letters for levi: where are you going, baby?

:: seven months ::

You are on the move! You are definitely a crawler now, though still only on your belly. Even commando-style, you are so fast and efficient. You’re a man on the go and that includes under tables and chairs and—your current favourite—under mom and dad’s bed.

Now that you’re easily getting around with crawling, you’re onto the next thing: pulling up and walking. You love to pull yourself up on things but still need mommy and daddy’s help (at least you think you do – you’re excited, but a bit nervous). You can’t get enough of walking and would do it all day if we had the energy to constantly practice with you. We help you as much as we’re able. You also love to stand in your exersaucer, and often balance yourself standing in there while you play.

And although you've been sitting up unsupported since four-and-a-half months, you’re now able to sit yourself up all by yourself (from being on your back or tummy), and you do it like it’s no big deal… just like you’ve always been doing it. You're very strong and clever.

You have two teeth, with two more visible under the surface. Your last round of teething didn’t seem to be as painful for you as the first two, which is a great thing since mama was on her own while daddy was away camping with the DTS. (We did join him for a few days - your second camping experience... lucky kid!)

You drink water out of your sippy now. You can do it yourself, but when you do you usually just end up chewing and playing with it. We still help you most of the time.

You continue to eat more and more different fruits and veggies and love it. You also LOVE cereal – a kid after my own heart. I think you’d eat cereal for every meal if we let you. Even just seeing the bag makes your eyes light up and you squeal with excitement – far before it’s even poured or mixed for you. You also nurse five times a day.

And let me tell you about the jonny jumper. You are a HUGE fan… and we are too! You get in that thing and squeal and scream and laugh and giggle. It’s just so funny. As soon as we walk away you tone is down a little (still continuing to jump and have fun) but as soon as someone turns their head back to you, or walks back over, you go nuts! You loooove an audience and we have no problem giving you one. You’re so entertaining.

You’re also having more fun with other babies now. When you see Max or Riikka you light up and squeal and smile. Sometimes you wave your hands or clap. Then you guys grab at each others’ faces and try to eat (kiss) each other. It’s pretty sweet.

You have so much understanding now. You understand all sorts of words – too many to name. We’ve also been doing sign language with you consistently for two months now. You don’t sign back yet, but you do know what some of them mean. It’s so fun to watch you grow.

For the last month you have also been a cloth diaper baby! We made the switch just before six months and it’s going great. It’s a little extra work for mama, but worth all the savings and also knowing that we’re doing our part to keep those nasty disposables out of the landfills.

Naptimes have gotten better; they sure were all over the place for the last couple of months (since about four months). But you’re now going to sleep on your own again and sleeping for longer. You still have “off” days but things are much, much better than they were! For that, I’m incredibly grateful!

You love baths and swimming and you’re not scared of water on your face or anything like that. We’re enjoying getting out to the pool and the beach a bit more these days as it warms up… and you love it!

You’ve transitioned from wanting to put everything in your mouth to wanting to touch everything now. You still put things in your mouth of course, but not as quickly as you used to. Now it’s all about touching and feeling and examining the detail of things. You also understand cause and effect much better – things like squeaky toys or bells.

Overall, you are just how you should be – developing and growing as fast as I can handle. (Although some days it’s harder than others to handle… my baby is disappearing before my eyes.)