caretaker, the nurturer. Elijah loves making her laugh, and he will pull off all kinds of antics to get her going. Isaac is very tender and protective of her. If another kid is touching or talking to Matea, I can always count on Isaac coming up with his trademark scowl and saying something like, "That's my sister," and after a "look" from me, he'll add, "but it's OK you talk to her."

*She's a wiggle worm. She doesn't stay in one place long! Even in her sleep she moves around like crazy. She spins herself in circles, rolls all over the place, sits, and is starting to crawl a couple of steps here and there.

*Still 100% nursing. She's becoming very interested in food, though, so as soon as those teeth start coming in she'll be getting some baby food. She still doesn't take a bottle - we're working on that!

*She squeals and blows raspberries and makes soft little going-to-sleep noises when she's really relaxed.

*Sleeping well again! After she got her first cold, she fell out of her sleeping routine. She's back to sleeping all night, waking around 5 am to nurse, and then going back to sleep until 7.

*She lights up when Adam comes in the door. Gotta love that.

*Her hair seems to be coming in. Darker brown than the boys', and darker eyes too - definitely not blue.

Matea is all sweetness and brings so much joy into our lives. We love her so very much!