Lil Bit is 7 Months Today!

I can't believe it, but we are starting to settle into a nice routine around here just in time for fall!  Tonight is one of those VERY rare nights around our house.  Soup is cooking on the stove, Monkey and I made cookies today and now Lil' Bit and Daddy are playing in the den while Monkey plays with Playdough and I take a few minutes to write this - all while listening to Alison Krauss sing bluegrass.  It's a rare peaceful night and I'm loving it.

Lil Bit is growing up so fast!  She is still so happy and loves to smile - now she loves to smile and even be with her grandfathers.  I have to say that makes them both pretty happy!  She is still so content - most of the time!  She is learning to speak her mind when she wants something.

She is stable sitting up and can even catch herself and fall forward when she starts to lose her balance.  She enjoys playing sitting up more than laying down now, unless she is trying to crawl.  She did outgrow playing in her pack n play though so we had to set up the play pen in the den.  She has taken to that pretty well, unless we are all in another room!  She is still quite the social butterfly.

She loves going to the church nursery.  She does so well in there and loves snuggling with and sleeping on her teachers.  Monkey would never do that.  She is pretty flexible and misses her morning nap at least once a week to go somewhere with mommy and sister.  Speaking of naps.  She and her sister sleep for 2 hours every afternoon at the same time!  It's pretty great!!

She LOVES to eat - solid food that is.  She is on the lowest end of formula and only takes 18-20 oz a day (compare that with Monkey's 32-40 oz a day!).  I even had to call the nurse today to make sure she was fine with her intake and she said she is growing just fine so right now it's ok.  She has had a lot of food and gotten choked a few times, but we are loving baby led weaning.  I've been pretty calm at letting her gag and teach herself how much food to eat.

The foods she has tried are many:  bananas, blueberries, pears, apples, peas, carrots, lima beans, black beans, pinto beans, a little cheese, avocado, guacamole, rice, cheerios, chex, sweet potatoes, spaghetti, and probably some I have left out.

She is still very attached to her paci.  She wakes up almost every morning with them in her mouth.  It's a sure fire way to get her to calm down too.  She is also pretty attached to her lovey in the bed.  She pulls them up to her face and falls asleep with them close to her.  She still moves EVERYWHERE in her bed.

She loves to bounce in her excersaucer.  We borrowed one from a friend instead of using the Johnny Jump Up this time.  Monkey kept thinking that was a swing and we couldn't leave her in it with her around.  It wasn't safe.  She catches air in her excersaucer though and is usually in it while we get dinner ready.

She is starting to learn to clap and she knows her name.  She knows who Mommy and Daddy are when you ask and she is learning to find sister when we ask.  She loves any toy that she can put in her mouth.  Her favorite toy right now is a set of toy keys.  She will sit still and play with those for a good long time!

She still loves her feet  - and really loves them with socks on.  First thing in the morning and every other diaper change, she takes every opportunity to put her feet in her mouth or play with them.  She is the hardest child to change.  She flips over on her belly on her changing table before we can get her new diaper on.  I mean really - she is going to give us a run for our money and isn't going to stop once she starts!

She hits the top of her head or plays with her ears when she is very tired.  She also will just whine quite a bit when she is ready to go to bed.  That is really when she is the most vocal.

Her eyes are lighter than Monkey's.  They are still kind of a grey/blue or hazel color.  I'm not too sure that they will end up brown.  But I'm still not sure what color they will be.

She so badly wants to crawl.  It frustrates her greatly.  I actually think she will be a little happier once she can crawl, but I don't think Nate and I are ready for her to crawl.  Monkey was not really into anything.  This one will be into EVERYTHING!  She is even starting to try to get up on her knees.  If we put her up on her knees, she starts rocking.  It's coming...

This face scares me.  This is the face that says, once I cant get to what I want - LOOK OUT!

What a joy she has been for our family.  She is a wonderful addition and such a blessing every day.  We are very thankful to the Lord for His gifts.  Where she is hard, Monkey is easy.  Where Monkey is easy, Lil Bit is hard.  I would say they balance each other out pretty nicely!