7 months on the 7th.

my little bunny emme cakes.  yesterday, you turned 7 months old, so we are well on the downhill slope of your first year of life (outside the womb).  it was kind of sad to have this "birthday" on a tuesday, because there wasn't a whole lot of fanfare.  tuesdays are just like that, sometimes.  

i am so grateful for you, little child.  you are so healthy and vivacious and noisy and funny and stubborn and curious.  you really are the light of our lives and it is a joy to be your mother every single minute (even those middle of the night minutes when you occasionally decide it's a good idea to re-explore waking up.  i secretly relish those, too).  

some of the things you're doing and loving as we enter your eighth month:

- you are not quite crawling on all fours, but you army crawl and scoot like a mad-woman.  

- you pulled yourself up to standing by yourself in the bathtub the other day (i was right there next to you in awe), so i'm guessing we might have an early walker on our hands.  

- you have your two bottom teeth and i love them, especially since you haven't bitten me yet.  

- you're getting very good with your pincer grasp and love to feed yourself.  

- you're an adventurous eater and you refuse to drink from a sippy cup - only a regular cup for you.  i hope you retain this adventurous spirit into your toddler years and adult life.  

- in that vein, feeding you is the most fun part of the day for your mom and dad (and the dogs too, since they get the scraps...).  

- you love to look at yourself in the mirror and give yourself sloppy kisses.  

- you still don't have a specific "transition" object, but there is a bunny lovey that you're pretty fond of.  

- you are extremely verbal and LOUD.  you hardly ever cry, but you shriek and squawk and talk all the time.  it's loud, but you're always happy, so it doesn't seem to annoy people too much....ha!  

- i'm still nursing you (and pumping, of course), although it's only like twice a day during the work week.  you are so efficient and fast with nursing now.  you're also so busy all the time, you usually get distracted and want to be reading books or playing with toys while nursing - it's funny but i do miss the little tiny monkey that would get so milk drunk while nursing.  

- you're starting to show a little bit of stranger danger, but you will still happily go to someone else as long as you can see me and you're not too sleepy.  

- you're more interested in books for reading than chewing on these days, though you still like to take a little taste every now and then.  

- you absolutely love your dogs and your daddy.  when justin gets home, your whole face lights up and you will stop anything that you're doing to give him some sugar.  

- you hate being on your back.  you are happy to sit up or be on your tummy so you can motor around, but your back is only acceptable on rare occasions (like when you're really tired).  

- sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and talk and squeak for up to an hour.  i am trying not to go get you during those times so you learn to fall back to sleep on your own.  you do, which is great, but on those days you always end up sleeping at least half an hour later than your parents.  it cracks us up that you were "up late partying" so you have to catch up on your rest.  

- you are in constant motion and a constant joy to be around.  

i did a little photo shoot with you yesterday to commemorate this month and ended up taking 254 pictures.  woops!  i'm posting too many, as usual, but this was as few as i could narrow it down to...they're not as good as the ones your dad takes, but i'm sure we'll get even more this weekend...also, i shamelessly stole the idea for the mirror pics from my cousin - thanks lindsay!  

happy 7 months sweet monkey!