7 Months: Can it really be so?
Time sure flies and even as I write Hope is on the eve of her 8-month birthday, but I thought I'd go ahead and squeeze in another post, so I seem like an organized mom who tracks their kid's progress by month...oh wait.
Oh Hope, how you have captured our hearts with that one-tooth grin. You are a bundle of joy and I don't think there's been a day since we brought you home from the hospital that we haven't 'oohed' and 'aahed 'at an expression you've made and something funny you've done. Although we've suffered a little less sleep in the last 7 months, we've sure made up for it in laughs. We are so much richer because of you and you already live up to your name in so many ways.
Parenting is such a crazy journey. One minute you think you have them figured out: their sleep schedule, their likes/dislikes, their favorite toys, etc. and then in just a few short weeks it totally changes. This month brought about some pretty significant milestones for little Hopie, including:
1. Becoming a pro-eater. Her favorite food is anything sweet (I blame her father's genes) and she tries to eat pretty much everything in sight.
2. Crawling! It's hard to imagine right now that she ever just stayed in one place. Her favorite thing is just to follow me around the house and do whatever I am doing. We've tried our best to baby-proof, although it's kind of trial-and-error at this point because she somehow always finds the most dangerous things first. Awesome.
3. A tooth! She gained one tooth about halfway through the month and currently has a second one popping through. She's handled it pretty well minus a little moaning in the night and a little droolage. I consider ourselves lucky in that arena.
4. Pulling-up. She's just now starting to pull up on a few things. Not everything, but just enough to get by. Her favorite new game is crawling on mom and interrupting whatever she's doing, which is hard to resist considering the overwhelming cuteness. If you don't believe me, just look at the picture above.
I love that her personality is coming out. She is an extrovert with a capital E. She LOVES people and gets so sad when they all leave. She hams it up for them with her smiles.
She also loves to jabber. All she really says is "dadadadadada", which Josh and I perpetually fight about. Clearly if she knew what she was saying it would be "mama". I won't go there tonight.
Crouton (our cat) and Ellie (Taylor's daughter) are her best friends. She squeals with delight every time Ellie comes over and they race each other across the floor. She has recently started tackling crouton AND Ellie...sorry Ellie.
She absolutely LOVES being outside. Literally could live there. Maybe her father's genes again..
She is pretty strong-willed (Jesus help us!), but that sweet smile can fool even the best of us.
Our current nicknames: Hopers, Hopie, Munch, Munchkin, "the happiest baby in the world" (those people aren't around during nap time..)
Favorite things to do: Be outside, climb on mom, pet crouton, go for a walk, swing, take a bath, chew on her toys.
This month's travels included: Dallas, Waco (1st Baylor Game)!
Until next month! (in faith)
