7 Months

(my real picture will be here eventually!)

Can you tell that life has gotten busy? In my defense, my camera battery has died (the charger that I just bought isn't working) and so I can't access the 7 month pictures, which meant I slacked on doing the rest of this. Not a great excuse, but it's what I have :)

Weight - Guessing around 22 lbs. We won't have another official weigh in until 9 months!

Height - Tall :). Probably around 29 inches. We'll be getting the next size carseat really soon, as we're about out of space. 

Head circumference - Won't know until 9 months also. 

Very comfortably in 12 month clothes, hopefully for a while. He can fit in some 18 month pjs, but we're in no rush to jump to the next size just yet. Especially since I've just had to buy essentially a whole new wardrobe for him, with weather going from hot to freezing over a very short span.

Likes:

I say this every month, but this month has been by far the most fun. I've always loved hanging out with my little boy, but now I can genuinely say he makes me laugh out loud. He started crawling halfway through the month, and gets better and faster every day. I think he's been waiting for this, as he has suddenly become remarkably happier than he used to be. He is giggling and cooing all the time, and loves to crawl over to his mom and dad. Life is also just so much more consistent now. He has fairly set naptimes, plus or minus 15 minutes, bedtime is routine, and I can reliably take him places in between, without having to worry too much about having an unhappy baby.

Now that he's moving, he definitely likes to keep an eye on his parents and will fuss if we leave the room, which is both super sweet and a little tricky if we need to run and get something. We've started childproofing, and will need to get more serious about that in this next month. 

Another big like is the ergo. I'm still doing my workout group, Stroller Strides, but Evan is on me instead of in the stroller. He's so much happier now, and usually takes a nap, and I get to work out guilt free. We've done some bigger hikes with the ergo, too, now that the weather is cooler. 

Last month, tummy sleeping was on the dislike list, but it's switched over to the good side, finally. Evan almost always flips to his tummy as soon as he gets in his bed. He has relaxed so much, and it's so nice to see him happy and cozy on his belly. 

(Reaching for the camera)

He also loves all electronics, especially cords, cameras, and laptops! We have to keep a close eye on everything and out of hands reach.

A final like, I'd say, is just being less busy. We said "goodbye" to gymboree and swimming this month, and were a bit more relaxed about other obligations. Evan's finally been able to get more consistent with his napping, which also has led to a happier baby. 

Dislikes

(headed into the zoo for Boo at the Zoo halloween fun with friends. We switched to the ergo after not too, too long)

As I sort of mentioned above, Evan isn't very fond of his stroller. This is probably a good thing, since he's supposed to stay out of his stroller as much as possible, per his physical therapist's recommendation, but has led to me getting a bit more creative. He's really only is happy with the stroller if we're running with him -  I think he gets bored if he's just moving slowly or stopped. Thankfully, we have a few nice carriers, and I appreciate the extra workout :). 

Sleep is still on the *meh* list, though we've been working on sleep training to help get rid of his need to nurse every 3 hours during the night when he hits that partial awakening of his sleep cycle. I'm guessing he probably didn't like us that much during this process, but he's never seemed to hold a grudge :). 

Progress has been slow, due to another thing on the dislike list - teething. Evan got two teeth this month, which threw a wrench in sleep training and have made nursing a bit more interesting. He's bit me a couple times, but thankfully (hopefully) has learned not to do it anymore.

Important Events:

This was a huge month for Evan - it's hard to believe how much he's changed in just 4 short weeks!

We started the month with introducing solids. We've been doing a mix of purees and baby led weaning (A fancy way of saying giving regular people food). While philosophically, I really like Baby led weaning (it's supposed to help with encouraging well rounded eaters), I was nervous about choking. So, Ed and I each took a CPR certification course (which we should have taken anyways), and we've been sticking with mushier foods. 

Bananas have been a favorite (and the main food I've been comfortable giving), and he's enjoyed the sweet potato and the apple purees as well. But, he probably loves chewing on the spoon more than caring what's on it. 

His two center bottom teeth came through a couple weeks apart, which was very exciting. The first tooth seemed super painful, and the second seemed to bother him more after it already broke through. They are very cute to spy in his little smile. It gave him a pretty bad rash on his chin and cheeks, which wasn't helped by out super dry air, but luckily it fades pretty fast when the teeth finish coming through. I'm hoping for a good break before the next ones arrive. 

Halloween, as our little Charlie Brown, was pretty exciting :)

Probably the most exciting, though, is Evan's crawling. Seeing him be able to get somewhere that he wants to go, and how much joy that brings him, is thrilling. And, nothing makes my heart happier than to have him crawl over to me so that I can hold him. 

And, of course, we finished Evan's first helmet! Even though we're heading into #2 in the near future, it's been wonderful to get to enjoy a few weeks with a bare headed boy. 

Successes:

Evan is now napping full time in his crib - yay! It is amazing how freeing it is to have him in his quiet room upstairs while I can clean downstairs, or watch TV, or even just take a nap in our bed. I think he's napping even better than he used to, and it's been good for me, too. I'm getting used to having him sleep up there, and just about ready to transition him to his room full time. 

