7 months and counting!!

Stella Jean,

You are 7 months old today!!! So many times have I pinched myself this week, I just cant believe how fast you are growing up! You've accomplished quite a lot this last month, further proof to us that you are a bit more advanced than you should be, and we love it. People keep asking us when your first birthday is... and are again shocked when I tell them you are barely 7 months old, you are just so bright and alert and interactive for a 7 month old. So, new things this last month include,

~ Your Crawling!!! You started the rocking thing and leg scooches over a month ago, and a few weeks ago you started the dramatic hand/arm movements, but crashed and burned repeatedly. This week however? You're becoming quite the pro!! Just last night (Oct. 11th) you followed your daddy down the hallway, half crawling on your knees, half using your feet, I don't think you really like the hardwood floors. I've taken several videos of your new technique, it's pretty adorable! You also love to follow us, if i'm in the kitchen for even a minute, I can peek around the corner to find you making your wobbly way towards me, I love it.

~ You growl! And you love it! It's the cutest thing, you copy my growl, your daddy's growl still kinda scares you (haha!), he's much more scary than mommy, but you still give him an unsure smile. You like to snarl your nose and furrow your brow, and let out this adorable WRRRRAAARRRHHH, almost in a hush at first, but it gets louder as we keep playing. We'll growl back and forth forever, sometimes the whole drive to the grocery store, I growl, you growl, and you love it.

~ You're a giggler! You have a full on laugh now! Before, your daddy made fun of you because you had the "Thomas" laugh, kinda a silent giggle, just like mommy's and aunties and grandma's. But lately? If we really get you going with tickles (which your sometimes not sure of, but mostly love) or doing something really funny, you let out some full on belly laughs! Just like your daddy, loud rolling laughter, it's hilarious!

~You're a pro at sitting! You've been sitting on your own for almost a month now, it started about a week into 6 months, you were pretty wobbly at first, so we'd surround you with rolled up towels and blanket, but pretty soon you would flip around and crawl over those soft bumpers, so we don't really prop you up anymore, you're just too mobile to be kept in check.  Although, while you were playing and I was making dinner last night, I heard a loud thump, and turned around to see you just starting to cry, you had been playing with a toy and laid back, apparently a little too enthusiastically, and it scared you, but you were just fine after a little snuggle and kiss, and went right back to playing again, my tough little cookie.

~ You camped for the first time! We met daddy and 'uncle' Jason up at Elk camp a few weekends ago, and you spent your first night in a tent! It was a canvas wall tent, with a wood stove, so it was pretty posh camping, but we still slept in sleeping bags (albeit on a cot) and had a dirt floor. You loved it. We took a hike, you napped on the way back in the wrap. We played with camp tools, and Jason shot an Elk, daddy did too, but the elk took off and got lost, and after a full day of searching, couldn't be found, daddy sure made some bears and wolves happy! We got a little overzealous with dressing you at bedtime, put you into your footie pj's and snuggled you into the sleeping bag with mommy, only for me to wake up several hours later to a sweaty, soaked baby girl... I guess it was a little warmer than we anticipated, so I stripped you down, pulled the top of the sleeping bag down, and we both slept much better the rest of the night. You woke up a super happy little camper, literally :)

~ You've become a great little traveler! We took another trip to Seattle a few weeks ago, and you did such a great job!!! You were better than Abby, who has become not a great traveler... We had to stop more for her than you, so next time, Abby gets to stay home. While there we bought a new car, and had plenty of lovin's from family and friends, you are always a big hit back home! The drive home was just as great, for you at least, not so much for Abby... I was debating leaving her in Yakima... (not really) but when she climbed over the seat and stood on you in your car seat... that was it. We stopped at Petco and bought a short lead, gate for the back, and organic holistic sleepy treats... which we gave her 10 of :) She slept from the Oregon boarder pretty much until home... making the ride much more pleasant. She had a freak out the next day while driving up to go camping also, not fun. So I made her drive home with daddy, where she did much better in the front seat.

~ You are becoming a better sleeper... Finally! Mommy had some rough nights this past month, you were very unhappily sleeping in your own crib in your nursery. So, Last week daddy took your crib down and moved it into our bedroom, snugged it up against our bed, and left the front rail off. It's now flush up against our mattress, and you sleep SO MUCH better! The first night we moved you there, you slept for 3 straight hours... which is very rare for you, Mommy was so happy!

~ You give kisses! We'll, they are a baby version of kisses, or face sucking, whatever you want to call it. You like to take my cheek/chin/eye/neck and completely devour it with your mouth, sometimes totally latching on and sucking. At first I thought this was your way of telling me you were hungry, and it just might be so, but I notice you do it when your really snuggly, and after a kiss I usually get a nuzzle into my shoulder, it's adorable, and makes my heart melt.

There are so many other things your now becoming quite a pro at,

~ keeping yourself occupied while I shower/do dishes/ switch laundry/ sweep/ etc...
~ chatting back with us like your having a conversation
~ looking at the cell phone when a voice you recognize is on speaker phone
~ pulling yourself up when holding our hands. This actually kinda scares me, because you do it in the bathtub with daddy, you grab the side of your little tub, and hoist yourself onto your feet.... We've been trying really hard not to let you and teach you that you only sit in the tub.
~ picking which toy you prefer to play with
~ looking around when we mention Abby or Lilly, you love your animals!
~ Interacting with other babies and children, big kids fascinate you and scare you... or overwhelm you, especially when they are very lovey on you. But you love your similar size friends!
~ eating. You've become a little eating champ, mostly. Were doing the self led weaning/eating thing, not that i'm weaning you from nursing, they just call it that for some reason, I actually plan to nurse you as long as possible, hopefully past 2 years. but we just chop up our fruits and veggies into tiny pieces and let you go at it. sometimes i'll give it a little squish if I feel it's too hard or too solid for you, but you've got the chewing thing down. yay!
~ your legs are SO long!! They now hang over the edge of your car seat, which means we'll have to upgrade to a convertible car seat very soon!
~ You're wearing 9 month onesie's, and 12 month pants! which just proves how much of a big girl you are, but, it was to be expected with how tall your mommy and daddy are.

Little Monkey, You are growing so big so quickly. Daddy and I cannot believe 7 months have flown by already. It's been an amazing journey so far, this parenting thing, and we truly couldn't imagine our lives without you.

We love you baby girl,
Love,
Mommy and Daddy