Pleasantly Furious: Zoe: Seven Months

Happy Seven Months Zo-Zo!

My sweet Zoe Aurora is seven months old. She's getting so big. Even Leo tells her, "Zo! Look how big you are! You are sitting all by yourself!" whenever I sit her on his lap - which he requests daily.

I still can't seem to get it through my head that she often (for a baby, anyway) wants to be set down. She's not really a cryer, so when she does fuss I hold her, and pat her, and rock her and and generally try to physically comfort her. And many, many times she doesn't soothe until I put her down. Or, visa versa - if she is playing on the floor by herself and she starts to whimper I pick her up only to realize that she really just couldn't reach her toy. I CAN'T GET USED TO THIS. It's so different than with Leo. The girl is an independent woman.

Look what I can do!

The biggest difference this month is that she is regularly(ish) eating solid foods. She is VERY eager to ingest said foods and cries if we don't keep feeding her. The catch is that she's not very good at it. She can't seem to get the hang of opening her mouth to let the spoon in. She kind of sucks on the end of the spoon hoping to nurse the food out of it. I never really understood those pictures of messy babies. I figured they were staged. I mean honestly, how messy could spooning puree into a baby's mouth really get? Leo was such a neat little eater. He kept his hands out of the spoon, opened wide and swallowed his food. Or just refused all together. Now I get it. Zoe looks like she was bathed in strained peas at the end of a meal. What she lacks in technique she makes up for in enthusiasm. I'm sure she will catch on soon enough.

Zoe's show stopper these day is clapping.

She recognizes the "If You're Happy And You Know It" song and happily claps along (even on the stomp your feet verse.)

She is strong like bull

She's getting better at all the things she began doing earlier like scooting, sitting, and holding/inspecting things. She can't pull herself up, but if she is placed standing up with something to hold onto she can chill there for a while. She can flop out of a seated position to get onto her belly and likes to travel by rolling if she's in a hurry. All this means she's had a couple tumbles and bumps. Nothing major - but I remember this phase with Leo. It broke my heart to see him bumping himself over and over as he learned to navigate the world. She's oh-so-close to being able to go from laying to sitting up. She gets 3/4 of the way up and just can't figure out the last bit of arm leverage to get all the way up.

kids.

There are still no freaking teeth. I swear, every day I think four teeth are going to simultaneously pop out - and nothing. Just call her Gummy McDentures.

She still adores Leo and wants him to pay attention to her at all times but is beginning to set some boundaries by protesting when his hugs are too tight or he grabs a toy that she was playing with.

She's in that wonderful stage where she will fall asleep anywhere - which means she is often napping in the ergo, in the stroller, in my arms while we go out and do things that are fun for her brother.

Yes?

I'm experiencing intense hunger these days. I think it's because she's at the peak of her nursing career. As the solid food she consumes picks up perhaps I'll feel less famished.

Zoe had what was either a pretty nasty cold or the flu early in the month. Cough, congestion, fever. It was pathetic, but she never lost her spunk. The whole family got it. Now Leo has a stomach bug and I'm braced to see who else in the household succumbs.

It's crazy cold this week - too cold to brave going anywhere unnecessary (which works out since we are on self-imposed quarantine until the stomach bug runs it's course.)

Ok, this is getting fragmented and random. Time to sign off. Hello midnight. Goodbye computer.

Happy seven months my little bug.