7 Months Old!

Amelia is 7 months old! We had such a busy day today, we had to squeeze her picture taking in between all of our other activities this afternoon after her nap. I was very concerned about the lack of natural light due to all the RAIN! I think it has rained here every day for the last month. But, it turned out we had one little sunny corner in Amelia's bedroom. It just required moving a several piles of stuff larger than the girl herself and sprucing things up a little.

Amelia in her room in her rocking chair. A big thanks to my friend Angi for scoping out this cute slip/dress recently at the thrift store we frequent.
Being entertained by daddy and her big brother
Sweet baby girl
Happy girl - my favorite part of this picture is the sweet little dimple on her elbow!
One of the tricks in our bag - the monkey finger puppet held by the big brother
Two bottom teeth made it into this one!
Checking out the 7 months sign
Laughter!
The lighting isn't as great, but the face is!
Sweet neck rolls
Peeking at her DaddyEverything still goes into her mouth
A quiet moment

Watching her brother play with trucksPeeking over the edge of the chair at Daddy
Looking out her window
Amelia has thousands of expressions. Even when the lighting isn't great.
Peeking at her toesAmelia gazing in adoration at her big brother and he is looking right back at her.

These two....there aren't any words to how full our hearts are.Blurry kisses! I am so sad this picture is blurry (and not well lit)! But their kisses are so sweet. Especially when they are

Other Amelia news: We've added lots of foods to her meal time and she appears to be enjoying and tolerating this well. She now puts Cheerios in her mouth by herself (way earlier than William on this one) and anything else you put on her tray. We've also started a little bit of finger food with her to occupy her while we are eating as a family and in between bites from the spoon. She has a VERY loud screech that will let you know it is taking too long for that next bite! So far she has been eating Cheerios, puffs, tiny pieces of bananas, tiny pieces of pears, tiny pieces of [over] cooked carrots and of course, romaine lettuce (and whatever else William has put in there). I don't have a real plan when it comes to her eating solids, but she is eating twoish meals a day at the table with us. While we eat breakfast, she plays/eats Cheerios. At lunch time, she eats some oatmeal and usually some pieces of William's banana either in pieces on her tray or mashed up in her oatmeal. At dinner time, she has been eating several tablespoons of vegetable puree and occasionally a fruit with it if I remember.

Physically, Amelia is crawling full on hands and knees, pulling up, cruising a little bit, and generally finding trouble. If there is a cord on the ground, she'll chew on it. If there is something plugged into an outlet accessible to her, she'll pull on it (and then chew on it). If it is something out of reach on a table, she'll reach and reach until she gets her hands on it (and then chew on it). I have removed more pieces of paper from her mouth in the last week than I'd like to admit. She has no fear and has almost fallen from a variety of high up surfaces in our house with only one real tumble off of her brother's bed a few weeks ago. She is babbling up a storm and has added the sweetest mamamamama to her favorite sounds. I don't mind one bit because her mamamama is so sweet - even if she isn't exactly talking to me yet.

We've had some sleeping regressions on and off in the last month. Our consistent sleeper has been getting me up at least once a night for the past few weeks. She gives me a few days off and then starts the cycle up again. I'm counting on this being a passing phase due to either teething or a growth spurt. If not, I'm not sure what we'll do.

Other than the night wakings, Amelia continues to be a good natured baby with a ready grin for anyone who glances in her direction. Although in the last weeks she has been more particular about her personal space. Those people who greet us and go directly to her face are no longer rewarded with a gummy grin. She is happy and smiley in her mama or daddy's arms. But, approach her too quickly or pick her up without warning and she isn't likely to be happy.
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In Big Boy news, today was William's first day of preschool. Our school district offers a preschool at the high school. Students at the high school have the option of taking a child development course with a lab. So, there is a high school teacher in charge, but the high school students are supposed to do all the planning and interacting with the kids. I think it is kind of a win/win situation. They get to learn about preschoolers, the preschoolers get a mini preschool experience as the class is only 6 weeks long and three days a week. The only negative is that it starts at 7:50am. It is quite the undertaking to get all three of us out of the door at 7:35 when the little ones get up around 7:15am. But, we did it successfully today, so I think there is hope!

Today was an open house style session where families and kids of all ages were welcome to stay and participate in the activities. William played at the train table, drove a bucket full of diggers, colored, played with playdoh, ate a snack (juice and graham crackers....then walked by another kid's snack left on the table and shoved all the other kid's crackers in his mouth also). The kids saw a puppet show, sang songs and danced before saying goodbye and coming home. Based on today, I think he is really going to enjoy it - and so am I. After today, it is a drop off only program. I am supposed to drop him off and leave, returning only to pick him up at 10:30. That is just over two whole hours! The classroom where the preschool is has a back meeting room that has a two way mirror. So, I think on Monday when I have to drop him off again, I'll hang out for a little while to make sure everything is going smoothly. Since I haven't ever left him in this type of situation (where he really doesn't know the people who are caring for him), I want to make sure we have a good transition.

Here he is
I realized on my way out the door that I needed to document William's first day of school ever. Not the best picture, but we were in a hurry (see early beginning time) and on the run.