Month Seven

Dear Ela,

What a joy this month has been! You seem to get happier and happier every day. I love watching the pleasure you get out of your daily activities, like sitting on your play rug and slowly turning over your blocks, or gleefully grabbing Clover's fur as he lounges nearby.

Of course, life isn't all fun and games. There's the unfortunate reality of some of your Momma's fashion choices. And this month was a time of teething pain for you (but no teeth quite yet). At least, we think it was teething pain... Something was giving you trouble at nights when you were trying to go to sleep, but whether it was teething pain or growing pains we held you tight and gave you as much love as we could.

Food is fun!

The big news this month was that you ate your first solid food. You had expressed curiosity about what we were eating for a few weeks by this point, and we felt you were ready. Meals definitely became more fun (and messy) as we welcomed your presence at the table. In your first week of eating solids, you tried ground beef, seasoned sweet potatoes, avocado, lentil soup, salmon, quinoa, and broccoli. The broccoli was your early favorite, but it has since been eclipsed by pineapple.




And then there's still this... Introducing solids was a little hard for me, because it's such a big step toward independence for you to be nourished by outside food and not just Momma's milk. But we still have lots of time together nursing, and for me it's the sweetest part of the day.




You love making fun sounds -- lots of clicking and popping with your tongue. If you hear Daddy or me making those noises, you'll often mimic them back to us. You've also started saying a very distinct "mamamama" and "baabaabaabaa."

You're fascinated with faces. I think that your favorite way to connect with someone who interests you is to explore their face with your hands. We've been prompting you to use "soft hands," and you're becoming more and more gentle when you touch faces.

This month we enjoyed your first Colorado swimming trip at our local rec center. You seemed to regard most of the swimming session as serious business, but toward the end you started splashing and laughing.

Tired out... probably after a trip to the park!

You've started allowing us to put you in the stroller from time to time, and your Dad loves to wheel you around the neighborhood and up to the park.

We spent some time in the rehab facility this month with your Great-Grandpa Grumpy. I think that you are his favorite visitor. He loved winking at you, asking you questions, and listening to all the talking noises that you make.

You're growing so quickly, and our lives are very busy right now. But, you fill each of our days with so much laughter and so much joy. I love you, doodle-bug.

Love,
Momma