7 Months

Dear Adalyne,

Oh, how your mama loves you! These seven months have been the best of my life and I truly can't believe that you are 7 months old! Where has the time gone?? Your little independent spirit makes every day an adventure and I love watching you learn and grow so quickly. While it is a little sad, I love seeing your face light up with joy every time you accomplish something you have been determined to do, and it melts my heart when you look up at me with a huge grin to say, "Look at me, Mom! I'm doing it!"

You are growing so quickly, although you are still in the 5th percentile for weight (14 lbs 14 oz). In fact, you just graduated from your 0-3 month pajamas to 3-6 month sizes! The onsies and pants are still too big, but the pjs are a pretty close fit :) My seven month old is finally in 3-6 month clothes, sorta!

This last week you have become such a cuddle-bug, which is beyond rare for you and I am cherishing it! It feels as though you are reassuring me that you love me just as much as I love you. Please don't stop!

Had to tie up the dress so she could crawl. 

Among the many wonderful things you do at this age, the top achievement has been CRAWLING! Yep, you are an official crawler, as in, you can move to every dangerous/off-limits/poisonous/potentially hazardous place in our tiny town home in under 20 seconds. You spent about two weeks rocking on your hands and knees, not quite understanding the next step and then you only tentatively moved 3-4 feet at a time. That inhibition is long gone and even though I know it brings its own challenges (I can't even count the number of times you have fallen on your head in the past three weeks resulting in lovely goose eggs), I am loving that you can crawl...you are SO much happier and your repetitive whine has been significantly reduced (music to my ears).

Along with the tremendous accomplishment of crawling, you can do the following:

- Pull yourself to standing. On everything. The door. The couch. The ottoman. The chairs. The oven. The crib. And then you get stuck because you haven't learned how to get down, or you fall (which is how you got those goose eggs, thank you). My poor adventurous, bruised little girl.
- Run. Running is the new crawling. Apparently now that you can crawl, you're too cool. Walking, and when possible - running, is way better. Only mom and dad's backs start to hurt. The video below shows your awesome prancing skills. And for some reason, Jon and I can't stop laughing despite having watched it over 10 times.

- Understand "Mama" and "Daddy". Whenever we say, "Where's mama?" or "Where's daddy?", no matter what you are doing, you stop to play the game and look. And your mouth opens in this wide "O" as you look around for whomever is hiding. I love it. I love that you understand who I am.
- Talk. You've recently really started to babble all sorts of combinations. You've been able to say so many sounds but lately you combine the following in all sorts of ways: ma ma, da da, ba ba, ja ja, bra bra, and throw in a squeal every few sounds. It is sooooo cute. We just love you're enthusiasm for conversation. I have a feeling you'll be a lot like me when I was little: you won't ever stop talking :)

- Try to clap. When you get happy or excited, you throw your hands in the air and wave them all around and then you try to clap. You don't quite get it yet, but you will soon!
- Spit. You especially love to buzz your tongue when I am feeding you, sending food all over you, the table, and of course, me.
- Blow raspberries. You have somehow discovered that you can blow raspberries on my arms and knees and it is one of the things that makes Jon and I laugh the hardest.

"Can't I go with you to Denver, Dad?"

- Feel for the materials in your touch-and-feel books. For a long time, I was afraid you just hated to read and would only want to suck on your books (not that we are completely past that stage). But you have more recently begun to really pay attention to what we are reading. Your favorite books are the touch-and-feel books (especially Nana's recent gift, Moo)and now you think that every book has a fuzzy little chick somewhere or a silky horse head. You get quite confused when we read "normal" books and scratch your hands over each page, determined to find something.
- Play peek-a-boo. You have really begun to LOVE peek-a-boo. It just sets you off in a set of giggles that sets Jon and I laughing too.
- Laugh. It's like you found the laugh switch in you. Sometimes, I can just give you a look that you think is funny and you will just giggle and giggle. Sometimes, you can even laugh until you have tears in your eyes. Oh, I just love this the most!
- Play with your tongue and teeth. You have quite the serpent tongue these days and I can see you rubbing it over your two little teeth all day long. It's like you're testing them out, seeing what they are capable of.
- Eat crackers. Or at least gum them to death and smear the resulting smudge in impossible places.
- Give mischievous looks, like you know exactly what you're doing. Especially when you toot. Haha...this is one of the funniest things ever: when you toot, you will look back at your daddy (you have never done this to me) as if to pin the blame on him and say, "Dad, I can't believe you did that!" Haha...and you do this ALL the time in Elder's Quorum where all the men turn to look to see who's tooting and see you looking at your dad...they all think he is full of gas. Love your sense of humor already.

Post-Bath time snuggle, with Sharkie and Daddy

- Dominate our bed. Every night before we put you to bed, we put you on our bed. It is one of your most favorite times. You seem to get so hyper on our bed; you squeal more, roll more, crawl faster, talk louder, and are overall more rambunctious on the bed. We think it is a good way to get out your endless wiggles before nighttime.

Tearin' up a storm on the parents' bed

My darling Addie, we love you!

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