Hey! She's Six Months Old!!

Yesterday Julia turned six months - it just doesn't seem possible; heck it's only been a couple weeks since she was born, right?
Anyhoo, at six months, she is constantly changing and developing - just recently we have seen her:

• recognize the sound of her big sis as she came down the stairs and then giggle when she saw her
• reach for toys, grasp them, play with them, and ostensibly chew the dickens out of them
• respond to her name
• scoot all over her play mat and twist her body into crazy angles to reach for toys (or the carpet, which she loves to scratch at)
• laugh and laugh and laugh, which she has been doing now for about six weeks
• stand with support
• squeal and scream - both done as a way to get attention as well as to practice her vocal range. She babels and is seeming to use certain consonant and vowel sounds to express feelings or wants (ah-niy-niy-niy seems to mean she doesn't want what is happening while ah-mahm indicates a desire for mommy to feed her).

Every day is a joy with her - except for last week when she was going through her fist cold; not so much joy and we were very worried about the possibilities of worse things, but it turned out fine. She got through it, gave it to Kennedy, and aside from a lot of lost sleep, Steven and I have been fine.
So there you have it - half a year old! And at the last doctor's visit, 14 1/2 pounds (no wonder my arms get sore!!!)!