7 months

I know I probably say this every month, but I can't believe its been 7 months already! Its a real trip to go back and look at Elliott's pictures and videos from when he was first born. Its hard to believe he is the same boy as that skinny armed, bald headed little baby. He's doing so many things and when I come home from work in the late afternoon, I love to sit with him on the floor and watch him explore the world around him. I can't even imagine what it must be like to be constantly surrounded by new things, despite obviously having gone through it myself ;)

Fascinated by cameras and phones...of course

He continues to be a happy baby. He smiles, he laughs (apparently tonight he found my rendition of El Condor Pasa particularly funny) and seems to find amusement, not just wonder, at the world around him. Sure he has his moments, but almost always his distress is relatively easy to identify. In fact, the only randomly crazy day that Brad had with him this month, turned out to be him cutting that first tooth. I also have learned that if he doesn't go promptly to sleep at night (currently usually 7:30 and 8:00) its almost always because of a big burp I didn't get out of him after his final feeding (like tonight).

I knew I wouldn't be able to get a photo of the tooth nub that is still ever so slowly coming in, but it was fun to try...and Elliott thought it was pretty funny as well.

There are however a few things he's not so big on. He and Jenny have turned out to be kindred spirits in their distaste of loud sounds. The vacuum and the blender are apparently pure evil. Unfortunately, a baby on the verge of crawling and eating solid foods is going to hear a lot of the 'ol vacuum and blender.


In the food department, Elliott is currently enjoying a serving of oat cereal and a serving of peas during the day. After his pooping incident (or lack of pooping, I should say), we switched (per doctor's recommendation) from rice to oat cereal. And instead of carrots being his official first vegetable, we went with peas. He has reacted really well to new foods so far, as long as they aren't cold or too chunky. Once he gets his digestion back under control (its still a little wacky), he will get some carrots...which I have a feeling he will love. We've decided to make as much of his baby food as possible. So far, its been super easy and way cheaper. But as with all things in the parenting department, we reserve our right to change our minds later. ;)

I love that he hasn't lost the raised eyebrow expression...still one of my favorites

One thing that has hit me recently, is that as a parent away from my baby a large portion of the day, there are things I just don't know any more. I made the comment a few posts ago that he isn't big on naps right now. Well, that was wrong. He isn't big on how I put him down for naps. His needs have obviously changed considerably since I was home most days and since I haven't been here to see him change, I no longer knew what he needed. During my week off on vacation, every nap I attempted ended up in him screaming bloody murder. I since learned this weekend Daddy's tricks to a successful nap...which turned out to be almost completely opposite of what I was doing. This doesn't make me sad, since I know that the reason I'm not at home right now is the best thing in the long run for our family. But I am very glad that one of us almost always knows what he needs.

This picture totally reminds me of being at a library; carefully inspecting the available selection.

Speaking of truly 'joint parenting', I am tickled beyond words at the relationship Elliott has with Brad. There is no 'mommy preference' or issues related to only being comfortable with one of us. He looks to each of us the same and we both brighten his face in equal measures. Last night in particular, he woke up rather upset around 10:30 because of a particularly uncomfortable dirty diaper (I will leave it at that). After Brad got him all fixed up and was holding him, he was looking longingly at me for comfort. I took over, but then he promptly looked at Brad with that same longing. I guess we may have to opt for family hugs for Elliott as well as Jenny (who almost always wants to be included when we hug).

So before you scoff too much at my comments about him being on the verge of crawling, after all he is just barely 7 months, I will offer you the following proof:

He absolutely LOVES practicing now. As soon as he's on the floor, he flips on his tummy and hops up on all fours. In the last day or two since this video was taken, he's been making more consistent strides. So, (unfortunately), it looks like we are going to have our hands full very soon. Being mobile was certainly the last developmental milestone I ever hoped he would do 'early'. But it is what it is and at least he is enjoying himself ;)

His play has also changed considerably over the last couple months. He spends a lot more time carefully moving objects rather than always banging on them. Sure, banging is still a lot of fun, but he also likes to use his fingers to flip things and spin things. Again, I could watch him play all day...which is usually how I spend my late afternoons.

Finally, here's just another little video to show how quickly he can get around even without crawling. In just a few seconds he can be across the room and on to the next thing he feels like doing. So far he hasn't really been getting into anything we don't want him to, but yeah, I have no delusions about that.