Spreekt u Engels?: 7 Months

Zoe turned 7 months old yesterday. She is becoming a such little person with every passing day with a personality and quite an opinion!

Some developments this month include passing toys from one hand to the other, rolling around all over to get where she wants to go, putting her feet in her mouth (all the time), sitting unassisted and not falling over, and eating more solid food. She also has a new reaction when she gets excited...we like to call it her star jumps (shooting her arms and legs out at the same time). She normally does this when she's on her back, but she also tries when she's on her belly which makes her look like an airplane.

Another change this month is that Zoe is starting to prefer me over anyone else. She likes to be with me and will usually try to get to me if someone else is holding her. If I am holding her and someone else comes up to her, she has started leaning into me and snuggling in close to show that she wants to stay. It's very sweet!

As I mentioned before, Zoe is doing great with sitting unassisted. I won't say that she doesn't topple over at all, but it's not very common anymore. It usually happens when she wants to move toward something and thinks she can do it on her own. Rolling is also no longer an issue as she can roll from back to belly or belly to back on either side. This girl can get around really well for not being able to crawl. She still shows no desire to even try to crawl. She can push herself up really well with her arms, but if I even try to put her knees under her, she flops back down.

Zoe has turned into a super wiggly baby. She's always liked to move around, but she has taken it to a new level. She is constantly busy these days. It is especially difficult when we are trying to hold her because she tries to climb over our shoulders, turn around for a different view, or lean down. She's almost jumped out of our arms a couple times.

At 7 months, Zoe weighs 14.8 lbs (6.7 kg, 14.2%) and is 26.4 in long (67 cm, 46.2%). She still nurses every three hours during the day and now eats solid food once or twice a day. She has tried and enjoys carrots, squash, zucchini, sweet potatoes, peers, apples and a teeny bit of ice cream...which she loved! :) She has also tried bananas, but she doesn't seem to like those at the moment.

Considering that Zoe is pretty petite, she LOVES food. If she is with us while we're eating, she will stare at our food so intently that you feel like she will rip it right out of your hands. She has actually done just that with me a few times. The first time it happened, I was holding her while eating a piece of pizza and she grabbed it right out of my hand. I was very surprised! The second time, we were eating waffles for breakfast and she grabbed a waffle off my plate and shoved it in her mouth! Unfortunately, she still doesn't have any teeth, so more substantial food is not in her near future.

Zoe still sleeps really well at night, but naps are another story. I have not been very strict with nap time for her and it's starting to cause some problems. She used to be able to fall asleep wherever we were, whenever she was tired, but now there are days when she hardly naps at all. That leads to a very tired, grumpy baby. She does not like it when we lay her down period. Even at night, she will cry for a little bit now when we lay her down, but it's even worse at nap time. If we walk into her room and she even sniffs that it's nap time, she starts whimpering and carrying on. We are currently dealing with a battle of the wills. I won't say she's winning, but I will say that she's very smart and spoiled rotten! She has a new favorite sleeping position this month. She loves to cuddle up to the bumper in her crib and put a hand over the side. She now sleeps this way pretty much every night.

I would still characterize Zoe as an easy going baby. She goes with the flow and continues to be a super quiet and happy (for the most part) baby. However, I am starting to see some interesting characteristics coming out. For example, she does have a bit if a temper. She was sitting in her high chair the other day playing with some toys while I made dinner. She was happily playing, but then became agitated for some reason. I could tell that she wanted me to pick her up, but I needed to finish dinner, so I left her there a bit longer than she would have preferred. She was very clear that she was not happy with my decision and showed me by banging her toy on the tray and then throwing it on the ground. This girl definitely knows what she wants and isn't shy about letting us know! Thankfully, these spells only happen every once in a while and she is still a happy, smiley girl for the most part. I love her smile!!

Some of Zoe's favorite things include eating, sitting on daddy's shoulders, interacting with people, bath time, sitting up, holding things, and putting things in her mouth. One of her favorite things to hold at the moment are pens...she loves them, but I have no idea why! She does not really like to be held when she's tired or take naps or be in her car seat, and hates when you try to wipe or clean her nose.

The boys absolutely adore Zoe and ask to hold her all the time. They sing to her, sometimes original masterpieces by Cameron and Harrison, play with her, and love to be near her. She is starting to take an interest in their toys, which causes some issues from time to time, but otherwise, the boys love having her around.