Dear Rio,
Yesterday you turned 7 months old! Big changes have happened in the last month. You are now sitting up all by yourself and easily rolling over. You have demonstrated that you have no fear. You leap out to grab a toy that's out of your reach even if it means landing face first on the floor. You spend a lot of time sitting on your play mat grabbing a toy, chewing on it, dropping it, then grabbing more toys. You are funny about how you show a preference for some toys over others. You love balls and this one cup in the bathtub. You go crazy for that cup. In the past few days you have started letting me read you books without eating them. Everything goes in your mouth. You have been teething for what seems like forever. I can't believe you still don't have any teeth!
You are now eating two solid meals per day. I decided to give you only homemade baby food (which means you are eating a lot of sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pears, and apples). You love to chew on a piece of crusty bread. You have made a lot of progress towards sleeping. You no longer nap in our arms. You take three naps in your crib per day, however they only last 30 to 45 minutes. You still fall asleep on your own at night. We have had a few good nights where you only wake up once to feed but usually you still wake up two or three times.
A few weeks ago you had your first real illness. You got a pretty serious case of croup. So serious that we (specifically Daddy) took you to the emergency room at 1:00am. You were coughing, wheezing, and couldn't catch your breath. A few hours in the emergency room with a nebulizer and you were much better. You had a nasty cold for the rest of the week. When you're not sick, you are the most pleasant and delightful baby. You give me gentle squeezes when I pick you up. You like to rest your head on my shoulder to relax. Your fingers and hands are in constant motion. You are always giving me gentle strokes. Sometimes you scratch our neck, ear, or eyes just out of curiosity. At night I can hear you scratching the crib sheets just like your sister did.
You are babbling more. I am starting to hear reduplicated babble (the same syllable over and over). You have a precious voice. It's been a great month! You are changing so fast. We are having a blast watching you grow and learn new things every single day. Here are some pictures from the past month:
This is you with a cold:
This was your night in the ER:
You are never satisfied with the toys that are in reach:
Love,
Mommy
