Dear Lucy,

Six months old. You're six months old. I can't even believe I'm the father of a six month old. And yet, at the same time, it's getting harder and harder to remember life without you, little girl. Life was so much simpler before you came along, but since you joined us, our lives have changed in such a fun way that I don't believe six-month-ago Andy could even imagine. 

It's funny; In the days -- literally, just the few days -- leading up to the day you officially turned six months old, I could see major changes in you. Much less of a baby and more of a kid. They way you're interacting with everything in your environment just amazes me every day, like the way you stretch your arms out toward something that you want. Usually one of the animals. Or the "grown up food" that we're eating. 

Speaking of grown up food, I'm really proud of the way you've taken to solid foods, and the types of food you're enjoying. Peas, carrots, bananas are far and away your favorites, but you've enjoyed -- with a somewhat quizical look on your face -- the taste and texture of sweet potatoes and avocado as well. I'm really glad you've taken to the fruits and vegetables, because your first solid food, oatmeal, didn't exactly go over like gangbusters.

Since this first experience, though, you've enjoyed a wide variety of fruits and veggies and loved it all.

Along with expanding your culinary horizons, we've found that there isn't much in this world that you love more than playing with the animals. As you know, you've always been close with Gus, but this past month you've really been all about the cats, Sammy and Frankie. It's almost as if you've been sitting back the first four or five months, studying and sizing them up to see if they could be trusted. Well, this month you have apparently decided that you would like them to be your friends as well. Few things make you happier than when Frankie sidles up to you and lets you rub her head. As much attitude as that cat has with most people, she has turned out to be super sweet -- not to mention highly tolerant -- with you and your antics.

You've officially outgrown your beloved tummy tub, and graduated to a big girl bath tub. And by "big girl bath tub," I mean a giant rubber ducky shaped pool -- courtesy of your Auntie Julenna --  that we put inside the larger tub. It gives you just enough room that you can splash around, but no so much that we have to worry about you knocking your head on anything. Before trying the baths out, though, we wanted to get you in the tub to see how you would react to the larger space and increased volume of water. You were a little puzzled by the situation at first, but that didn't stop you from kick-kick-kicking at the water like a madwoman.

Apart from your love of kicking, there's one other thing we're certain of: Those teeth are coming. Especially over this past month, we've really seen you get more an more fixated on your mouth and putting things in there to help soothe the discomfort. You finally figured out that you could actually suck in your lower lip and just chew on that when there was nothing else around to shove in there. This has resulted in the most adorable little closed mouth grin that we have ever seen.

We're both having so much fun watching you grow up and discover new things, little Lucy. But please, don't grow up too fast.

All my love,

Papa