Oh Mike Mike – What can I say? Your 7th month might have been the most challenging yet. But how does that saying go? The worst day fishing is better than a good day at work? Well, this challenging month beats any month before the thought of you existed. I was looking at pictures of you this morning and you are looking more and more like a boy and not a baby anymore. Your hair is thicker and darker, your face is opening up more and I catch glimpses of the boy, pre-teen, teen and man you are going to become. You are bursting even more with personality and I have a million future careers for you based on your current interests – drummer, comedian, basketball player, drill Sargent … but the world is your’s Mike. You can become whatever you damn darn well please.
{Sleeping} We had a rough start to the month because you suddenly decided you didn’t like footie pjs. You would be fast asleep and quickly wake up hysterical. Then would only sleep for about an hour before another bout of hysteria. All of that changed one night when we put you in footless jammies – I was so glad we figured it out. We went from the doctor telling us it was night terrors to you just being uncomfortable. Now you go to bed around 8PM and are up once around 4AM, then up for good at 7:30AM. Napping is not as easy to predict, but it seems to be once a day, midday and for a few hours.
{Swimming} We signed you up for swimming lessons at the rec center and your first ‘lesson’ was on your 7 month birthday. You and Daddy have SUCH a good time floating around and going down the ‘slide’. You have taken to the water like, well, a fish to water. While the other kids are looking very uncertain, you are chewing on a toy taking it all in as if you’ve been doing it for months.
You’ve also gotten very adventurous in the bathtub! Now we just fill it up to your hips, toss some toys in and let you go. We often watch you roll over to your tummy to crawl to get a squirt toy. Or your favorite, drinking soapy water from a stacking cup.
{Playing} Watching you play is something I can do for hours. You are so intense and curious about everything. You can entertain yourself for a good half hour before remembering other people are around you. You take each toy out of your basket one by one, examine it closely, chew on it a bit, see if it makes noise, put it down and move on to the next one. You really love anything that makes noise and you still like to jump in your bouncer.
{Crawling} You’ve done it! You started crawling and haven’t stopped yet – you can even go from crawling to laying to sitting to pulling up on your knees and back again. I love watching you do all these things and check out your surroundings in a new way. Of course Daddy has had to really do some childproofing around the house and yet, you still find fun stuff to get into. It is such an amazing joy when you see Daddy or me and you light up and start crawling over as quickly as possible to us.
Also, Mr. Determined, when you see something you want you crawl over super quick and pant the whole way as if it is the most exciting thing ever. This is how we know you are after something you might not need to be getting into. Poor Charlie’s life has changed since you’ve become mobile. We are teaching you ‘gentle’!
{Face} You are finding faces fascinating. If I’m not watching close enough I will get a tiny finger to eye or up the nose. At night when we are rocking to sleep you use this opportunity to procrastinate sleeping by giving kisses. You put both hands on the side of my face and shove my nose in your mouth or bang your face into my teeth. I can’t resist those kisses and know hat in a few weeks you will be giving kisses even more often. I love those quiet times together.
Well kiddo – it’s taken me a few days to write this note for you. Mainly because I am trying to soak up as much time together as possible before I start my new full time job and you start daycare. It will be a big change, but I know you will do just fine and are in good hands. It’s me that I’m worried about! As your favorite song says, ‘every little thing is gunna be alright’.
I’ll eat you up I love you so,
xoxo,
Momma
