Frances Clarke~ 4, 5, & 6 months old!

I can't believe I am combining all 3 months into one post, but I have to catch up! It wouldn't matter anyway, because no matter how I organized these posts, I'm going to be gushing and gushing on how much this sweet baby girl means to me. All of my children have changed my life in the best ways that only THEY could, but the thing with Clarke is, I never realized things could change and be such a good change for us. I thought we were "complete", "finished with our family", however you want to put it, and I was ok with that. But then this baby came along. And she has added SO much MORE love into our hearts and our family. It has been an incredible 6 months. I could stare at her and play with her all day, (and somedays I do), and we all feel that way! Simms and Cope love her more than I could have ever imagined or prayed for them to. There has been no jealousy or resentment with either of them towards her. Dru lights up each night when he walks in and how could he not? She bats those beautiful eyes at him and smiles and he loves it. She is still nursing 90% of the time. Most days she will take 8 oz of formula. If I am away from her she will usually have 12 that day. We still haven't started cereal or baby food. Her pediatrician has me interested in "baby led" feeding.We have started "gnawing" on bananas. She seems to like them and not mind the new texture/consistency. So I will just feed her from the table, or mash up fruits and veggies for her. I am going to try to avoid buying any baby food at all. We shall see how that goes. She sleeps great. She wakes up usually around 3:30 AM to eat, after going to bed around 9. Her morning nap is great, but her afternoon nap not so much. She usually falls asleep during that wonderful 5:00 hour, when Simms and Cope are their loudest, I am cooking and it is just utter chaos. Somehow she sleeps. She is incredibly laid back and goes with the flow, but she really has no choice. She has stayed healthy for the most part, despite having a brother and sister in school that stay in her face all of the time. She did have her first ear infection in December. She celebrated her first Thanksgiving and first Christmas and brought so much joy to those holidays. I still call her "Birdie" all of the time. The kids do too. I'm not sure if it'll be a nickname that sticks like Bubby has for Cope, but I do know it is something that I will always call her, because it reminds me of those sweet first weeks together. 4 months!

5 months!

6 months!