I'm feeding my little one purees right now. how will I know when I can advance to something less mushy/smooth? she's currently 6.5 months. we started introducing solids when she was abt 5 months.

If your baby is showing interest in the food that she is eating now (asking for more is a good sign), you can try experimenting with different textures. Try something lumpy first and see how she takes it. Then progress from there. Typically, my friends would start to introduce these at around 7-8 months so that babies can get used to chewing. Always good to have a variety of tastes and textures so that baby. From there, you can also start to see your baby's preference. :)