Letter To My Seven Month Old, and My 100th Post!

Dear Julian,

This last month has been a very exciting one.  You've had many firsts: sitting, crawling,  an outdoor concert, cloth diapers, and now on the cusp of 7 months a new tooth is starting to bust through.  You've been busy making friends with other babies, and now that you can get around on your own you're into everything.  So far your favorite no-no is the cable cords but we're working on that.  Nico also likes to bring you his toys to play with, and you especially like chewing on his Nyla Bones - but we think that's pretty gross!  

Now that you are crawling, you can get back and forth across the living/dining room all by yourself.  You spend a lot of time chewing on chair and table legs, as well as checking out the carpets, and rocking back and forth on your hands an knees.  You don't like it when you get yourself trapped, and I often hear you hollering after getting stuck underneath something.  Now that your sitting skills are expert, many hours are spent sitting on the floor fling your toys around.  We snagged a Jumperoo off of Craiglist, and it's been a HUGE hit.  Sometimes you bounce into exhaustion, but are unable to stop because you love it so much! We can't leave you alone on the bed anymore, and we need to get your crib lowered so that you won't go plummeting to the ground!

You've started raising your arms to be picked up when you want one of us, and I find this exceptionally adorable.  You laugh the hardest when we give you kisses all over your belly.  And so far Papa is by far the funniest - you love it when he throws you up and down, when he helps you chase the puppy, and when he wrestles with you on the bed.  I can hear your laughter ringing all through the house.  And I'm the one you want when you're sad or tired or fussy.  You like nothing better than to curl up for a quiet minute and a good nurse - just the two of us.  It's moments like those that I dreamed of before you were here.  Our home is so full now, our dinner table is messier, our schedule packed, our living room cluttered - but I embrace every change because life is richer every day with you here.

You're eating tons of things now - and must have two meals a day.  Once I figured that out you started sleeping through the night!  If you've had a nice big dinner you'll easily go down by 8, and often we don't hear from you until morning time.  It's been glorious for your Mama who's been pretty sleep deprived these last 6 months.  You've also been trying lots of new foods: cantaloupe, pretzels, chicken soup (one of your favorites), turkey, tomatoes, pasta, spinach pancakes, potatoes, green beans, hummus, baba ganouj, pita, and on and on!  Most anything I offer is eaten with glee, and often you are banging your hands on your high chair tray for more, or trying to grab the bowl from my hands.  

We celebrated your 7 month birthday with our inaugural trip the beach.  We had a blast, though you were more interested in eating the sand than splashing in the water.  We tried to dip your toes a few times, but you just made biggest frown and refused to go any further.  The water is still pretty chilly so hopefully once it warms up you'll enjoy it more.  We camped out under our new 100SPF umbrella for most of the afternoon, stripped you naked, and let you hang out in the cool breeze out of the sun.  You spent a lot of time chewing on the umbrella pole, and hanging with your Papa and Uncle Kenny.  Naps were taken in my lap, cuddled beneath a towel, and by the time we left the beach you were coated in sunscreen caked with sand in every crevice.  

You're such a big boy now, weighing in at 22lbs, 4 oz - and I look at you with wonder all the time.  How has time flown by so quickly - how can it be that you've already been here for half a year?  You are a delightful little boy, and your personality shows no signs of dampening.  You love life, and it shows in how happy you are every day.  Your Papa and I will do everything we can to foster that, and give you all the love you can stand.

I love you my darling boy, 

Mama 

xoxo