Seven Months In...

Dear Hayden,

Seven months – you are now OVER a half of a year old and it just keeps getting better and better!! We love seeing you become your own little person!

• You have such a great personality! You are very easy going and, normally, only fuss when you are tired or hungry. Your smile lights up your whole face and we just adore your gummy grin!


• You are teething - your bottom two teeth are about to come in. Remember - don't bite the momma!


• You really love to eat! You are NOT a fan of spinach, but will eat just about everything else. Now that you are teething, you really like to chew on pieces of cold fruit.


• You got tubes on July 13th and THAT was hard on Daddy and me. You did great! You didn't even wake up grumpy! The ENT said that your ears were really bad (red and pus-filled). You had stopped rolling over because the fluid in your ears would make you dizzy when you rolled over. The afternoon of your surgery, you started rolling over again and haven't stopped! We are so proud of you! You also had a 20 decibel improvement in your hearing (difference between a whisper and a normal voice).


• Due to all of the infections and such, you would wind up in bed with Daddy and me. Our friends, the Reed's, came to visit and this helped (okay - made us - which was good) to get you back to sleeping in your crib. You like to sleep one of two ways - on your belly with your bum in the air or on your back with a blanket by your face. We let you sleep on your belly with the SIDS monitor on here and you sleep on your back with the blanket at school. Your teachers are so proud of you for starting to take your naps in your crib too! I do still enjoy our midnight feedings - I like the extra cuddle time. Daddy enjoys his Daddy-son time in the morning with you while I get some extra sleep. It's a good balance for all of us!


• Speaking of the Reed's - we had a FABULOUS time with them. You loved playing with the boys. You want to be big like them!


• You are still in size three diapers and, this month, we caught your poop face on camera. I know you will love me when I show that to your prom date!


• You are still (just barely) in 6-9 month clothes. I think you will be in 9-12 month clothes soon.


• I think you still wear size three shoes. You go barefoot most of the time, so I'm not really sure.


• You now weigh 20 lbs. 4 oz. and are a solid, perfect little guy!


• You started saying "Dada!" Your Daddy loves it! You still say Mama when you want me (or maybe when you want milk).


• You talk a LOT - we have very fun conversations!!


• You love to bang and make noise. This means we now have a lot of loud toys in our house -and I love it! Daddy even got you your own baby laptop since you like banging on his so much!


• You love anything with wheels. You are SO boy!


• This month, you started clapping. You and I were watching "Make It or Break It" on ABC Family and there was a scene where the audicence was clapping and you just joined in. You still do it and now, when you eat, you will clap or do the sign for more when you want more to eat.


• At church, you started in the nursery and are doing awesome! YEA! They love you as much as your teachers at school do.


• You are sitting up so awesome and are starting to go on all fours. I think you will start crawling in the next month or so. Now, you just roll to get where you need to go. You do this more at school than at home because you like to cuddle a lot at home. And I will take all the cuddles you have to give!


• You LOVE to stand up! You can stand for a few seconds on your own. Who knows - maybe you will skip crawling and go straight to walking?


• You REALLY like to drink out of a water bottle. I did it once to see what you would do. You prefer a water bottle over a sippy cup and are pretty good about swallowing most of the water. You like to chew on the spout of your sippy cup.


• You are such a joy in our lives and we love you!
  
  Love, Momma