7 months

I almost missed this one. I'd been waiting for a week or so to be able to say "7 months" instead of qualifying it with "almost" or "nearly". Then today, I was going about my normal routine and thought, "she'll be 7 months soon." Only, soon is now!

Uncertain face...

because every other shot looked like this!

The Vitals:
18lb 14oz
27"
She's the biggest of the Nebraska babies, but still wears her 3-6m onesies. 6-9m pants though, thanks cloth diaper booty. She's not just the heaviest, or chubbiest, she's actually...bigger. I don't realize or think about it until I'm holding little L, who isn't scrawny or anything, but her hands are just much tinier and the 2+ lb difference seems huge when it comes to picking her up versus Eleanor.

Highlights:
October was a great month of stuff! She's exploring her world more and more each day--mostly with her mouth. She growls at things, chatters away and smiles at most everything.
Her first Halloween was the biggest calendar event.
We also had her first curry (tikka masala with Julie and Erica), first hummus, and first flu shot.
Second double ear infection, second funeral/memorial service (boo! Hiss!)
She got to spend time out at her Grandma & Grandpa Boswell's house. She met lots of cousins (second cousins? First cousins once removed? I never did get that sorted out) at her great-granddad's memorial.
She had her first (almost) full night away from me too. It wasn't traumatic for either of us.

On her way to get the Puca

Skills:
Standing-- not unassisted, but without being held... Just steadied. Do you know what I mean? She can stand holding on to something. Like our fingers, or the coffee table.
Scooting...mostly backwards
She doesn't really crawl in the traditional sense of the word, but that does not stop her from getting all over the place. She sort of army crawls, sort of just uses her fingers and toes to pull herself around on her belly. Hardwood floors help since there is much less friction.
She can (most of the time) get from sitting to crawlooching in a fiarly graceful manner. There was a lot of faceplanting before.
Feeding herself. I hesitate to say this, since she's been doing it since she was almost 5 months old, but she's more accurate now. She can work a spoon with about 50% success. She gets all the food we give her into her mouth and has been chomping and gnawing things such that she more reliable ingests it.
She sits like a champ and passes toys from one hand to the other.

Works in progress:
Walking. I wish I were joking, because COME ON! I don't need an ambulatory baby yet. I don't think she'll actually do it for a while yet, but when she stands holding on to us, she tries to take steps. She's succeeded a couple of times. It's both exciting and terrifying.
Teeth. I felt the lump of where I think a tooth is trying to come in. The bottom left one. We'll see if it gets here soon.
Crawling--in the hands and knees sense.
Pulling up. She's done it precicely once, for. 5 seconds. She startled herself and fell back down immediately. Side note--invest in more throw pillows.
Pincher grasp. She's sort of got it. She can pick things up, but has a hard time keeping ahold of them and in the case of food, letting go once it's to her mouth.

Waking up happy

She likes:
Her basket of toys--specifically taking them all out of the basket
Chasing her octo-ball thingy around the living room
Trying to pet the animals. Thankfully all the animals in her universe are either incredibly patient or smart enough to stay out of her way.
Going for walks--which is to say riding about in the stroller. We have a problem with the sun getting in her eyes, which keeps her from viewing the scenery, but she still enjoys a good stroll about our (surprisingly) hilly neighborhood
Bath time, especially since the addition of bath toys
All the food. We have yet to encounter a food that she doesn't like. She makes interesting faces at the first taste of things, but then quickly reaches for more, more, more.
People. Praise God she is a social baby right now. We go on lots of lunch dates and she is content to be passed around to any number of strangers without fussing--for now.
The Jumperoo continues to be a huge hit. I've had to shorted the straps twice now already because she has learned how to actually jump in it.
Car rides
Grandpa's fish tank
The blue plastic dryer balls
Her giraffes. She has many, but she smiles at them on sight.
Me. Which is good, because she's stuck with me for 99% of her time.

She dislikes:
Having things put over her head (like clothes in the getting dressed process)
Having her face wiped
Having her nose wiped
Having her hands wiped
Having a wiping motion applied to any part of her person at all, ever.
Being consistent (this is nothing new--she's been a pile of guesswork from the day she was born) about when and how she will sleep
The blue bulb of doom (nasal aspirator)

I like:
The way she smiles when she sees me.
She's learned to put her arms up and reach for us when we go to get her out of the Jumperoo, and that is my current most favorite thing ever (at this moment).
Cloth diapers. It seems weird, but after a couple of round of antibiotics and travel which led to more disposable use, I really do prefer the cloth. It contains messes better for us. Her skin seems to like it better. Really, the only downside is the laundry.
Watching her feed herself. It's fascinating. She's just like a little person, eating real food.
Ok, just watching her do everything. She's better than tv.

I dislike:
Blowouts
Antibiotics
Her inconsistency in regards to falling asleep. Sometimes she'll play happily in her bed/cradle/co-sleeper after eating and just calmly fall asleep. It isn't often, but when it does happen it is like a tiny miracle of joy. Sometimes she'll fuss and cry for a few minutes when I lay her down and then fall asleep. Sometimes she cries and screams and gets so worked up that she can't sleep. It's pretty much the toss of the dice which it will be when it comes to nap/bed time. We keep to the same routine every time as much as possible. Something has to be a constant in this experiment, and she is definitely a variable.
Now, as I sat here typing this, she's been playing with the toys in her basket and scooting around the living room. Only, she started off scooting, and now, just because I said she couldn't/wasn't she's getting up on her hands and knees. Most of her locomotion seems to come from comando-style crawling, but that hands and knees thing is coming any minute now. Ack! She got my toes. Gotta go!