7 Months Old

Dear Cooper,

Today you are 7 months old. Closer now to your first birthday than to your birth day!

You are still sweet as ever, although over the past month, you have become a little more needy, and – dare I say it - whiny. *gasp!* Surely not my angel! You’ve started to occasionally whine when I leave the room. And Poppa reports that you’ve been a little whiny throughout the day. His words: “not bad, just uuump uuump uuump”. I do believe that you’re working on a tooth, although your dad and I cannot find any evidence on your gums. However, I believe the sheer amount of drool you produce everyday should be evidence enough!

You will now hold your arms out to the side when you want to be picked up. I love this new development! So cute. Sometimes I’ll hold my arms out while walking to you from across the room just so you’ll have plenty of time to hold those little arms of yours out :)

You also love to touch faces. Usually when someone talks to you, you reach out to touch their face. Not only do you touch, you often squeeze our faces, which is not too pleasant. Neither is when you pull my hair or pull my earrings out, but you’re so cute that I’ll let it slide. Even though this week alone I’m down one of my favorite earrings and one earring back.

You can sit up pretty well now. Not completely unassisted, as I’ve learned the hard way. Oops. You’ll be sitting there just fine for several minutes, and the second I turn my head, you do a face plant. Sorry buddy!

When you get excited about something, you do this little fast breathing thing, it's so funny! You get excited pretty often :)

You show no signs of trying or wanting to scoot or crawl. While I’m very okay with you not being mobile yet, for my own sake, I think we’re going to start trying to entice you a little. I have set you on the floor with a toy you like just out of your reach, but you mostly just lay there on your tummy look around, haha :) I think you’re just not interested in it at all and that’s okay.

Speaking of laying on your tummy, you have taken a trait from your mama and started sleeping on your tummy. Although, you do sometimes whine in the middle of the night because you want us to turn you over on your back. You don’t do that as often as you used to though, thank goodness! For a while there it was about once every 25 minutes!

You are still sleeping from about 6pm to 5:30am. You’re an early bird, and always in the best mood in the mornings. You just chatter away to yourself until we come in and get you, and you give us your biggest smile!

It is becoming a big challenge to change your diaper. You’ve become quite the wiggle worm while on your changing table! Anything you can get your hands on you reach for. You are currently obsesses with a piece of wood on the back of your changing table and you grab it all the time.

It’s also been a little challenging to get you to drink your bottle. You are simply too busy to sit still, and if we do get you to sit still, you are always looking all around the room while you’re eating. You’ve also been eating quite a bit more solids lately. You now get breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Last week I made several varieties of homemade food. I made: squash and apples, peaches, mango, sweet potatoes, pears, and peas. You have never turned your nose up at the premade variety of anything I made (except the mango, you’d not had that before), but you hated the peas! You were so funny about it though; you would take a bite, make the worst face ever, and open your mouth for more. Sweet boy, you just didn’t even think about the fact that you didn’t have to eat it! Spitting it out never crossed your mind! I felt so bad that you would keep eating it despite your obvious dislike. So, it’s back to premade peas for you!

We’ve also introduced you to puffs, which you love, but haven’t quite figured out the pincer grasp, so the puff usually ends up getting lost in your fist. If I hold one out for you to grab, you open your mouth instead! You got a sippy cup for Christmas and currently try to use it as a teething toy

You’ve started taking more lengthy naps now, as opposed you little catnaps here and there. You usually take an hour and a half nap around 8, an hour at noon, and another hour around 2 or 3. You certainly love to sleep!

Your new nickname this month is “inspector”. You inspect everything! From your crocheted blanket we keep in your carseat, to the carpet in our rooms, to my necklace, and anything else you happen to brush your hand against. You inspect it all. It’s so funny to watch you do it, you just keep opening and closing that tiny hand of yours over whatever it is you’re inspecting. I’d say that the majority of the time, you try to get it in your mouth too :) You even started inspecting the fabric on your rocker during your photo shoot!
You are still just such a chill baby. You are usually very content and you can entertain yourself very well. You love to be held, and for us to hold you in front of the back door so you can look outside. You also love to look at yourself in the mirror. It is so funny how hysterical you find that! That’s one surefire way to get you to smile! You’re enjoying your jumeroo, and I believe you've figured out how to jump, although it's your own version of jumping :) You also still love to be swung around and thrown in the air. You continue to enjoy reading books, and you’re so much better about not trying to put them in your mouth.

You make our lives so full buddy! We love love love you!

Mama