7 Months

Dear Jack,

I know that you have always loved your Daddy and I in a "you have to love us because we feed you" sort of way, but this month, you've really, REALLY fallen in love. Your absolute favorite thing now is cuddling with us. You burrow your face into my neck while grabbing a fistful of the back of my hair. You reach for us when you want a snuggle and our hearts melt. Did you know that when Mama was a little baby, her nickname was "Cuddly Cami"? Or that Daddy's love language is touch? What that means is that we are in seventh heaven and can't get enough of you!

Each time you develop a new skill, you go from beginner to master in a few days flat. It's pretty amazing to think that last month you were taking your first bites of food and now this month you are an absolute food pro. Last month, you put way too much food in your mouth and would gag on it, causing Mama to get nervous and want to swipe the food out of your mouth. This month, you are careful about how much you put in your mouth at a time and are actually ingesting more rather than just tasting and spitting it out. You eat:

Steamed Broccoli

Pesto Chicken Sausage (your favorite!)

Sweet Potato

Greek Yogurt

Toast with Avocado

Banana

Strawberries

Cooked Cinnamon Apples

Tomatoes

Quesadillas

Scrambled Eggs

Rice Cakes

And the list keeps growing...

You decided that the best way to celebrate turning 7 months was to get your first teeth. That's right... last night, when you were sucking on Mama's finger, she noticed two sharp little chompers right on the bottom in the front. No wonder you've been drooling up a storm and have had a runny nose this week.

This month, you started waking up in the middle of the night and rather than fussing because you're hungry, you now "yell" from your crib to get someone to come play with you. Too bad, we are wise to your little game and either just let you yell until you fall asleep or we come change your diaper and rock you back to sleep without engaging you at all.

On February 20th, you started talking up a storm with one syllables. You settled on your favorite, "Ma, ma, mommm" which, of course, made your Mama thrilled. Unfortunately, you use this new word mostly when you are getting upset. :)

Even though last month you were learning how to sit up all by yourself, this month you have graduated from sitting to standing. You are constantly grabbing our hands, asking to be pulled up. You always look proud of yourself for the accomplishment of standing and we know it won't be long before you are cruising around the room without any help.

Your turning 7 months old is not the biggest deal of our week. Tomorrow morning, Daddy gets an e-mail that tells him whether or not he has matched into a dermatology residency. On Wednesday, we are leaving you for the very first time to be put down for the night by a baby sitter (thanks so much, Amy!) so that we can go to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society dinner. This is a big deal because your Daddy is being honored for all his hard work throughout medical school. And Jack, on Friday morning, we are going to a big party with Daddy's classmates called MATCH DAY where we will find out where we will be living for the next four years. Isn't that crazy? You'll be a big 5 year old by the time we are done with this next adventure.

You LOVE:

Pulling yourself up to standing

Pulling Mama's hair

Being tickled

Being turned upside down

Eating food all by yourself

You HATE:

Being left alone

Being on your tummy (still!)

Having forbidden items taken away or moved out of reach

Getting dressed

We love you so much,

Mama and Daddy

Yummy....yogurt

You've started always sitting with your feet crossed.

Your cousin, Adalie, always sat like this too (in fact, she still does sometimes)

Sweet, chubby, crossed feet

Our big boy, standing up all by himself

Checking out the neighborhood

Fun times with Mama