A Family Story: Clara At 6 Months

Weight: 19 lbs. 1 oz. (94th percentile)

Length: 27.5" (96th percentile) This is the height of an average one year old. Upon telling me this, Clara's pediatrician said, "Now, I forget, how tall is Clara's father again?" That's a loaded question, because not only is Mitch six and a half feet tall, he's from an all-around tall family. ...looks like Clara's inherited the Bennett height! Although this likely means she'll be "runway model" material, I'm hoping to steer her in another direction. ;) Mitch is thinking golf. He believes being tall will give her a better drive. I'm pretty sure this is an excuse for him to go golfing more...

Perhaps you can tell which two of us married into the family? This picture is a bit outdated. There are now two more baby Bennetts than there were a year and a half ago.

What she can do: Clara can sit with support, eat baby food, stand for short periods of time with help, do impressive baby crunches, get herself out of lots of positions she doesn't like by arching her back, babble (her first and only babble sound is ga-ga-ga-ga-ga), and grab and hold things with increasing proficiency, laugh, be funny, play.

What she likes: Playing peek-a-boo, being upright, the pony ride song, my cell phone, cups, pulling my hair, grabbing Mitch's glasses, going for walks, looking at books (especially the book about monsters with noses that actually squeak), putting everything in her mouth, swinging on our porch swing, being OUTSIDE in general (this is huge for her... she instantly calms down when taken outside), her bath, children's music CD's played in the car, and being carried around on a hip.

She doesn't tolerate being ignored very well, and is disenchanted with her swing, play mat, and jumperoo (all of which don't involve direct socialization), which makes it much more difficult for me to get anything accomplished throughout the day besides taking care of this baby. It's alright though, we have fun.

Sleep: Inconsistent. She is growing? teething? congested? who knows for sure, but she's still sleeping a span of 12 hours during which she wakes up 2 to 4 times demanding attention.

Other information: She finds it funny when another baby cries. Even hearing a home video of herself crying really entertains her. She is only able to consistently roll one direction, onto her stomach. From there she gets stuck and gets really mad until someone comes and "rescues" her. This is regrettable because it produces additional waking up at night and untimely endings to naps.

Clara celebrating her 1/2 birthday.