7 Months

My Hadley,

My, oh my! You are 7 months old today! And you are growing up and changing every day, it seems.

This past month was filled with new things for you - new tricks, new foods, new toys, new adventures.

The first big thing you started this month was eating solid foods! We waited as long as we could before we gave you anything but formula, but we finally decided (since you were grabbing at anything we put into our mouths) that you were ready for some food. And you love it! So far you have had rice cereal, bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, yogurt (Yo Baby), applesauce, peaches, carrots, and pears. So far your favorite seems to be the rice cereal. I have decided to make some of your baby food so it is healthier and cheaper, and so far I have made sweet potatoes, squash, and applesauce. This eating food thing has also helped us get on a really good schedule both at home and at daycare.

As of sometime during this past month you are now MOBILE!!! That's right - you are crawling (or rather scooting) everywhere these days. It kind of looks like a mix between an army crawl and an inch worm. Super cute!! You are beginning to get braver and more adventurous lately as well. At first you just stayed on the rug in one little area, but you have discovered the tile floor in the living room and I think you like it. It won't be long until you are following us all over the house.

You are also sitting up on your own (most of the time). Sometimes you get a little excited and topple over, but you are getting better and stronger every day!

This past week you got a new "toy"...a little swimming pool for the backyard. We have tried it out a couple times and will probably spend a lot of time there this summer. You're not quite sure what to think about it yet, but you definitely like being outside (no matter what you're doing), and you like watching (and trying to pet) Murph.

Earlier this week we took you to the park for the first time and you got to swing (which was lots of fun!) and slide with me. I'm sure in the years to come we will spend lots of time at the park as well.

The only negative thing about this past month is that you were sick (again) for a portion of it. Originally the doctor said you had allergies so he put you on Zyrtec. But after several days on that you were getting worse (stuffy nose, coughing, fever) so we went back to the doctor. That time he said you had some kind of bug (possibly brought on by the allergies) and he gave you an antibiotic (your third in four months) and some cough medicine. That was a couple weeks ago and you are still coughing some and your nose is still stuffy sometimes. Hopefully you will get completely over this stuff very soon.

I think the stage you are at right now might be my favorite so far. You are so much fun, you love to play with me and daddy, and you laugh and smile all the time. Your little personalitiy is starting to really show and it seems like you are a lot like daddy - laid back and pretty easy going.

I love, love, love being your mommy, Hadley! Thanks for being my sweet boy!

Love,

Mommy