So just how big is Mikayla? She weighed in at 15 lb 10 oz (48.9%ile), 26.75 inches (67.3%ile), and head circumference 42.3cm (50.4%ile). She has taken a little dip in weight percentile, though still right where she should be for her age, and remains tall. Unsurprising for our little Pearcelet, who also inherits some serious length genes from her Maclay/Steele forebears. No match for her cousin Jillian, however, who sounds like she will be able to take Mikayla with one arm tied behind her back, at least in basketball.
Mikayla got two shots today and was a very brave little girl. She cried for a few seconds but quickly pulled herself together, forgiving the needle-wielding nurse and smiling up a storm on her way out the door. She makes a momma proud. Her curiosity made the check-up quite interesting, as she grabbed and attempted to chew the nurse practitioner's bracelet, and any stethoscope that came within reach. The doctor and staff just marveled at Mikayla's development: her speed, agility, dexterity, and visual acuity were apparently stunning. At least, their comments of "Everything looks just fine!" sounded to me like she is off the charts in both achievement and aptitude, wouldn't you agree? .......
She continues to gobble not only medical paraphernalia, but anything on a spoon or in a sippy cup. Her current menu includes oatmeal, avocados, sweet potatoes, and pears. The doctor recommended again today to start red meats soon. While I questioned this at our last visit, this apparently is a new recommendation from the American Pediatrics Whatever because parents were waiting so long to give meat, that babies apparently were not getting enough iron? They said that giving her meat will help proper brain development, and that was all I needed to hear. Far be it from me to hold back my little rocket scientist. So if I can get to the store today, our New Food Friday might just involve BEEF. Crazy, huh?
What are her favorite activities? Let's just say that watching her play makes me think of the Beach Boys: "I Get Around" describes her quite aptly these days. She will be such a happy camper when she can crawl, but for now she employs her rolling skills to get wherever she needs to go. If I take my eyes off her for a few minutes, I can be assured that I'll find her across the room from where she started. And momma can no longer doze while baby plays on the floor; the other day I opened my eyes to her reaching for the potted plant in our living room while banging on the TV stand door. Hm. While she isn't strong enough to pull anything over on herself just yet, I am not a fan of taking chances. Next stop, Baby-Proofing 101. Or possibly just, you know, staying awake.
She also LOVES hanging out in the Exersaucer, jumping around and going to town with the full range of toys available for her amusement. And if we happen to look over and catch her a) playing or b) watching us, she completely freaks out with smiles and giggles because OHMYGOODNESSYOUNOTICEDME!!! She gets a big kick out of playing with momma in front of the mirrors in our house (I'm not sure she quite grasps that she's looking at herself, but holy cow, TWO MOMMAS!). Her favorite is when momma sings "La Cucaracha" (I basically know the words "la cucaracha" and then hum the rest) or hums "Can-Can". She apparently is a big fan of watching others humiliate themselves. Add this to the list of "things you will never find on a YouTube or Facebook video".
Mikayla continues to sleep a good 12 hours at night, which continues to strain credulity with medical personnel everywhere (the purple room AND the yellow room at Grace Pediatrics, for example). They seem to breathe a little easier knowing that she now gets a nice big dinner every evening before her bedtime nursing. She is just a champ at falling asleep on her own for naps and at night; I attribute this partly to her temperament and the sweet blessings of the Lord, and partly to the hardish work we did early on with letting her cry and get used to being alone in her crib. It felt SO sadistic, but now it is hilarious to watch her hanging out in her crib before and after sleepytime. She kicks her foot back and forth like she is impatient, rolls down to the monitor cam to tell us stories and sing us songs, and occasionally turns the camera to give us a REALLY informative view of her crib bumper. All this, and she is so content to just be in there until we're able (or willing, as the case may be) to go in and get her. This is a particularly helpful skill set for her at 5:30 a.m. when it is just NOT time to get up yet. But when one of us peeks in the door, YOU'REHEREAGAINTODAY!!!! Sometimes the happiness overwhelms her so that she doesn't know how to express it, resulting in some rather disjointed flailings at times. Love!
If I had to describe Mikayla's personality today (which clearly I don't HAVE to, but do you seriously think I am going to hold back on MY blog?), I would say that she is primarily happy and delightful with generous sprinkles of curious, active, and determined. She is, so far, securely attached to both Joel and me, which allows her to confidently go rolling/exploring, greet new people with great pleasure, and whimper when we go away which actually is kind of a blessing to this momma's heart because hello, MINE. She is also remarkably resilient when she misses sleep or gets a short nap; she'll make up for it later, without TOO much cranktankerousness (new word). That's a good word for her actually - not cranktankerous, but resilient. Easygoing. (Mostly) unflappable. Thank you, dadda. If I could have MTO'd a first baby for us, my first move on the touch-screen would have been Joel's steady-eddy personality (and then his blue eyes, which she also has!).
We praise the Lord and give thanks constantly for the miracle of Mikayla Grace. She is certainly a precious gift to be regarded with much joy as well as humility, for we are not worthy of such a trust from the Lord. We pray that He makes us worthy and helps us to work out this whole parenting thing day by day, and we rely wholly on His grace to mend the places where we fall short. Thankfully, we know for certain that God is faithful to save and guide His children despite imperfect parenting (the fact that there are any who love Him is testimony to this).
Soli deo gloria!
p.s. Photos of Mikayla
(These don't include up-to-the-moment 6-month photos, but we thought you'd enjoy having access to this album anway.)
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