Blake Louis: Seven months

(Note: This update will also be posted on our family blog, where I'll include lots of pictures from the past month!  The password is my maiden name)

Well buddy, you are SEVEN months old tomorrow!  I'm not sure what happened to the last month, but nonetheless here we are.  Let's see what you've been up to: 

• You love to watch us eat.  You open your mouth as we put food in our mouth, and you fuss and reach for whatever it is we've got.  
• We started you on some table foods in the last month.  You've had graham cracker, pieces of banana and avocado, and puffs.  You can also now use a sippy cup--the straw or sipper kind.  
• You refuse to self-feed and would rather us hold the sippy cup than have to do it yourself.  You throw a little fit when I won't hold the cup for you...but after a few minutes (when you realize I'm not paying attention to your little tirade) you'll reach out and get it yourself.  Stubborn little man.  Taking after mommy already!
• You're sitting in high chairs now when we go out to eat, and you love it!  You think you are such a big boy.
• Lately you've gotten a lot more bold when standing against furniture.  You'll let go for a few seconds and just stand all by yourself, then put one hand lazily back on whatever it is you're up against and just grin at us like you see that?
• You're trying so hard to cruise on furniture.  You'll lean for toys and take a tiny step to the side, but not quite a big enough one...and then you'll fall to the side, usually landing in a seated position.  Then you'll look up at whatever it was you were standing against, and reach your arms up trying to figure out how to pull yourself back up.  
• You had your church dedication this past month.  Very, very special.
• You've been sitting up since 5 1/2 months, but it's gotten really routine over the past month.  I'll just plop you down somewhere and you'll sit and play there to your little heart's content.  You've started lunging for toys and face-planting, which tells me crawling is getting closer and closer by the day.
• YOU ARE FINALLY ROLLING.  Holy cow, it finally happened!  Now you will not stay on your tummy to save your life.  As soon as I put you down, you roll right on over to your back.  You don't roll to get anywhere with intention, but you'll roll tummy to back and back to tummy if you feel so inclined.
• You got another tooth this month!  You now have a grand total of three; the middle two on the bottom and your newest....a canine tooth on the top right!  You're my little vampire now, with nothin' but a canine hanging out up there on top.  It bugged you a whole lot when it was just starting to poke through (poor baby, those canines are SHARP!) but after a couple days it seemed to have come down enough to quit being so painful. 
• As far as words go, you babble A LOT, and we've been able to decipher 'mama' a couple times.  You don't say it with meaning, but you repeat it over and over when you're mad.  Ha!  You also say 'da' and 'ma'.
• You love to have squealing matches with us!  You'll make a high pitched squeal, then I will, and then you'll copy!  We go back and forth and you give me the biggest grins!
• You love all of your toys, and have started to really enjoy your stacking rings and blocks.  You don't stack them, but you love to chew on them and throw them across the room. 
• You also love your Step'n Play Piano and your activity table.  Of course, you're still in love with jumping in the jumperoo so that is still getting a lot of attention.
• You give hugs and kisses! So sweet.  You'll just reach up and wrap your little arms around our necks and then lean your little head on our shoulders.  Grandpa seems to be your favorite person to kiss...without fail every time you see him you'll give him a big open-mouthed baby kiss on the cheek.  I think Grandpa is pretty thrilled to be the only recipient of those sweet Blake kisses!
• You are the happiest, smiliest baby ever.  When you're really happy, you'll scrunch up your nose and giggle and squeal the cutest laugh I have ever heard.  Sometimes you even snort...and I think that is the sweetest.
• You reach for us!  When we say 'up' you'll reach your arms up and get SO happy as we pick you up.  I love that so much.  I guess we could also call this your first sign, since raising your arms is the sign for up.  We've also been working on signing 'more' and 'all done'....but you don't reciprocate those yet. 
• This month daddy and I have both just commented on how much more aware you are.  Of everything.  
• You are such a flirt.  You'll reward strangers who talk to you with the biggest smiles and coos.  You don't mind who holds you, but you are always watching to make sure daddy and I don't wander too far away. Our little charmer!  
• You are still sleeping well and we seem to have finally hit our groove again with your naps!  They aren't nearly as sporadic or short as they were for the past few months.  

I know I say this every month...but I can't believe you are seven months old!  We are now on the downward slide to your first birthday.

I hope someday when you read these that you can feel the love behind every word.  That is by far my greatest desire in capturing all these milestones.  For you.  The time goes by so fast, and I know that someday I'm going to blink and you'll be walking out our front door for college.  These moments, these moments, are so precious to us simply because you are in them.  I know that you'll never remember these times as a family of three, but I still want you to know them.  Because this is your story.  And because you've made this chapter in my life story, and all the ones to come, an absolute page-turner. 

I can't wait to see what come next.     

We love you, Blake Louis.  More than tongue can tell!  (that's what your Grandma always told me...and I think it sums it up perfectly :))