7 Month Stats

Ava is seven months old. I'm SO sad to say goodbye to six months. It's been the best so far. I've always loved six months in babyhood and Ava's six month was everything I expected it to be: giggly, active, cute, fun. My parent friends who are farther along on this journey than I am say that every stage is the best (well, maybe not two years old) and that it just gets better and better. I hope they're right and I have a feeling they are, but still, I wish I could just bottle up six months and let it out to play every once in awhile. Ava was ecstatic most of her sixth month. Smiling at the blinds, cracking up in her crib all by herself, pleasing strangers with her sweet smiles and waves as we walked down the street. Ah, six months, don't go.

There was something magical about the six month mark for me to. I started feeling like me again. Physically (did I mention that my jeans fit? Ahhhhh), mentally, emotionally. We're into a (fairly) predictable routine which helps with the sanity side of things. She's eating about every three hours now instead of hourly which means I can go out to lunch AND a get a pedicure with a girlfriend and not worry about coming home to a screaming starving baby. She's waking up twice a night still but just for about five minutes each time to eat and then goes right back down without a fight. It feels like everything has fallen into place, like we finally have an idea of what we're doing, like we've got this... which I realize is just asking for it to change up, but whatever. I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

Ava, at seven months you are...

• In 6-9 month clothes and still size 3 diapers
• Weigh 18 pounds
• Finally sitting. You crawled and pulled yourself up on things before you sat, which is totally backwards, dad calls it "the Russell way." Whatever that means ; )
• Crawling really fast
• Pulling yourself up on everything. You'll use anything to help you get to where you want, up. Even people. Kids, fellow babies, ponytails, pant legs, all of it is fair game in your eyes to help you pull yourself up. Kids think you're trying to give them a hug and get all excited and think it's so cute, but really you're just using them to get some leverage.
• Love tags. You find the tag on any toy and put it straight in your mouth. You'd rather suck on the tag than play with the toy. 
• Learning how to wave. It's so cute. It's delayed, usually long after someone's waved to you and sometimes it's just a sprawled out hand at your side, but we know what you're trying to do and it makes us smile. You're very calculated about it, moving your hand back and forth, slowly as your watch it intently.
• Celebrated your first Christmas! You sat through the whole church service in our arms and it was such a special time with you. You were in awe of the lights and the singing and the people. You were so well-behaved and daddy and I were so thankful to sit through a whole service together for the first time in seven months. Thank you Baby Girl. We had a great first Christmas as a little family of three!