Crawling is also going here, because, as his Physical Therapist said, with his torticollis and hypertonia (plus being a big baby), he should have delayed gross motor function. Instead, he's crawling on the early side! It's a huge testament to all the exercises and tummy time he's been put through over the last 2 1/2 months.

Mommy Successes:

While weight loss has slowed, my fitness has really come along this month. I can now run 3 miles without stopping and am looking forward to running a 5k on Thanksgiving. Even better, I can hammer out one of those miles at a sub 10 min/mile pace, which is super fast for me. I think all my stroller strides working out has really paid off. 

And, just in general, I feel like I've been figuring out life more. I can see the "old me" present in my new wonderful life, and I'm loving that I haven't "lost myself" like I hear can happen once you have children. 

Daddy Successes:

One of his biggest successes was getting to have his sweet boy at his first race! Evan really enjoyed watching his dad finish his 25k.

Best Moments:

Celebrating Ed's birthday in Sedona certainly tops the list. We had such a fantastic time amidst the beautiful red rocks, and especially loved our 4 mile hike. 

Sedona: Day Two

Day two started beautifully. While we were definitely a bit tired since someone decided that he wanted to wake up Every. Hour. While we tried him in the front room to start, but by partway through the night, we brought him next to the bed. Guess little boy just wanted to be close to mom and dad!

That said, Ed was still excited to go out on a long solo run. 

It was a beautiful day on the trail for him, and Evan and I enjoyed a lazy morning back at home. 

We both got in a short nap, and Evan enjoyed some more floor play time. 

After he got home, we ate some leftover pizza (still fantastic) and then headed off to downtown Sedona so Ed could do some work (a professor's work is never done :) ). Evan and I got to walk the downtown and fit in a short nap at the same time. 

When work was finally done for the day, it was time for some more fun!

Now, one of the things on my Fall to do list was to see fall color. I'd even wanted to sign up for a race down south of Tucson that boasted colors, but the timing didn't work.  So, imagine my excitement when we arrived at the start of our hike and saw this. 

We had stunning views not only of the trees, but of the red rocks beyond. Best of both worlds. 

I was in Fall Color heaven.

Our first attempt at hiking the trail left us at a dead end. Luckily we were directed by some other hikers across the dry creek bed to the actual creek!

We couldn't get over the temperature - perfect for being outdoors.

Finally we reached the water - an impressive amount given the fact that we are in the desert.

After we got our fill of this beautiful area, we headed the other direction, where there was a much more established trail.

The trail edged along a solid rock wall, allowing us to soak in all that "positive energy"

The trail eventually left the wall and meandered through the the trees.

We finally reached a bit of a clearing, allowing us to take in some beautiful views.

Soon, it was time to turn around and head back.

Evan couldn't get over the views. Both of the nature and of his daddy :).

Perfect end to our afternoon.

We took a quick trip back home to get cleaned up and then hurried out to dinner. We wanted to try Elote Cafe - a super popular dinner destination. Unfortunately (or, maybe fortunately), even though we got there right when it opened, there was already an hour wait. So, we ended up at a very decent, though not fancy, mexican place up the street. It ended up being perfect for our family. Ends up, when you're going out with a little baby that's only napped 45 minutes the whole day, comfort definitely trumps fanciness.

Ed even was a good sport and let me tell them it was his birthday so that we could get this yummy dessert :). 

Evan thought the restaurant was perfect, too. 

Sedona: Day One

Every year on Ed's birthday, we do some kind of trip, since it always coincides with at least one day off. This year, Ed actually got a real day off, since his classes are on Tuesdays, and since I wasn't working, we made it a during-the-week trip to avoid some crowds. We went to our favorite Arizona place, Sedona.

We loved where we stayed! One feature we were excited about was the grass behind our patio. We laid out some towels to let Evan play, though it was a bit of a struggle to keep all those delicious looking leaves out of his mouth. 

It was such a beautiful fall afternoon and was so peaceful and relaxing to just be sitting outside.

He enjoyed having his toys from home,

and dressing in cooler weather clothes.

Trees are his favorite, and he loved looking up at the leaves.

And, of course, at his parents.

We've been practicing sitting up, and are getting better!

So many toys.

I was so wanting to see fall color this year, and Sedona didn't disappoint.

Evan enjoyed getting some use out of his new sweatshirt from his Oma. 

We were luckily able to get Evan down for a nap (napping on trips isn't a strong suit of his), so Ed got to his the trails while I got to lounge in bed and read, while soaking in this view. 

He took a great nap, which was wonderful, but ended up making us a bit late for seeing our sunset from the Airport Vertex. Still, we hurried up there, and caught the last bit of sunlight as it headed away. 

As darkness took over, we hurried back to the car, picked up some fantastic pizza (brie, chicken, dates, and other goodness), put Evan to bed in the bathroom - good tip from our parents, and enjoyed our pizza and champagne together :).

A lovely first day.