Elysia - 7 months

Sweet Elysia,

You are 7 months old, and every day I am more thankful for the blessing you are to our lives.

I think this month can has really been defined with your steps towards independence. You are still my little baby, but now you are my little baby who can army crawl across a room, who sees something she wants and makes a determined line for it, who rolls and wiggles and rocks at will. It amazes me to see you on the go so much, and it won't be long before you are crawling all together. We had to get the video camera out the other day because you were doing what we call the "fish flop". Daddy plays the "Running in your room" song on his guitar, which he made up for Elaina one day when she was running circles in her room (we are a creative pair, these two parents of yours...). If you are on your tummy when he starts the first few chords, you start flopping and dancing and wiggling like a little fish without fail. It is adorable. I hope you don't stop doing it even when you can crawl.

Your growth continues to be beautifully on track. You weigh 17lbs and wear mostly 6-9 months with only a few 6 month stragglers behind. In fact, I've found that more than once I've held an outfit back thinking you wouldn't fit into it yet, only to find out you're nearly grown out of it. You are eating solids 3x a day now and seem to be enjoying them a bit more, though you can still be pretty ambivalent about it unless it's something you really like (squash, avocado, and apples all make you hum-yum). Your hair still has a lovely red tone to it--I know I mention that a lot, but it is so special for me to see part of your great-Grampa in you. He would have loved you so much.

Trying out some smushed banana

You continue to have such a sweet personality and you are becoming quite the charmer. Yesterday in church you flirted shamelessly with the gentleman sitting behind us; the fact that he was old enough to be your great-grandfather didn't seem to bother you one bit. I love your smile, your one little dimple, and I am cherishing the gummy grin as long as I can, because I'm pretty sure you are about to pop your first teeth, and your smile will never look quite the same (though I am sure it will be just as beautiful). You smile when you wake up in the morning, squeal with delight when you watch your sister play, and babble in the bathtub.

 

And you are such a good girl for Gramma, too. Daddy and I laugh because almost without fail when we ask how your day was, Gramma says, "She cried five minutes if she cried all day," and then of course we get you home and you hit your fussy part of the day and those five minutes sure add up quickly. But Daddy's guitar and Elaina's hugs seem to make you happy again pretty quickly. And if not that, there's always bedtime (if only you would sleep though the night! Someday, I guess...)

Sleeping on Gramma's shoulder

This time last year we had just found out you were a girl and I was feeling your kicks and elbows. Now I am seeing your sparkling blue eyes and hearing your laugh and watching you grow, and I am thankful for every single moment. I love you, sweet baby Jane.