Tales from Mommy Merrill: 7 Months

Stats 'n' Stuff:

Weight: 19 lbs and some ounces

Height: Near 28 inches

Hair: His hair cracks me up -- it's this whispy long strands of blonde, it's even getting a little long over his ears but it's so thin you can barely see it!

Sleeping habits:
- Daytime   We are usually good for two naps. Morning and afternoon. Duration of these naps...well, that is unpredictable!

- Nighttime   - we are getting there! He goes down between 8 and 9, wakes up around 2 -- but sometimes puts himself back to sleep. Then he's usually up around 5 to eat then back to sleep until between 7 and 8. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but early on we learned that turning on the water faucet will put him back to sleep. It really is crazy. We can pick him up, take him in the bathroom, turn on the water and his head will instantly fall to my shoulder. Back to the crib and fast asleep for a few more hours. Something about the REAL water puts him to sleep... the sleep sheep just doesn't do it in the middle of the night. I've seriously thought about how awesome it would be to have a sink in the nursery! HA!

new stuff:

We are sitting up really well! Tried to put him in the crawling position - but he immediately plops to his belly and rolls to his back. If anything -- he will roll to get to where he needs to go.

One of the things I am LOVING about this stage is that his little personality is starting to emerge. He is smiley and giggly and has his first official show off move! It involves shaking his head from side to side really fast...he does it for anyone he is meeting for the first time, people at church that are looking at him, neighbors that stop by, ect... it reminds me of Cousin Ethan's classic "muscles!" move that he used to do on demand :-)

Two big front teeth! These suckers started coming in back in August and are finally all the way through. They are sharp!

Kisses! He knows how to give bug slobbery, open mouth kisses! There is a new meaning to the song "Steal my Kisses from you" .... I steal kisses from this guy every chance I get!

Favorite things to do:

Following Sammy around! He knows Sammy's name and will always be on the look out for him. It actually frustrating when I am trying to feed Drew and Sam comes in to eat (his bowl is near the high chair) because Drew gets so distracted watching him. He also lunges at Sam to try to pet him... if anything is going to get Drew to crawl it will be that little doggy!

This kid is VERY ticklish! I can play little tickle games with him and he just giggles in anticipation of the tickle. So cute. He also giggles when I say 'da-da-da-da' and 'ma-ma-ma' -- no clue why, but he thinks it is so funny :)

Watching baseball! The Rays made it to the post season (after a few very stressful games!) and Drew had a knack for not going to bed on the nights we were watching the games at the house. He just didn't want to miss out on the action (again.... personality is emerging!)

Riding in the shopping cart like a big boy! Since he can sit up so good we can put him in the cart without his car seat anymore. He loves to look around at everything and play with the items as they pass through to get in to the cart.

Things he does NOT like to do:
- He is a very happy camper - can't think of too many things he doesn't like to do right now!

Things he has learned

1. We started the Puffs a couple weeks ago to work on fine motor skills and he successfully got his first one to his mouth last night (Ok - not OFFICIALLY in month 6-7, but close enough). It's hilareous so watch him try to pick these things up. They get stuck in his little fists and when we are all done he has lik 3 or 4 stashed on each side.

2. How to sleep at night better!

Things mommy has learned:

Kisses, smiles and giggles can turn any bad day around :-)

Here are some of our favorite pics from the month:

Our surprise trip back to Iowa for Grandma Lori's birthday! These cousins are so precious!