Hayden turned the big 7 months today! He is over the hump and well on his way to his 1st Birthday! I can't believe that 7 months have passed already! Time sure does fly. We have been having a lot of fun together lately. Hayden has started to develop a sense of humor. He keeps us laughing everyday with the little things he does by accident, and the ones he does on purpose just to get a reaction.

Some milestones that Hayden has reached by this 7-month mark are:

• holding two objects at once (one in each hand)
• extreme flexibility...he likes to show off and nibble his toes just for fun
• rolling over from back to front (he has only done this twice and manages to pin an arm underneath his body while doing it...so he doesn't enjoy it too much)
• screaming, or squealing...whatever you want to call it, it is ear-piercing (amusing for him, annoying for us)
• attempting to crawl (he just spins in circles on his belly really, but it's a definite start)
• opening a bank account

Some things that Hayden likes to do now that he is 7 months old are:

• destroying mom and dad's lovingly built tower of blocks (wonder if that is a boy thing)
• munching on strings, or straps, or tags (especially tags)
• riding in the shopping cart while mom shops (no comments about my shopping cart cover please...those things are germ-ridden! By the way, dad won't be seen with this thing!)
• holding the remote control (that's definitely a boy thing)
• collecting dad's extra money in his giraffe bank
• swinging (as explained in a previous post)
• pondering the meaning of life
• practicing opera (he is a soprano)
• getting "zerberted"...over, and over, and over...
• a certain special younger woman
• petting the animals in the "Touch and Feel" books
• petting the animals at Kelsey Creek Farms in Bellevue

Some other things that Hayden doesn't enjoy at this stage are:

• putting on his clothes (he has just started having an aversion to this process...I think it takes precious time away from more important activities)
• being out of mom or dad's sight (separation anxiety has definitely set in- people have told us to enjoy this phase...soon enough he will be trying to get away from us at every opportunity)
• skipping naps (this boy needs his sleep - he still takes 3 a day)
• tipping over while sitting (it still happens from time to time and it catches him off guard)

Eating is going very well. He will pretty much eat anything you put in his mouth. He has now tried all of the veggies in the Stage 1 foods and a couple in Stage 2. He doesn't seem to like the fruits as well (except for the pears, which he loves), but he will still eat them. Just not with as much gusto, as let's say...spinach. Popeye look out! Spinach is the only new veggie added into the mix since his 6 month post, but in the fruit category he has now tried bananas (in the baby food variety, and the fresh version off of mom's plate) and peaches. He has also tried baby yogurt, but didn't seem to like that at all. Which is fine...yogurt and bananas are both constipating (and high in sugars) so who needs 'em...at this point anyway. Rice cereal is also very constipating, so we have moved on to the oatmeal, which seems to be treating him much better. It is just fun to try new things. We keep waiting for him to have an aversion to something...but so far he just wants you to keep shoveling it in. He loves to watch us eat also and he seems to long for the day when we might give him something more than a smushed banana off of our plate!

Hayden's hair has also had a growth spurt lately. Lately, he has been waking up in the morning (and after naps) with bed head. It is pretty funny. We chuckle at him and he looks at us with a look of 'What? What's so funny?'. We took a video of it the other morning, although it really doesn't show just how much it is sticking up.

The next major milestone will be crawling. We aren't holding our breath for that one. There is still a lot of baby-proofing that needs to be done around here before that can happen!

As the weather gets warmer we are looking forward to doing more things outside. Walks around Greenlake, outings to the park, rides in the swing, and perhaps a trip in the bike trailer?? Stay tuned for that post in the coming weeks!

Every month just keeps getting better! Sure along with being a parent comes stress, worry, and tiredness....but, the rewards far surpass any of that. The feelings of pride and love for your child make every bit of the hard work worthwhile. -- mam