Happy HALF BIRTHDAY, Molly-girl!

Wow wow wow. We've got six months until her first birthday! Holy moly. (That means in six months it will be summertime!) Time sure is flying along.

• She is rolling all over the place now - she can roll from her belly to her back and from her back to her belly! Belly to back is a little less smooth, though.
• Tried mashed bananas for her first food and she either didn't know what to do or she just didn't want them because the majority of it ended up on her bib. We'll try again later with solids!

• Tonight is her FIRST NIGHT in her big girl bed and in her own room. She's been sleeping in the bassinet of her pack and play (in our room) for the last six months and is now in her crib (in her own room). I am trying to be brave and strong about this one despite the reality that this is one of those earliest of moments where I have to silently let her go little by little and surrender to her independence. Don't get me wrong... I am pretty excited to not have to tip-toe around our room anymore... and I know it'll be a great thing to have our space back... but right now I'm just feeling a little nostalgic.

• Sleep has been inconsistent lately for little Molly. Not sure if it's a growth spurt, teething, or maybe us needing to sleep train her or what - but she went from sleeping through the night to having one or two wake-ups a night. We change her and feed her and she usually will go right back to bed but GEEZ it makes for tired parents! Again, it's a phase and I know it will pass so quickly and I might even find myself missing these moments. I can see that this time around with how quickly Presley has grown up so it really hasn't been killing me. I read something recently titled "The Last Time" and it sums up my feelings pretty perfectly. If you're a parent... you might want to grab a tissue before reading!

• She sleeps with her fan, a blanket, and her Cloud B lullaby animal.
• She has been LOVING the jumperoo that she got for Christmas from Grandmommy & Papa. She's also been talking more and it's the cutest thing. She likes to growl too and that makes us all laugh every single time!!!

• Molly's starting to be able to reach for the things she has her eye on and can also manipulate the items in her hands somewhat. It's amazing to watch her face and seemingly see the wheels turning inside her brain and then making it happen!
• She laughs and smiles on such a regular basis - she is such a light for our family. Presley is her FAVORITE person in the world.

• Molly's also been chewing on our apple cores lately. Well, not the core, just what's left of an apple after you eat most of it. She doesn't eat any apple... just chews (she's teething like crazy!) and drools all over it.
• She's also so good at just going with the flow of everything.

 

•  Oh and she drools all over EVERYTHING. I mean, completely soaks her bibs from top to bottom!
• Molly also likes listening to upbeat music while she's in her jumperoo... especially "Shake it Off" by Taylor Swift. She will bounce along to the beat and everything! Hilarious and adorable and just so awesome. We've been listening to a lot of Pentatonix lately and she loooves them.
• Almost forgot to mention Molly's first Christmas! A few days before Christmas we checked out the Zoo Lights at the Memphis Zoo and had SUCH an awesome time. We rode the train, carrousel, and they even had a Ferris Wheel to ride which was equal parts amazing and terrifying. It was literally the BEST way to get into the holiday spirit.

Christmas Day was definitely a relaxing, low-key holiday and I am so glad that it was. Grandmommy and Papa spent the day with us and we opened gifts and ate so much food (mashed potatoes, shrimp & grits) and like I said... just relaxed. It was great.

I can't believe it's already 2015. We're slowly starting to put away all of the Christmas decorations and it will be nice to get back our house back to normal! It's insane that we'll be planning Presley's 3rd birthday here very soon and not long after that it will be time for Matthew's first birthday! And then Molly's and then Anne Marie's 3rd birthday! The first half of the year is always full of excitement and even more-so now with our sweet new babies!

• She weighed in at 14 pounds & 5 ounces and is 25 inches tall now at her well visit with Dr. Jones! She is just a little petite thing when compared to Presley at 6 months - who was 15 pounds & 13 ounces and 26 inches tall.

Happy six months of being a Duggan, little one.

We love you so much, Molly. (I could just kiss that face all day long!) You're an angel and I am so thankful that you are my daughter. It's been such an amazing six months with you that I really can't wait to keep spending time with you and getting to know you! Thank you God for giving me such a loving, special, sweet, happy girl to take care of and to cherish. I promise to do the best job that I can.