Seven Months Old!

Dear Valerie,

You are seven months old, now!

The seventh month of your life was very exciting and eventful and interesting and all kinds of things that I would like to do justice to with a quality monthly letter. But, if I wait any longer to write this letter, you will be eight months old, and all the new things that I meant to write about will be old news. It's amazing how quickly that happens.

We started this month with a trip to Canada. I could have sworn I wrote about our trip to Canada on my blog, but I don't see the entry there, so I guess it will get paperclipped into the middle of your birthday letter.

You had fun playing with your cousin April (and by "playing with", I mean "being crawled on top of by", but you did have fun!)



We bundled up in warm clothes and went to Winterlude (Ottawa's winter festival).



It was a fantastic trip, even if we did get caught in a nasty snowstorm on the way up and have to stay in a hotel for the night (your first hotel!). We had a nice visit with Grandma, and you got to eat your very first food. You LOVE eating real food. You have become the star attraction at every meal, as you explore new tastes and textures and maneuver things to your mouth with adorable determination.



While we were in Canada, April decided to give you something special to take home with you: her cold. You spent the next week or so completely miserable with a runny nose and a cough. I felt so bad for you. Then, one day, the cold was gone. Then, the next day (February 17, to be precise), I saw a tooth poking up through your bottom gum, on the left. Your Nana was on her way to pick up your PopPop from the airport, and I couldn't wait to show them your new tooth! I nursed you, and apparently there was magic in that milk, because when you were done nursing and I pried open your mouth to show Nana and PopPop your new tooth, there was another tooth poking up right beside it! (Pictures to come later in a "this is what baby teeth look like coming in over time" spread.)

So I guess we should thank April for the cold she gave you, because you seem to have used your body's leftover cold-fighting powers to cut your first teeth. That, or it was never a cold in the first place, it was just teething symptoms. That, or it was just a big coincidence, but how boring is that? Anyhow, long story short, you now have teeth, and I don't let you chew on my fingers anymore, because, man! It can really hurt!

You have become a very talkative baby. In addition to H's, you now say B's, P's, M's, and, most recently, L's. You're not really showing interest in baby signs at all, and I think it's because you are so focused on communicating verbally. You like to talk a lot. I have no idea where you would inherit a trait like that.



You've also become much more exploratory this month. You like to play with your toes, other people's toes, and, most often, other people's faces. You especially like grabbing my nose, trying to poke my eyes out, and holding my lips shut. Apparently, you think I talk too much. You're probably right. Your dad barely gets in a word in edgewise around here as it is, whatever is he going to do when he has both of us to compete with?



I know I have said something to this effect in almost every letter, but you sure are getting big! As of your six-month appointment, you were in the 95th percentile for height. You're too tall for almost all of your pants, but I have solved this problem by just pretending that you're wearing capris. My favorite outfit to put you in is a footed sleeper underneath a pair of overalls. Then, you look like you're wearing "real clothes" but I don't have to deal with socks that a) don't go up high enough to cover the gap under your capris, and b) fall off every 2.3 seconds. Plus, your "socks", "leggings", and "shirt" all match perfectly! That's more than I can say for what I'm wearing today.

You used to always sleep until I came home from work, but you have recently taken to waking up about an hour before I get home, so you can wait for me. When I walk in the door, you'll be sitting there on your daddy's knee, and you will turn around when I say "Hi" and flash me the biggest, brightest smile. Sometimes, you'll even say some variant of "Hi" back to me. When I come over to pick you up, you will reach out for me with your arms, and grab me around my neck, and bury your head in my shoulder. That first snuggle is the highlight of my day, and as exciting as solid food and teeth might be, that is the image I want to keep with me of your seventh month of life. Those eyes full of love, that smile full of joy, and those arms reaching up to communicate everything that you don't have the words for, yet. I love you, too, Valerie.



Love,
Mama.