Caroline is 7 months old



Dear Caroline,
Every time Daddy and I look at you, we wonder where our little baby went. You sit in the highchair, move all over the place, and "talk" up a storm. For some reason, as the second child we seem to think you will stay little bitty! It's always a surprise to see you acting like the older baby you are. Here are some of the ways you've changed over the month:

* You're pretty much crawling. I won't say you're an official crawler until you're on your knees, but you are fully able to get anywhere you want. You get on your knees and wiggle forward. It won't be long before you figure it all out and get the coordination down. Between the semi-crawling and the rolling everywhere, you never stay where we put you.

* Everything you touch goes straight to your mouth. Your bottom two teeth broke through many weeks ago, but I'm wondering if another one might be on its way.

* You're eating solids very well. I stopped trying to give you that yucky rice cereal and just gave you the straight puree, and that was the ticket. You only stuck your nose up at the stage one meat puree I tried to give you. I don't blame you, it looked disgusting. You quickly went through all the stage ones, and you've been eating the stage two mixtures for a few weeks. You eat at least twice a day, sometimes three times if you don't drink a bottle well. You LOVE solid foods.

* You still don't love your bottles, though. I made it six months pumping exclusively for you, and we have a LARGE stash of frozen milk for you (both freezers are full!). We're giving you formula for your first bottle of the day since we can get that ready a whole lot faster. I feel sometimes like you're making progress with the bottles, but then something sets you back, like the cold you've had for almost two weeks now. Being congested really throws off your eating.

* You have really found your voice! You shriek and gurgle all the time. You try to blow raspberries, but you can't quite do it yet. You're not making consonant sounds yet.

* I know I've said it before, but you adore your sister. You're smilier when Kate's around, and you always want to see what she's doing. You light up when she's near.

* You still hold the title for world's easiest baby. You sleep when you're supposed to, and you fuss only when you're hungry or sleepy. Full-on crying is very rare with you.

* You're very aware of your surroundings. You want to see what's going on and be around the group. You're usually good at entertaining yourself for a few minutes, too, though.

* You love your exersaucer. You jump like crazy and you love to chew on all the toys on it. You have also started playing with "older" toys that have more cause and effect, buttons, music, lights, and talking. I need to pull out the LeapFrog table because I'm sure you'll be pulling up in no time. Crazy.

* When I sing to you, you stare up at me and grab my mouth. It kind of hurts, but it's so sweet, that I just let you do it.

* You went on your first road trip to Nana and Pops' house for Christmas, and you were an angel! You did great in the car, and you stayed on-schedule and happy the whole time.

We love you, Caroline Grace. It's hard to remember life without you now...
Love,
Mama and Daddy


Unofficial Stats:
weight: between 19 and 20 pounds
length: will add later
clothes: 6-12 months, 9 months
diaper size: size 4 (These are SO much easier to get on you!)
sleep: 7pm-7am
naps: 8:30am-10, 12pm-2, 4-5
feedings: 7am, 11, 3pm, 6:30 (very inconsistent on how much you'll take per bottle); 2-3 solid food feedings



Monthly monkey pics...
I took the "7 month" sticker off your onesie because you just kept eating it. :)