7 month update

Hard as it is to believe, Daniel is already 7 months old!  As I think back on the past month or so, I realize we've had several big changes.

First, here's his 7 month "birthday" picture:

Eating
We introduced Daniel to solids around his 6-month birthday and have been gradually expanding the offerings.  So far sweet potatoes, bananas, and multigrain cereals have gone over well.  He was initially less enthused about zucchini squash but seemed to like it better as the week went on and as I mixed it with not just breastmilk but also a little cereal.  I think going forward with new veggies I'll start out just mixing it about 50/50 with milk and cereal and gradually decrease the cereal portion as he gets used to the veggie.  When we first started solids Daniel needed a little help getting the hang of how to use a spoon but now he eagerly leans forward with his mouth open to take it.

Breastmilk is still the majority of his diet, as it should be for a 7 month old, but over the next month I think we'll try to work up to 2 solid feedings a day.  So far solids are just a supplement to milk feedings not a replacement for them, but as the year goes on solids will become a bigger part of his diet.  In the meantime he's still nursing like a champ and taking two 7oz bottles during the day.

Sleeping
Not much change on this front.  He still sleeps wonderfully through the night almost every night and naps pretty well most days.  His wakeful interval has been about 2 hours since his newborn days but now sometimes seems to be able to go a little longer to 2 1/2-3 hours at a time.  We're still on a 2 nap a day schedule though and hopefully will be for a few more months at least.

Skills and developments
As the last post mentioned, Daniel now has his second tooth.  I can't tell yet where the third one will come through so I don't think it's imminent but you never know.

The biggest news on the skill front is that Daniel is beginning to crawl.  Last Monday he got up on his hands and knees for the first time.  Tuesday he learned how to rock back and forth.  Friday he was on the bath mat before his bath and while trying to move forward, he scooted himself backwards off the mat, out the bathroom doors and into the bedroom.  And Sunday night...well, he did this:

Yes, we have a crawler now!  Excited and a little nervous to see what lies in store this week as he gets better at it.  One thing's for sure, we need to babyproof ASAP!

A few more pictures



Yum, bananas!



 

Yay, I'm crawling now!

Snow days!

It's been an interesting week here.  Last weekend was gloriously warm and Monday was pretty nice too, but the rest of the week has been COLD.    Cold weather + precip Monday night=ice on the roads, so my office and Kevin's, following the lead of most local school districts, was closed on Tuesday...and Wednesday...and today.  We both went in to work on Thursday, Kevin for the full day, me for a delayed start and early exit.  I had to use some vacation time to do that, but since I was dropping Daniel off at Grandma's and then taking him home I felt safer avoiding the traffic.  Kevin had to work from home all 3 days but I was home free just enjoying a few extra days home with Daniel. 

It turned out to be a momentous week as Daniel cut his second tooth, alongside the first one in the bottom middle.  I see him licking it with his tongue a lot so he's obviously still getting used to these new sharp things in his mouth.  I'll miss that cute gummy baby smile but it's exciting to see him hit this new milestone.

Here's a picture of Daniel and me exploring our snowy sidewalk and yard:




































And here we are inside where it's warm.  Daniel's staying warm in a jacket my mom (Mimi to Daniel) gave him for Christmas.  Note the cute bear ears!  And if you look closely, you'll see tooth #1.
 

 

One of the amusing storylines in our house with the snow days has been the cats' fight over the bed by the fireplace. It's the black cat, Tim's bed but the gray one, Todd decided he wanted it too so he has forcibly evicted Tim on several occasions. Today they found a way to co-exist and stay warm!

On a related note, Daniel has really discovered the cats lately.  Whenever one is nearby he reaches over to grab their fur or roll over into them.  They're taking this newfound attention pretty well but make an escape when they've had their fill.  I shot some video the other day of Daniel playing with Tim.  Unfortunately I was trying to hold Tim and record at the same time so the video has a bit of a "Blair Witch" feel too it, but Daniel's laughs come through loud and clear.




Sweet potatoes for my sweet potato
After getting less than enthusiastic responses to avocado and green beans we decided to go back to sweet potatoes to help Daniel get the hang of eating solid foods before branching out again to something new.  He seems to like sweet potatoes pretty well so far though milk is still far and away his favorite food.

Canada, eh!
In August 2009 Kevin and I traveled to Lake Louise, Banff, and Jasper, Canada with my family.  While we were in Jasper we saw a little onesie we thought was so cute we had to get it for a future little Williamson to wear someday.  Now Daniel has grown into it and it looks really cute on him.  And the baseball cap he's got on looks like a beret for some reason giving him quite the international flair: