7 Months Old

Dear Noel,

I can't even believe that you're seven months old already...closer to your first birthday than to the day you were born. Time goes by so quickly.

As I write this to you, you are wearing nothing but a diaper and are lying in front of me, pulling yourself around on the floor with your belly squeaking as you drag yourself around. You're hot and sweaty and have fuzz stuck all over yourself from your nap, and you have drool running down your face. You're cooing and smiling from ear to ear, kicking your legs and using your feet to help push yourself around. I think you're the cutest thing I've ever seen.

This month has been so fun. You have learned how to creep and always are trying to get to where everyone (and all the action) is. You're still pretty slow, but I think most of that is due to your belly sticking to the floor, not due to your inability to pull yourself along! You've been pushing yourself up onto all fours for a couple weeks now, and rocking a bit, but you always drop to your belly to actually move forward. I bet you start crawling within a week or two, though.

Yesterday (the day after you turned seven months old) you got your first tooth. And your second one, too. Both of your bottom teeth popped through yesterday, one of them overnight and the other was through by mid-day. You've taken the whole teething thing like a champ and have been a little fussy, but not too much. I actually think you're mainly fussy because it's so hot, not because you're getting teeth.

One of your first tastes of green beans. You weren't a fan, but you love them now!

You, my dear, are a little piglet. You love food. You don't like to feed yourself yet, but you eat an absolute ton every day. I can't wait to take you to the doctor on Tuesday and see how much you've gained this month, because surely you've packed on some weight. This month you've had homemade rice and oat cereals, zucchini, green beans, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and pears. Every day you usually eat 1/2 cup each of oat and rice cereal, a banana, 4 cubes of veggies, and 1/2 a large peach (or that much of another fruit), plus a little bit of yogurt. You are a hungry little girl. You also like to stick your fingers in your mouth while you're eating, which makes for some big messes. I'm not sure what you're doing, exactly, but it sure is funny! And you hate to have your face wiped off...hate it, I tell you.

This month you got to take your first dip in a real swimming pool, and you thought it was pretty fun. You love the bathtub even more now that you can sit up well and play with all the toys. You love it when I sing you "This is the Day," and at bedtime and nap time when I sing you "Jesus Loves Me," you rest your head against my chest until I finish singing and lay you down. You like to bang on the little toy piano we have, and you love peek-a-boo now. You like to pull the blanket off my head and grin really big at me when you "find" me.

All the playing wore you out!

You are still such a great, easy, and calm baby. You get so excited anytime we play with you, smile at you, or sing to you. You're taking two longer naps and one 30-45 minute catnap each day, and are sleeping all night again. I still can't believe you've been a part of our family for seven whole months already...how quickly the time goes.

I love you!

Mommy