7 Months

Lua is seven months old!

This past month has been amazing and marked with so much progress.  Lua is more fun than ever, from her constant smile to her easy laugh to her new-found ability to nuzzle and cuddle.  She is the happiest baby in her playgroup.

She is now 17 pounds and 8 ounces, which means that her weight gain has slowed down dramatically.  She's getting taller, too, and thinner as a result.  She's now 27 inches long, which puts her in the 90th percentile for height.  But despite the fact that she's thinning out, she still has her trademark chubby cheeks! 

Her sleep schedule is still in flux, and has been since Christmas.  She will sleep for about nine hours a night, and on and off throughout the day.  She no longer keeps a strict, cyclical nap schedule, and often skips her naps entirely .  She doesn't seem to sleep as much as other babies, and no longer day-naps with such easy and admirable abandon.  She seems comfortable with the change, but I feel like I'm playing catch-up-- struggling to manage nap-time for a baby who doesn't seem to want to sleep!

In the past month, we've seen marked improvement in several areas, namely playing, babbling, and eating. 

Playing.  She can play by herself for thirty minutes at a time, sitting on her own and bending in half to reach for her toys.  She regularly passes toys from one hand to the other, and can pick up smaller toys with careful and deliberate precision.  She's started slapping, patting, and petting-- all methods which are applied in equal measures to her parents, friends, and toys. 

Babbling.  This month has seen the rise of Ya-Ya-Ya-Ya, as well as the unexpected Ha! Ha! Ha!  She learned how to say "dadadadada" two weeks ago, and has been "dadada"-ing ever since.  

Eating.  After a month of practice, Lua is finally starting to understand the concept of solid food!  Ironically, it took a lot of non-baby food to get Lua excited at the prospect of eating.  So far, she has shown great interest in dahl, pizza crust, and avocado ice cream.  She never turns down anything we give her, but she only gets giddy about grown-up food.  She also loves drinking water from a cup (to an almost rabid and irrational extent).

Raising her gets more and more fun as she gets older and older.  Every month, I think, "This is the best month, yet!"  Her quirks at this age include munching on her tongue, turning her tongue upside down, and spinning her feet when she gets excited, 

Here are some pictures of Lua at her 7 month photo shoot.  Look how tall and independent she is!