7 Month Letter

Dearest Little Nugget, 

I am behind on your letter the month, but it is only because we have been so busy having fun the last few days.  Also, your naps have become unpredictable and rare - so it is pretty impossible to bust out the computer and try to blog.  I am very tired as I write this, but I must get my thoughts down about your 7th month before I forget!  

 You had your first Christmas this month.  It was so special.  I loved sharing old family traditions with you and starting new ones.  Your favorite part of Christmas was the wrapping paper.  You have been really into eating paper lately, and shiny wrapping paper looked so delicious to you.  I even found a strip of red wrapping paper in your poop!  You loved seeing your family in Oklahoma.  We got to go to  both Nana and Happy's house in Tulsa and the Farm. 

 You had another growth spurt this month and have hit so many milestones!  I would call you an official crawler, although it is more of an army crawl.  But you can move, and you can move quick!  I have got to keep a extra close eye on you these days.  You can be across the room with a christmas ornament in your mouth in the blink of an eye!  You have mastered all things rolling.  Back to front, front to back.  You are days away from pulling yourself up.  You can do it now with a little guidance.  You can stand holding on to the couch, ottoman, bathtub by yourself with just a little wobble.  Your legs are strong and your pretty wiry, so I think you may be an early walker.  We will see! 

 You are talking so much!  Rambling I should say.  Sometimes you have a soft, raspy voice.  Sometimes, usually when you are talking to yourself, you have a high pitched, squealy voice.  You love to practice the ba ba ba ba sound and the t-h sound.  I am convinced that you have said your first word:  Bubba.  This is what we call Leon, the dog.  You LOVE Leon, so it is no surprise to me that this is your first word.  The first time I noticed you saying Bubba you were staring at him across the room and called to him "Bubba, Bubba, Bubba".  You say it all the time now.  When Leon is not in the room, it sounds more like a question "Bubba? Bubba? Bubba?".   We have also heard you cry out "Mama!" when you are upset.  I'll take it.  You and daddy have your own secret jibberish language.  

 You are up to 6 teeth now.  The 2 next to your two front teeth.  We went through a pretty rough couple of weeks where you were hurting because of your teeth.  This on top of our trip to Oklahoma and getting a 10 day long cold after Christmas disrupted your sleep norm.  Let's just say we have had some sleepless nights this month. We have been back to our routine in California, and I think you are getting your groove back. 

 You are waving hi and bye now.  You do get shy when we try to get you to wave on demand for people.  You'll often wave after they have already left.  You are proud of your wave, and I catch you practicing it often.  Little bean, my beauty queen...working on her wave.  

 You are eating!  You have had:  rice cereal, beans, black eyed peas, mashed potatoes, french fries, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, banana. rice crackers...You LOVE to hold your own cracker and eat it. It was weird not having to teach you this, you just did it!  It's amazing how smart you already are. I let you have 2 crackers a day, and these are the only 2 minutes of the day where you sit quietly, totally occupied.  I really strategize when I am going to give you those crackers! You have started to sit in your high chair.  I generally give you breakfast and dinner in the high chair.  You are not doing an official lunch yet.  

 We have tried to read you a few books, but you do not have the patience for it yet.  You get frustrated and just want to chew on the pages.  We will keep trying though! 

 It has been an unseasonably warm winter so far, even for California!  We have spent many days outside enjoying the sunshine.  Thank goodness because you are an outdoor lovin' gal!  Beach, park, neighborhood walks, a hike, etc.  I even pushed you in your first park swing! You were a little unsure about it.  We went on your first hike to Solstice Canyon on your 7 Month birthday.  You loved it.

You are more kid than baby these days.  I can already tell we are going to be chasing you around, saying no a lot, and have our hands full.  You are so curious and want to get your hands on everything and you have a little sass too.  You still love phones the best.  You have discovered how to pull the drawers on the TV stand and love your daddy's records.  I love all of your expressions.  My favorite is when you put your mouth into a little "o" when you are pouty/sad.

We love you so much, Breckin Bean!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy