Seven Lucky Months

Cora, this past Friday you turned seven months old.  For seven months you've been growing and changing, and all of that changing seemed to start happening so much quicker this month.   Each week it is something new - something new and oh so adorable, of course!

Guess what you started doing right after last month's post?  You will give kisses.  Usually this is a dramatic grab of the face, open-mouthed wet one you plant on the receiver's cheek or mouth.  It's the best!  I am constantly saying, "Cora, give Mama a kiss," and, if you aren't too into something else at the time, you will oblige.  A few times this month, when I picked you up from day care, you did this immediately without any provoking.  Melt my heart.  You also learned something from Daddy - something a lot of people call blowing raspberries (making the phwphw sound with your lips and spitting at the same time).  Oh, this was a favorite activity of yours instead of sleeping, while you were teething.  I guess you just had a lot of drool to play with!  Speaking of teething, on October 24th you popped both of your middle bottom teeth at the same time.  We were duly impressed.

In the past month, you spent your second full night without us, when we attended my high school reunion.  You were perfect, as usual.  You also had your longest stint without me, when I had to go to San Marcus for a school event.  I minded, but you didn't.  You had a grand ole' time with your dad.  You also got sick, again.  This time it was a cold that you handled with barely a fuss.  Your congestion hung on and led to your first ear infection and fever, just this past week.  I guess you just wanted to go out of your sixth month of life with a bang.

You continue to be the sweetest baby.  You are smiley and happy, cuddly and cute.  You have really begun to be into everything - everything we're holding, everything you're seeing, hearing, eating, etc.  You are super observant and curious.

I love everything about you, Cora Kaye...

This Month's Stats

Weight: 15lbs 11oz at a doctor's visit towards the end of the month
Height: unknown
Diapers: size 3 (still trying to get rid of some size 2 diapers, though)
Clothes: 6-9 months

All About You:

Hair: Thickening fuzz, still think it looks blond, light brown, or even strawberry blond in different light
Eyes: Blue

-Your sleeping pattern is very similar to last month's.  You go to sleep between 7:00-8pm.  You wake up between 5-6:30am to eat and usually go back to sleep (until we leave on a weekday morning or until you naturally wake up on the weekends).  You take two good naps a day, and sometimes you snooze in the car no matter what!  You still sleep on your belly or side most nights.  Sometimes you cry for your binky once a night, but most of the time you sleep all night long.  The cough you had really troubled you at night and you were up a bit more than normal on those nights.  But, don't worry, we aren't counting that!

-Your feeding pattern is to eat about five times a day, starting with that early morning feeding.  You have been taking six to seven ounces in your bottles.  We are regularly feeding you solids in the evening, and I'm trying to get better about making it three meals a day.  You are loving food lately!  Your current favorite flavor is pear.  If there is pear in there, I have to have plenty or you get angry.  You are good about eating your vegetables, as long as I don't give you the fruit until afterwards.  You really dislike this one mixed vegetable I've bought you, with potatoes, cucumber, and green beans in it.  That doesn't sound good to me, either.  It has been a fun little adventure starting you on solids.  You make priceless faces, when you like or dislike a food.  

-You are changing so quickly, that it is hard to recount your sound and movement changes this month.  You are sitting up on your own, but you will still fall over unexpectedly.  You are really good at leaning back on a pillow and moving yourself into the sitting position, though.  You also will move from sitting onto your belly to better maneuver towards a toy.  You reach out for us more often than you used to.  When we are holding you, you will just dive toward whatever you want.  We have to be careful!  

Your laugh is still the most precious sound in the world.  You do this screaming thing leading into a laugh, too.  It's hilarious.  You had a week this month, when you first realized you could scream, where you screamed all of the time.  You discovered you could bang your toys on the table or high chair and make a loud noise, so you do that all of the time, too.  Anything new you learn, you love to do over and over again.  We love to hear and see it over and over again, so that works out.  

-Toys are so exciting for you.  They're how your play and learn.  It's been really exciting for us to realize what a genius you are, too!  You are into any toy, really.  You still love the one's that are electronic.  You are getting way more into books than you used to be.  I've been reading to you all along, but you weren't too interested.  Now, you really study the pictures and listen well.  You had a favorite book this month, Peek a Who.  If you could see that book, you wanted it over anything else.  

Cora, I cannot imagine how much you will have changed by the next monthly update.  How amazing it is to be your mommy and be the one getting to nurture that growth.  You have made this a very lucky seven months.  We love you so very much baby girl!