7 Months

What is our growly bear up to at 7 months? 

Matthew is hilarious.  I'm sure all parents find their babies amusing so that's not really news, but this kiddo is almost always happy and laughing and affectionate.  It's just amazing to me and I'm finding that I'm better off not mentioning this all the time to other moms because it's starting to come off a little like bragging.  Tears just don't last on this boy and if they appear then they have a real reason for being there.

He's gotten really good at getting both his head and bottom up into the crawling position to rock back and forth, but he's not crawling forward yet.  He's quite good at maneuvering himself around backwards though.  He loves to stand and hold onto things like the ottoman, sofa, or some one's shirt, but you need to stand him there as he hasn't figured out how to pull himself up as his own idea.  He loves to sit on your lap and pull himself up by holding your hands. 

Ryan and I have both witnessed him rolling from tummy to back, but he is still choosing to not practice that skill on a regular basis.  He sits and plays on his play mat for massive amounts of time (it seems to me that he never gets bored unless I'm on the phone).  I'm the crazy overprotective mommy because I insist on placing a pillow behind him in case he falls (read throws) himself backwards from a sitting position.  I know this isn't helping him figure out that he can't just toss himself backwards on a whim, but I'm not sure what else to do that won't result in a concussion.  What can I say?  The child loves to lounge.  Can't figure out where he learned that!

He's doing fabulous in the people department.  He's a little social butterfly and doesn't seem phased by tons people gathered around him (unless they're ALL staring directly at him).  He's not stingy with the smiles, but he gets visibly weirded out when people try to touch his hands.  Feet fine, but not the hands.  He'll just yank them away while giving a nice little frowny face to the perpetrator.  Again, he's all smiles unless there is a real reason to be upset.  He is still quite a little chatterbox and he entertains me (and anyone within ear shot) with his barrage of noises.  I suspect that once he starts talking he'll never stop.  He's still not a fan of grass and continues to use his special "I don't like you, grass" growl anytime he come into contact with it.  Oh, and he is beginning to LOVE sing along books.  He just bops up and down with the biggest of smiles.  I'm really excited about the enthusiasm he shows for books of any kind.

According to my scale (which is fairly accurate) he is 19 lbs.  I make four 8 oz. bottles a day and he usually drinks 6-8 oz. at a time.  He also eats two 4 oz. jars of stage 2 food per day.  We're still being extra careful when we introduce new foods due to the allergies.  We eat everything new for 4 days straight wearing only a diaper.  He mimics me chewing whenever I eat lunch and has started to use his upper lip to clean food off of his spoon.  He's very interested in watching me brush my teeth, and he allows me to "brush" his two teeth.

Well, he wasn't quite as cooperative as he has been in the past for his monthly photo op.  Instead of hugging, he felt like wrestling his bear.