7 Months Old!

Collette is SEVEN months old today! Practically a grown-up. :o) I just cannot believe how she is growing and changing right before our eyes! It seems that almost every day I look at her and think "When did you learn to do that?" It just amazes me how much her little brain is absorbing and learning every day, and I am sooooo thankful that I can be with her every day to see it!!

So, what's Collette up to at 7 months?

~As I mentioned in my last post, she is MOVING! She wants to crawl sooo badly, and gets up on her hands and knees, rocks, lunges, falls, and repeats. After a little bit she will start to squawk with frustration, but she keeps on trying.

~She is sitting unsupported for long periods of time. I don't need to be right beside her any more to catch her if she starts to lean; she can even stretch out to reach toys and regain a sitting position. (Just a side note, I almost always put her on a baby blanket on our living room floor, and she figured out quite a while ago that if she can't get over to a specific toy that she wants, she will grab the blanket and drag it to her until the toy comes into grabbing range. My parents loved watching her do that.)


~She is vocal, vocal, vocal! She's making all kinds of sounds and loves to mimic noises. She and her great-grampie spent a lot of time "singing" together on our vacation, and she has figured out how to make the "Indian" noise by putting her hand over her mouth while vocalizing (I know that term is politically incorrect, but what the heck else do you call it?) She is also great at spitting and blowing raspberries. :o)

~She is eating LOTS of solid foods. She usually has oatmeal or rice cereal and fruit for breakfast, a veggie and fruit for lunch, a veggie and fruit for dinner, and some cereal before bed. She would MUCH rather have solid food than a bottle. Sometimes when I try to give her a bottle she looks at me like "where's the real stuff?" Ha!

~She loves riding her in stroller outside, playing in her exersaucer, and playing with her toys--particularly the tags on toys.

~She got LOTS of company in her 6th month! The Edwards' and Long families came to visit from Mississippi, and her grandparents and great grandpa came from Wisconsin. During these visits, she had her first real day trips to Gettysburg and Lancaster County, and her first vacation Myrtle Beach--complete with her first time being away from home overnight!

Her 7 month pictures were a definite challenge this month. She LOVES paper and is now very adept at grabbing it quickly (like, the second I put it down!). So, I got a TON of pictures that looked like this:


Alllllllllllright! Paper! I got it!



MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM:


Eventually, I decided to tape her sign to the crib. She still attempted to get it:


I got a couple cute ones without the sign:



Then, finally, we had some success. Here they are, the official seven month shots:




"Yup. That's me. Seven months old!"