7 Months

Dear son,

This week you turned seven months old. It’s hard to believe you are now closer to being a year old than to being brand new. Your personality is growing as quickly as your body; at nearly 22lbs and over 27″ long you are a big boy, full of smiles and giggles for everyone. Here are some of the wonderful things happening now.

Ba Ba Ba, Da Da Da, Ssssss

You are turning into quite a chatterbox, practicing all kinds of sounds at sometimes ear-piercing decibels. Your favorite times to talk are when you’re getting your diaper changed, when we’re driving somewhere, and when you’re nearing the end of your bottle. Talking with your bottle or binky in your mouth is a new favorite, turning mealtime into comedy hour as you drag out dinner by chatting instead of eating. You’re starting to babble in a more conversational way, which is truly hysterical. I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you sure seem to! Grammy taught you how to say “Sssss” by showing you things that are soft. You rarely use the sound in the right context, but you sure love to say it!

Where’s my kitty?

Each day you grow more and more obsessed with our cat, Whiskey. “Whiskey-kitty” doesn’t love you nearly as much as you love him, but sometimes he’ll let you pet him under very close supervision. You will lean out of my arms or out of your chair to try to catch a glimpse of Whiskey as he sneaks by you. When asked “Where’s your Whiskey-kitty?” you inevitably look down to the floor to try to spot him. It seems that while you may not know who Mommy and Daddy are, and probably not even your own name, you know what your binky and kitty are. It’s amazing to see your comprehension grow.

Daddy is hysterical!

Although I can definitely make you laugh (sometimes we get into giggle fits for no reason), you think your daddy is the funniest person in the world. Everything he does, from the smallest glance to a giant burp, makes you smile and laugh. You love when he rubs his scruffy chin on your cheek; it makes you giggle every time. You also laugh when we toss you high and drop you low, or say “Zzzzzzebra!” right against your ear. There’s a twinkle in your eye and a crinkle in your nose with every grin. You are so easy to please that it helps us to remember that even the smallest things can bring loads of happiness.

A new view of things

You just started sitting really well on your own, and now it’s your preferred way to play. Sitting up has given you a whole new perspective on your little world. Now you can take a bath in the big tub (just don’t lunge forward to grab toys that are floating away – it scares Mommy!), ride in the front of the grocery cart, and use your stroller without the car seat. When you’re not sitting up, you love to roll from one end of the room to the other. We need to baby-proof the house very soon so you won’t roll away!

I want it!

When you wake up in the middle of the night, you can find your binky in the dark and rotate it around like a Rubik’s Cube until it’s happily settled in your mouth. When you see a toy you want, you lunge or roll towards it. And God help us if you spot your bottle before we’re ready to give it to you – we’ll never hear the end of it until you’ve got your drink in your hands.

Give me something good to eat

Although you started eating solids more than two months ago, you’re just developing a preference for certain baby foods: namely, fruit. You’re happy to eat peaches, bananas, applesauce, and pears. You’ll even eat carrots. Any other veggie is met with extreme protest in the form of not swallowing the food, grimacing, whining, and occasionally crying. I tried to give you some avocado the other night, chopped up very small. You weren’t sure what to do with it and weren’t crazy about how it tastes. Oh well, more for me!

Show me the love

You are such a good baby, with such cute chubby cheeks, that it’s impossible to resist you. You are very relaxed (probably because you sleep so well at night) and quick to smile, which makes it easy for me to be your mommy. It melts my heart when you put your head on my shoulder when you’re tired, when you smile at my terrible singing and dancing, when you laugh simply because I’m laughing, when you give your daddy a giant grin as soon as he walks in the door. I love you more and more each day. I am so grateful and amazed that you are mine.

• February 11, 2011
• parenting
• 4 comments