6 Months and Already a Rennie

Yesterday was Naomi’s first half-birthday, and to celebrate, we took her to the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival.

It was a beautiful day, hot but not insanely so. We saw “The Craig” (pronounced “the Crack”), our favorite band from last year, did some pub singing, met geese with diapers, and did a lot of window shopping. The Pittsburgh Renfest is notable for having not one, but three shops almost entirely devoted to selling finished crocheted items. Unfortunately they are almost all acrylic, but I can understand that, since their concern is cost-effective volume, and the average consumer would rather their stuff be machine washable.

I am an absolute sucker for Renfest garb, so using Naomi’s 6th birthday as an excuse, I made her a little headpiece. I’m not sure what it’s called – a snood? a garland? a wearable chew toy? I’m sure there’s a real name for it, but one thing it was, was CUTE.

For those of you slow on deduction, this means me (as in I, myself) went to the fabric store, bought crushed velvet (crushed velvet!) and ribbon, pulled out the sewing machine, and sewed. On purpose. when I didn’t have to. (Granted, it was all of 30 seconds of actual sewing, so it’s not really indicative of anything.) Thanks to an adorable hand-me-down dress, my stash of thread and completely inexplicable stash of polyester stuffing, we had a Renfest outfit for a 6-month old for the price of 1.5 hours and $1.30. You can go ahead and pat me on the back now.

This outing was also an example of how easy things have gotten with Naomi. We decided to go on a bit of a whim, and the day before, it occurred to me that this might be a terrible idea. The place isn’t great for strollers… we’ll have to carry her the whole time… I’m still fighting off some kind of cold… And where the hibbity heck will I nurse her?

Nursing was a bit touch-and-go, but I’m so pleased to say that we pulled it off. I never know how Naomi is going to be about nursing in public, but she did okay, and we found quiet enough corners, if not exactly comfortable seats. Carrying her ended up being a treat. She dug the double hammock carry for a while, then we tried the Ergo back carry since she is officially old enough for it now. (It seemed a little low, but she liked it just fine.) I recently learned the Robins hip carry, because she has been really loving hip carries these days. That was perfect for the end of our outing when she was really starting to regret the loss of her afternoon nap.

Her period headwear is of limited utility, since we’ll be lucky if she can still get it on her head at Halloween. But I realized the next day that I had, in fact, made the perfect little stuffed toy for this tactile child. She loves ribbons and tags. I don’t usually let her play with things I put on her head, but for something she’ll only wear a couple times, we can make an exception.

But I’m no fool. You don’t care about my erstwhile fabric crafting or feats of babywearing: you want MORE BABY PICTURES. So I turn it over to Naomi to give us her own story. Tell your adoring public, Nomes: What is it like to be 6 months old?

I’m SO glad you asked, Mama!

I’m loving life right now. My naps keep me energized, and eating is downright fun now. (I know I didn’t like it for a long time. I changed my mind, okay? It happens.)

I like to sit up as much as I can, and I can hold steady for as long as I want to. But sometimes I go diving for something else I want, and fall over, and I still can’t sit up on my own. That sucks, and I make sure everyone knows I think it sucks. But other times I just want to slouch down like a teenager, so I arch my back to scoot away from whatever corner I’ve been wedged into, and then I can snuggle down and suck on whatever I’m holding.

I’m cute as a freaking button, and I know it! I like to be tickled, especially when I know it’s coming. Nakey time and bath time are the best! Mama thinks she has me trained to smile for the camera, but mostly I’m just trying to trick her to get it close enough that I can steal it from her and eat it. That sun shield looks so tasty.

My two bottom teeth are out and about, with no sign of more to come in the immediate future, but I still chew everything. Especially everything plastic. I don’t know what I would have done if I had been born before plastic was invented. Chewed sticks, probably.

Mama is very proud of herself because she went to the Renfest and did not buy herself ONE THING! She says this means she has “self control” and can “stick to a budget.” Those things sound not fun and boring. But she did get ME one little thing to remember our special day together: