Ava is Seven Months Old

It is so hard to believe that our little peanut is now seven months old.

She is such a sweetheart. She now likes to rock back and forth while sitting on the floor, almost like she is dancing while is sitting. She likes to "shake her bootie" back and forth, too, while standing. It looks like she's dancing.

She's not shy about getting a toy she's interested in, even if it's not her toy. I don't think she yet realizes the concept of who owns what... Right now the world is her oyster.

She is crawling a little bit faster these days. (I think she'll probably walk more than she likes to crawl, truthfully...if she is awake, she's most likely standing). Today she climbed to stand up next to the couch, and made her way from one end to the other, while holding onto the couch. She continues to say "da-da" and other things with such conviction, she makes you believe she is the top authority on whatever subject she's babbling about :-) She likes to rough-house and be tickled.

She LOVES to try getting access to Mommy's laptop, and knows how to type on it ;-) (In fact, it's actually me - Ava - entering these blog entries, not Mommy. I have you all fooled, don't I?). She loves other kids. She seems to light up when she is in the midst of other kids.

At day care, they recently told me that Ava really enjoys hanging out with the "bigger" kids. They said that she doesn't often play with the babies her age, because she likes to run with the "big kid" pack. Too cute.

She sleeps very well. She goes to bed between 7-8 p.m. every night and wakes up at 7 a.m. every day. She takes two good naps a day (sometimes a third catnap), although her naps aren't the longest in day care. I think her sleep might be a bit compromised by the noise made by kids who aren't sleeping at the time she is napping.

She detested her car seat a while back, but she is getting more accustomed to it these days. I think this is because they put her in a swing to sleep at day care, which probably feels similar to being in a car seat. (If they don't put her in a swing to nap, she will just stand up in the crib and never fall asleep...)

She LOVES music. I am constantly singing to her. Scales, made-up songs, songs I can only hum to (because I can't remember the words), songs on the routine "play list", you name it. When I sing or talk to her while feeding her in her high chair, she eats her food much better. Doug is constantly playing guitar for her. She likes to try to help Daddy play guitar, crawling over to him whenever he plays while sitting in the floor. :-) She is very mellow when Doug plays guitar. She likes to hear his music while she tinkers quietly with her toys.

She eats "solid" food for breakfast and once before her afternoon bottle. She continues to prefer savory foods. At this point, she doesn't prefer sweet foods, such as the more tart fruits. She has cereal in her bottle at 11 a.m. and once in her bottle at 7 p.m., before she goes to bed.

We're trying to teach her some sign language. She hasn't signed anything yet, but we've shown her the signs for "hungry", "yummy", "all done", "milk", "sleepy", and "more".

She loves to love. She has a blanket that has a bunny head at the top and bunny feet at the bottom of the blanket. This bunny goes with her to day care, to bed, and in her car seat with her. She pulls the bunny's head close and gives the bunny a kiss, with and without prompting. She gives Mommy and Daddy big wet kisses, too. Some days she requires more attention than others, wanting to be held. On those days, after she gets her "parent" fix, she likes to be put down in the floor to continue playing.

Ava plays hard. She'll play for 1-1/2 hours or so, crawling from one end of the room to the other, standing, etc. She wears herself out sometimes. With Ava, she's either "on" or "off"; there is no in-between with her, unless she is sick. If she is awake, she is moving. We have a VERY active baby, but get worried when she isn't active, because we know SOMETHING is wrong.

We love watching her learn, which she seems to be doing so much of, lately. Doug and I love our life together, and she just added to the happiness. Doug has been the best Daddy to Ava. He has been so involved in taking care of her, which has been great to watch.

We are both so happy our little miracle has been within smooching and hugging distance for seven months now. She's a sweetie.

Ava, we've enjoyed each and every day with you! Your sweet smile and twinkly-eyes melt our hearts. We love you so very much!

With love,
Shelly and Doug