Our girl turned seven months old yesterday. I know I said six was hard to hear… until I heard seven {and I’m sure I will want to punch 8 in the face… these numbers are coming too fast}! Charlotte is so completely different in just one month’s time. Pardon her red, puffy face… she’s just coming off the back end of a bad cold.

Gone are the days when I could plop her on her back and take a few photos, easy peasy. She is rarely still now, which is tons of fun… but I know this is just the beginning, and things will never be the same once she’s totally mobile!

At 7 months, Charlotte:

• Is eating about 2 oz of puree veggies or fruits 2x a day with some oatmeal or rice cereal. I’m not sure if that is normal, but that’s the amount she seems to be happiest with right now. no more, no less. Believe my, I’ve tried. I am so glad I made large batches of her purees and froze them into small cubes because that makes it so easy to have her enjoy breakfast or lunch and dinner with us. I am barely able to get dinner on the table as it is {and when I say ‘I’, I mostly mean ‘Chris’}, without having to worry about her food as well. So far she has eaten {and loved} homemade applesauce, carrots, prunes, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, green beans, avocado, mango, and cantaloup. She’s still on the fence about banana’s {and with every right…. they have icky strings}!

• Is still waking every 3-4 hours at night to nurse. It is exhausting. I’ve tried getting her to eat more and nurse longer before putting her down to hopefully keep her belly full longer, but she refuses and I don’t want to force it. Chris and I did discover that if he is the one to go in an soothe her, instead of me, she will fall back asleep more easily. If I go in to soothe her she will become more and more upset and ‘angry’ until I nurse her. “Oh, mommy’s here… yeah, I guess I could use a drink. WAH!”
• Is just getting over her first ‘sickness’ – She had a pretty bad cold that lasted about 10 days and just finished up. It was terrible to see her so uncomfortable and stuffed up. We tried everything to help clear her congestion but nothing really seemed to help much. The combination of being stuffed up and teething really threw her sleep habits out the window and we are still trying to recover.
• Has been ‘teething’ for quite a while now and with only the two bottom teeth {that appeared at 4 months} to show for it.
• Has cradle cap for the first time. Yuck. Not something I expected this late in the game, but ‘this too shall pass’.
• Is sitting up like a champ and even enjoyed swinging at the park and a ride in the cart at Lowe’s for the first time on her 7 month birthday. 
• Is loving her Little Gym classes. I’ve never hear so many squeals and giggles from her as I do when she is around the other babies. The classes have really kicked her physical development into high gear, leading to the next things she is becoming a pro at…
• starting to pull herself up onto hands and knees from a sitting position and from her tummy. Outlet covers are on, baby gates are about to go up, cabinet locks are on… all that’s left for this stage of baby-proofing are clearing out mommy’s piles of ‘stuff’ all around the house.
• Is really good at entertaining herself for about 15 minutes at a time {which allows me to shower or get a load of laundry done…or not, depending on what Pinterest has to offer}
• No new ‘speech sounds’ but definitely a lot of vocal play. Each week brings about some new noise she has discovered. This week it is spitting with her cheeks puffed out.

I am so excited to see what this month brings for our family.

I’m pretty sure she’s the coolest kid on the block.