You are seven months old! So, you probably noticed that this month's letter is late again. Remind me to tell you someday about how this time in our young family's lives is the omghardesttimeever. Spoiler alert, we make it through ok!
Look at those chubby little legs! At your doctor's appointment around the beginning of this month, we found out that you were not gaining weight as quickly as doctor would like, so we put you on a milkshake diet. No, really we just started you on formula, and cut back on my breastfeeding. This was tough on me, but you seem to love the formula even though it is gross looking and foul smelling (not to mention what it has done to the presents you leave for us in your diaper!) After just a week on formula and all of the solids we could get down your throat, you gained an entire pound and were right back on track. Whew. In Daddy and I's defense, you weren't complaining when you weren't gaining weight. We weren't trying to starve you on purpose or anything. Promise.
In month seven, the growling took a backseat to your new favorite pasttime....screaming. You weren't screaming because something was wrong or because you needed something, you screamed just for fun with a huge smile on your face. Just like growling, you started screaming everywhere. You screamed in your highchair when I was feeding you breakfast, you screamed in your jumparoo when Daddy was on a conference call, you screamed in restaurants and coffee shops. Your grandparents all refered to this high pitched noise as "singing". If that is the extent of your singing talent, then we don't need to worry about having to sit through choir concerts or school musicals. You favorite thing to do while screaming is bang your feet on the ground as hard as you can. We've already established how much of a morning person you are, so I'm sure that the twenty something guys that live below us really love your 5:30 AM vocal and percussion performances.
Screaming is not the only thing you were doing with your mouth this month, you also started constantly babbling things like dadadadadada or blablablablabla and you sprouted two teeth! So many new and exciting things coming out of that tiny little mouth! I have to say that I thought I would be sad when you inevitably (like a majority of kids) said dada before mama. I was completely wrong though. Watching you say that over and over again with a huge drooly smile on your face makes my heart so happy. You are Daddy's mini-me (we've nicknamed you Brace), so it's only fair that you uttered his name first. I'm sure mama is not far behind.
The two teeth that made themselves at home in your mouth were not as happy of an occasion. It took several long weeks for the little guys to make their appearance through your gums, and you were not a happy camper. You started waking up several times a night, and there was nothing we could really do to help you other than feed your Tylenot every four hours and provide lots of cold chew toys. I've never felt so helpless in my life....oh wait, yes I have...just a week later, you got your first cold. Not only were your teeth hurting, you also couldn't breathe. You learned really quickly that you hates having your nose wiped and that the bulb syringe was the worst thing in the world. Now, if you would just learn to blow your own nose already things would be fine! The first night of your cold was the worst. I sat with you in the bathroom with the shower running for a long time rocking you back and forth praying that it would help your congestion. You just kept looking up at me like "help me, please!" Luckily, we all made it through the teething and the cold, although I'm pretty sure there are like twenty more teeth to go. Is it too much to ask that they all magically come in at the same time?
Your have started to overcome your awful stranger danger anxiety and let people other than myself and Daddy hold you for extended periods of time. You even let Uncle Bri Bri look at you for a few minutes. Last month the sight of his face sent you into a total meltdown. It's nice for people to finally meet the sweet and smily girl that I post all of the pictures of. We spent a weekend at Grandma and Pop-Pop H's house and you finally met the last of your cousins and Aunts and Uncles. As usual, you were the main attraction, and you defintely put on a show. Your Great Grandma loved holding you, and I've never seen her smile so big before. While we were there, you took your first bath in a big tub sitting up all by yourself. You loved splashing the water with your hands and giggling. You looked so grown up in there!
You started waving goodbye, and Daddy has been working so hard on getting you to do the signal for touchdown. You are a pretty good student even though Daddy tickles you a lot during your lessons. You and Daddy are getting along pretty good at home during the day. I love walking in the door each night to see what you are wearing. If I forget to lay out clothes for you, Daddy dresses you himself, and he makes some bold choices. That man is not afraid of color and does not shy away from mixing prints! He is such a good daddy! He took a week off from work, and you two did so many things together. You went for long walks, rode in a taxi for your first time, and did some home improvement tasks around the apartment. You're a pretty good team. Being away from you during the day is still hard, but that huge smile you greet me with when I walk in the door every single night is pretty much the most awesome thing ever.
I'm sitting here writing this letter with your monitor propped up next to my computer. You just rolled over halfway and snuggled up to your favorite stuffed animal, Ducky. I wonder what you are dreaming about. I hope it's something wonderful!
xoxo
Momma
p.s. You love shoes and feet. Here you are in action after setting your sights on my Chucks. Pretty much nothing gets in your way!
