7 months

Dear baby boy,

Today is a day to celebrate! Today you turn 7 months old . . . and it's also Christmas! I honestly cannot believe you are already 7 months old. I know I say that the time is passing so quickly, but SEVEN MONTHS OLD? That sounds so old. You aren't even in the first half of your first year any more. Seven months is the land of real food and mobility, and how can it be that you are here already?

You woke up this morning (after sleeping allllll night! More on that later . . . ) and we cuddled together for longer than usual after nursing. One of my most favorite things about you is how cuddly you still are. After you eat, you lean into me sideways and rest your head on my chest, fiddling with my shirt straps or my fingers and cooing. I love these quiet moments we have together, and I like to think in those moments that you are just as blissed out as I am, that your heart is just as full as mine. We then headed into the living room, where you got a big play box as your present! Your eyes grew large and you immediately wanted to start moving the animals and beads on top of it along their wires and opening and closing the doors and tabs on the sides. You even grabbed on when we stood you up and stood along side it, playing for several minutes! You also got a new book that you appear to love to chew on.

Your sixth month was filled with busy. We came home from Thanksgiving in Dallas and you promptly developed croup. You sported a terrible barking cough that struck me to my very core. You had one really, really bad night where you just couldn't sleep, so your dad and I took turns holding you, rocking you, shushing you, taking you into the steam-filled bathroom with the hot shower running and then right out into the cold winter air to calm your lungs. True to form, my tough little man, you were over it in about 48 hours and back to squealing with delight and belly laughing and babbling. Every day you amaze me with your strength and your happy disposition.

After that we were right into December, and you did the most amazing thing. You slept ELEVEN hours straight. And not just once. You did it for almost three solid weeks! The first night I woke up at 5 a.m. and panicked, but there you were in the monitor, sleeping peacefully. Yay! We are heading to Dallas again to celebrate Christmas tonight, so I have my fingers crossed that three nights sleeping in the pack-and-play won't throw you totally off your new-found sleep awesomeness.

You are still little hit-or-miss with solid foods. We have figured out the main problem is that you want to feed yourself. You want nothing to do with the spoonfuls of food coming at you, but if left to your own devices, you are quite content to pick food up off the tray and put it in your own mouth. This makes it somewhat hard on us as far as food options go--though your first tooth is alllmmmmosssttt in, you can really chew up much of anything right now. Thank goodness you're still nursing like a champ and I'm not too worried about your solids intake just yet.

You continue to surprise and delight us with your physical strength and skills. You are starting to be able to mimic motions that we show you. When we wave at you, you wave back, wagging your arms all around (since you're not too good at refined movements just yet) and smiling. When I clap, you try to bring both hands together like mommy. You try so hard to pick up freckles off my skin or printed flowers and designs off the carpet. You can turn the wheels and dials on your toys when we show you how. And for the most exciting development, as of today, you can sit up on your own! I love watching how quickly you catch on to things, and I'm so excited to watch you grow and continue to delight and surprise us for years and years to come.

As brave as you are, as adventurous, as curious, as fearless, still, still, baby boy, still your favorite spot is in my arms. And you know what? It's my favorite spot for you, too.

Happy 7 months, big boy.

Love,
Mom