7 months

alternately titled, "the post of a thousand typos because it took me so long to write this and get all the pics uploaded through a bunch of errors that i have no left patience to proofread, and i am playing the grace card: please dont be turned off by spelling/grammar."

lay-bay, i am 2 weeks late again posting your monthly update. playing with you is way more fun that writing these. but i will try to exclude everything from the last two weeks and only talk about your actual 7th month (5/14-6/14).

-your 6 month doctor visit we actually did at 7 months because that's how mommy rolls. your stats: 28 1/8 inches (95 percentile, welcome back on the graph!) and 19 1/4 lbs (80 percentile i think). a very healthy chunky little lady.

-you were NOT okay with your shots this time. you were already fussy because it was bedtime while we were waiting for the nurse to come in so i was feeding you some yogurt. well when she came in i had to stop and you didnt like that. and then they stuck you. oh sweet mercy i have never heard you cry like that. the paper on the table was peppered with your little tear droplets. and then we had to do the other leg for the shot that is notorious for stinging really bad. it did not disappoint. you went ballistic and i hated myself for sending jesse ahead on an errand after the doctor talked to us. it was my most heart-wrenching mommy moment with you to date. i sat you up to try to distract you with the rest of your yogurt and you just slapped it away and reached out for me. yes ma'am! i ditch the yog' and scooped you up lickety split. i love that you want me when times get tough!

you love holding on to me. it's very adorable and tender. especially when i wear a v-neck.

-you mastered sitting up. you didnt really do this a lot before you hit 6 months. i remember judah teetering for months as he slowly built the core strength. you just seemed to go from being a laying down baby to then all of a sudden one day being able to sit up forever with hardly any balance issues. so yay for not having to come to your rescue as you topple a million times a day and donk your head on things. let's hope this waiting-until-you're-really-ready thing is a character trait.

sittin' like a kitten

-sitting up means that you get to ride in the front of the cart in the store now! no more plastic iron maiden carseat when you're awake. your first ride up front was at good old wally-world where we were picking up your new double jog stroller.

i think you're pretty pleased with yourself. or maybe brother bear just told you something funny.

-i was amazed at how you learned to go from sitting up to all fours and back again so seamlessly. you seem to have really strong little arms that just push you up off the floor and into a stable sitting position. you're so nimble! here you are doing that while yelling at some dinosaurs right after turning 6 months old.

-you began crawling in the last half of the month. for the longest time we thought you would skip crawling in sheer defiance because it's SO clear that all you want to do is to walk and be on your feet. when you went from the traditional milestone of all-fours rocking with maybe some tiny lurches forward, to this maneuver, we weren't sure if you would ever settle for motoring on your knees.

you want your feet on the ground! we got to see your little booty point skyward a LOT this month as you tried to master the bear crawl.

-luckily, you never figured out how to move forward in this awesome, booty-up bear crawl fashion, so you came back down to your knees and went for traditional crawling... with a layla twist: you quasimodo crawl. you use your hands and your left knee, but instead of your right knee, you use your right foot. it's hilarious. it's as if you refuse to settle for crawling altogether and will only acknowledge it as a lead-up to walking, thus, one foot must be engaged. and you get a big push off your right foot so you sort of lurch forward just like the real quasimodo. man you are funny. in the last week before your 7 month birthday you really started being able to really go places. and please dont be mad that i dont have a good video...daddy was gone that week and i was borderline insane. this one only sort of captures it's greatness in your 7th month.

-so with your newfound mobility you are into everything. i remember the first time i came in the room after putting you down in the middle of the floor on your blanket and encountered this scene.

to your credit, that is the bin for "layla's toys" so at least you toppled the right one.

