7 month update

Jonathan is ready to get up close and personal and tell you all about his 7th month!

size/physical
Not much to report here. He is getting bigger. His hair is getting longer. He is getting cuter. Thought we had another tooth coming through, but nothing yet, so still just those bottom two.

how come whenever I leave my baby alone with relatives he winds up holding alcohol?
And why does he enjoy it so much?

eating
After about a month of eating solids, Jonathan is starting to get the hang of it and will eat more than 1/4 of a jar per feeding. (I did a physical for a six-month old little girl the other day, and her dad reported that she eats four or five jars per day. I was like "uh, oh wow, that's really good. I mean right on track. Uh yeah all babies do that right now..." Yikes! JJ you gotta catch up!) We do two "meals" per day, usually lunchtime and dinner time. I think in general he likes the veggies more than the fruits. He gets a little stopped up with the fruits... I gave him some prunes yesterday to get things moving along. It worked.

double fisting. oh and he got a piece of that pretzel off and almost choked on it. no more of that for a while.

excited to be getting his picture taken

sleeping
I didn't know when I would feel ready for Jonathan to move into his own room, but then suddenly, about a month ago, I knew it was time. We got to the point where we were waking each other up. I thought I would be really emotional about him sleeping so far away from us, but I guess since it was the right time, I handled it pretty well. He has been doing great, with the occasional rough night. Generally, bedtime is between 6:30 and 7pm, he wakes once around 1am for a big feeding, and then sometimes around 4 or 5 for a quick snack, and usually wakes up for good between 6:30 and 7am. During the day he is taking two naps, about an hour long each, at 9am and 1pm. Did you HEAR WHAT I JUST SAID?? WE HAVE A CONSISTENT TIME FOR NAPS. HALLELUJAH!! IS THAT HOW YOU SPELL THAT?!?!

sleepy boy after his nap. note the bedhead

Jonathan still sleeps all swaddled up at night. He wouldn't have it any other way.

development
This month Jonathan has started taking notice of the really small things. He is so observant. He has started playing with the tags on his toys and playmat. It is so cute. The pincer grasp is starting to develop, but it's not quite there consistently yet. He will work to get to a toy more now. He rolled from back to front the other night, but that pesky arm was still stuck under him, so he didn't stay on his belly for long. He is starting to actually jump more when he's in the jumperoo, and he does this funny bouncy thing when he is sitting up and he gets excited. He still loves to mimic us with our sounds and sometimes our movements. Goodness this child is a TALKER. Every month I say that, because every month we see how much more true that is. He is LOUD when he wants to be! We started to show him some sign language... but of course he's not signing back to us yet!

the tag

hanging out on his playmat with our usual set up of pillows placed in all directions

personality
This child is SO silly! There are times when you can tell he is in a silly mood and wants to laugh and have fun with everything, no matter what it is. I think he has a hard time NOT smiling or laughing when he sees us. He is just so happy about life. And VERY ticklish! We have seen his personality come out more this month when he sees something he wants and has to work for it: he might get frustrated at first, then motivated to go for it, then relaxed and content whether he gets it or not. He definitely is not one to get worked up if things don't go his way. This month he's been even better at having some independent playtime, when I can leave him laying or sitting on his playmat and he's good for 20 minutes or so entertaining himself while I get things done... or just sit and watch him! :) He seems ok with being alone at times during the day, and sometimes even needs some alone time to de-stimulate.

crazy/silly face

One thing we have seen come out more this month is how much of a mama's boy he is! Most days when I am at work, he starts fussing around 4:30 and nothing Jon does can really console him. Then when I walk in the door he is all smiles! Jon said he has actually started looking towards the door when he starts to miss me. It's probably my favorite part of the work day to get home and be greeted with such excitement!

Here's mama getting some giggles out of Jonathan at Hard Rock Cafe. Yes I know I look like a fool in this clip. This is my typical life now. (Thanks, Rob, for filming this!)

Likes: spoons. Give this child a plastic spoon when you are out and about
(and forgot to bring ANY toys) and he is good to go

Mama-time
Oh my little love-bug, how is it possible that I love you this much?? I am so SO glad that you are part of our lives. You add so much to it: you are cool, you are sweet, you are funny, you are smart. You are YOU. Every day I appreciate you as a person even more. You make daddy and me want to be better people--so we can be a better husband and wife for each other and better mommy and daddy for you. We would both say that 2011 has been our best year yet since we got to meet YOU! We can't wait for year after year of knowing you and loving you. Bundle, you are the BEST!