7 Months

A quick note to remember all about Elliot as he turned 7 months yesterday!

Elliot is an expert at:

• sitting and rocking
• rolling - he is the rolling KING
• rotating around in circles all day
• teething - still working on 4 but 1 of those is finally almost through!  The two that he already has are huge!
• laughing - he LOVES to laugh; definitely my child
• jumping - this is fairly new but he mastered it quickly.  His specialty is jumping in the exersaucer.
• mama, dada, baba, gaga, geegee and numerous indiscernible cute baby noises
• shots - he got a flu booster shot yesterday and totally knew it was coming but took it like a pro
• nursing - about 5 or 6 times a day, 3-4 hours in between and 8-10 hours overnight.  Usually takes less than 15 minutes now, hallelujah!
• bath time - this kid LOVES water.  He has recently started plunging after toys that get away from him, so bath time is covered always by two hawk-like adults.  So fun to watch.
• Skyping - he knows the ring tone and what it means when I set the computer up in front of him.  It is awesome, he is so smart!
• Eating his toes - I thought we were over this stage, but he is back to eating his toes constantly.

Elliot is good at:

• sleeping - vacation was hard on us and it has taken a long time to recover from it.  He is now back to sleeping 8-9 hours most nights but it took about 6 weeks of waking up once or twice a night to get back (teething hasn't helped!).
• napping - again, vacation hurt!  Then when painting his room we moved him to the pack and play for a week, so it took a while but he is now starting to fall asleep by himself for naps again
• smacking himself in the face with toys - he is getting violent with those toys!
• solid food - Elliot likes "big people" food more than baby food, it seems.  He LOVES oatmeal and some of the foods we've introduced, and has a special new interest in drinking water from a straw (the only way I can get him to take water currently).
• Rocking out to the music - we have regular jam sessions and will sit Elliot on the floor and just watch him rock out to the music.  It is hilarious.  Every time a new song comes on he starts to rock again!

Elliot is beginning:

• the army crawl - he is starting to learn he can pull himself around if he isn't up on his knees.
• to crawl!  He is now regularly getting up on his knees by himself and rocking and has started moving backwards here and there.
• to pull himself up on things - he has done it a few times in the crib and the couch and coffee table, but hasn't made it all the way up to his knees or feet.  Most often I catch him still holding on to whatever he's grabbing with a death grip!

Life is very exciting with a 7 month old and we couldn't be happier.  We love having Elliot in our family!