-i dont even know how to classify this next trait. you have always been a little intimidating. when we give you kisses, you open your mouth so wide and growl and attack our faces. now that you are older and stronger and louder, this is even funnier. if someone's face is within your reach, you will play it cool for a little while and then all of a sudden go bonkers and grab their ear in one hand and a fistful of hair in the other and try to eat their face while growling and or yelling. it is beyond funny and only slightly scary.

nice try, judah. nobody gets JUST a kiss from layla

i was trying to capture you having one of these fits on my leg in the following video, but you had other plans.

-we are pretty sure you started teething this month. you started drooling, and being fussy when not tired or hungry for the first time ever. it was weird. and not fun to see our chill baby being upset. the teething tablets we used for judah didnt seem to fly with you and i had heard bad things about an ingredient in some orajel so i didnt want to be sticking that in your face 19 times a day. and of course, i dont want you on motrin 24/7 either. so we looked for some other methods of helping you out and actually found something that seems to be working: an amber teething necklace. these are kind of controversial in the mommy blog world for a few reasons, and you will know by now that mommy is NOT a hippie chick when it comes to 99% of things, but this homeopathic remedy seems to be working great for you!

early signs of teething? or just showing a love of shoes?

-you are sleeping great still. 6:30pm-7:30 am most days. 90% of the time, we put you down fully awake and dont hear a peep from you until morning. and that peep is usually you standing up bouncing around in your crib chirping your amusement. i wonder how long you are up for before you finally get loud enough for us to hear you. you are so dang content that i suspect you spend an hour playing happily in there alone every day! which explains why you then go down for a nap at 10 am. and then again at 2 pm.

-daddy and i sneak into your room once a week at least to look at you sleeping or rub your sweet head. we get to talking about you after youre in bed and then we miss you so much that we HAVE to see you again. this has led to some awesome discoveries. such as:

give the world a hug! i wish i could sleep like this. flat out spent.

you thought that an off the shoulder look was more chic for evening

-you are LOVING eating . so much so that you are kind of on a thirst strike. you always prefer solids over your bottle. i have started making your baby food these days since really great produce is in season and cheap right now, and you make me feel like a master chef with how much you attack my cooking. if we aren't feeding you fast enough you make sure to smack your lips and then yell at us with a staccato burst of indignation. your sass is hilarious.

pretty baby food (carrot berry jasmine rice) and a bossy baby demanding more!

-with crawling came pulling up. they happened simultaneously. judah pulled up at 6 months and then didnt crawl until 9 and a half, so we weren't sure when you'd figure this out. but you did it all on the same day. this has led to some tangles. you can now reach the end tables and you love to snatch up judahs bowl of cheerios or blueberries and shake them all over the room. you also love to climb up the back of judah when he is sitting and pull his hair. he is NOT amused and you cant figure out why. you are kind of a tiny bully in this regard. it is so dang funny. judah is very sweet though and doesnt try to hurt you back when you accidentally give him a tug. you're probably a little jealous of his flowing locks at this juncture.

"just standing here going through your stuff...is that okay?"

-your babble is picking up so fast. you will talk back and forth with us now and are adding more syllables to your repetoire of growls, shouts and chirps (each of which we ADORE, by the way). here we have what will technicalyl be called your first words. why am i not surprised?

-you LOVE the bathtub. we are giving you baths more lately because you now have more body control and because you adore every second that youre in there. we fill it up really low and you go to town exploring every cubic inch. you are a little water baby!

love those eyelashes!

so ladylike eating your lego with your pinky up!

a great booty shot with some side rolls. and you can see how much hair you actually have here too. when its dry its so thin and light that it's transparent, but you actually have a good amount going.

-though you are into things and exerting a little sassy will, you are still easy like sunday morning, layla.

you're a happy traveler

youre cool with non-mommy and daddy personages.

youre happy hanging from daddy

you're happy getting your eyes sneakily poked by your brother?

you're happy reading popular science with daddy.

and you're happy during diaper changes.

from your ducky fuzz hair to your long little piggy toes, you are a delight. a we just ADORE you with all of our hearts and relish every day with you! you are entirely AMAZING!

and evidently youre amazed too.