Jenn: Month 7: Dear Owen,

Well, we are on the 8 month eve, so what better time than to write your 7 month post, little scooter? A look at your monthly photo roll:

The 7 month shot outtakes begin.

(HI, long legs!)

And, being a total ham (what's new?!)

FEEEEET!

Can I just say um, STOP GROWING. Seriously, dude. You are so big now as in solely in 12 month old clothes. You were in 9 month clothes for what, all of 2 weeks? Come on! You're really more of a little boy than my little baby. Sniff. This month seemed like it was a huge turning point in terms of your development. It seemed like every time we turned around, something new was happening in your little world.

First of all, FOOD! We have been following the baby led weaning method, which is a little bit different than giving you mushy baby food (though we do some of that, too). It's a cool concept that probably needs a blog post of its own and so far, it's working out great. The above picture was you with your first bite of "real" (IE: non milk) food...avocado. You really did nothing other than just flip it around in your hands and look at us like, WHAT IS THIS? Your poppy hates avocado so perhaps you are just taking after him (although, now that we are a month in I will say you do in fact like avocado).

We also took you out to a few restaurants this month where you just basically played with the food. But you reached for it and watched us and mimicked our movements so you totally get the eating thing, you just haven't quite put it all together.

Mushrooms... yuck mama!

But bread and carrots and broccoli? YES PLEASE.

Spinach and green leafy things are also huge hits. You still get probably 99% of your nutrition from breast milk but we are playing with food and exploring it. You are so intrigued by it all and every time we sit down for a meal, you progress a little bit.

Speaking of progressing, HELLO TEETH! I have to say, teething (at least these first two) was not that bad. I mean, we got two at once and it was really a non issue. Maybe about 30 minutes of inconsolable crying which we knew was related to teeth but other than that? It was a blip on the radar. [I'll just go ahead and say right now that these first two "easy" teeth cursed us as we spent earlier this week up with you for SIX HOURS straight as your next few teeth started to cut through].

Early this month (March) your grandma came all the way out to Seattle to see you to spend the week with you. You loved having her here so much, probably as much as your mama did. You'll see, when you're 30 years old, you'll like having me around, too (I hope). It was so nice to have the extra hands to play with you and take care of you- and to have someone to take care of me and your pops!

And of course she spoiled you rotten with toys and clothes! That's what grandparents do best, I guess.

...and, like I already said, entertained you endlessly.

This month you started to REALLY roll. Back and forth and back and forth. We are just that much closer to crawling. YIKES! Your new thing this month though is that you'll reach a point where you are tired and on your stomach, so you'll SCREECH until someone moves you back to your back.

You are also fabulously sitting up now, although this picture isn't really indicative of it. You still do the occasional head plant if you are reaching for something but you're becoming quite the pro at this new skill.

You also got to swing for the first time, now that the weather is a little more decent and that you are sitting up. You are a HUGE fan of the swing.

And of course, you got to play with one of your buddies, Griff, again this month. You have so many friends, even if you don't totally realize just how many you have yet (or that you have to like them because your mama loves their mamas!)

We also celebrated your first St. Patricks day. And by celebrated, I mean we took the above picture and said "Happy St. Patricks day," and moved on. Apparently we are probably all mostly Irish (and you're a true redhead, so far), so maybe we should have celebrated a bit more!

Of course this month brought more play time with your poppy....

Including one play time where you accidentally kicked him in the nose and gave him a bloody nose. Not a big deal except for the fact that we were headed out in 25 minutes to go take your 6 month pictures!

March also meant MARCH MADNESS. We won't talk about how the poor little jayhawks lost (blew) their shot at the championship, but you were a proud little fan while they were still in the tourney.

We got a few final shots of you in your monkey chair this month before we officially retired it.

(one more... and seriously, Sophie is still your love).

You are such a sweet, gentle, funny boy. You are really such a good baby and so mellow. You whine and your cry your fair share but there's usually a reason. You are mostly flexible and just go with the flow. Did I mention your cute sneeze thing you started to do this month? You sneeze then you make a "bzzz" sound with your lips. Then giggle. It's maybe the funniest thing that I've ever heard and it cracks us both up everytime you do it. I'm not exactly sure where you learned it or why you started doing it, but I love it.

You are of course still fascinated by your feet and anything else that comes in to your line of sight. You are so observant and always taking everything in.

But of course, there's a playful side to you too- the one that has developed a belly laugh unlike no other, that can make me smile and give me perspective in days where I need a reminder of what's really important in life.

You are what's important in life, and moments when I am nursing you, especially right before bed when you aren't distracted by the world going on around you, I reflect on our journey together so far and make mental notes to cherish every moment while it lasts (and yes, we are still miraculously nursing...the above is one of my favorite pictures ever and while I might get some grief for this not being necessarily PG, I think it is beautiful). There are of course some nights when I am just tired and ready to crash myself, but mostly, little Oeo, I try to always take at least our bedtime routine to just be present with you, to play, to relax, to bond, to love.