7 Months Old

Ryan is 7 months old today! The biggest milestones of the month involve Ryan trying all kinds of new foods! Now instead of just rice cereal, which he none-too-quietly wolfs down, he likes peas, squash, sweet potatoes, applesauce, prunes, pears, and bananas! He does not like green beans. I repeat, he does NOT like green beans! He has also tried Mum-Mum rice rusks.  He gets the idea of putting a sippy cup in his mouth and the idea of picking it up by its handles, but has not yet successfully done both at the same time.  We also tried giving him little pieces of watermelon and peeled grapes, but his fingers couldn't quite pick up the slippery pieces and when I put it in his mouth, he puckered and spit it out. Ryan gets pretty insistent when it is time to eat and is usually not happy when it is all gone, but I think he is just dreading the head-bracing washcloth wipe-off of his face. He is generally a pretty neat eater since he puts his hands out to the side like an airplane and doesn't rub them in his face.

Ryan's hair continues to be a challenge. We now have quite-long blond peach fuzz on the whole head except for a very narrow strip of hair right down the middle from front to back that is long. This turns into one of three things: rooster tail, combover, or mohawk. Take your pick. Since I picked out a summery "surf" outfit for his pictures this morning, I went with a curly mohawk.

Ryan does a great job sitting up by himself. He can usually play by himself without any support but could make an ocassional "tip-over" if he loses his center of gravity (usually not a problem--the belly helps). He still does not like being on his tummy and will not roll from front to back, only back to front. Now that he can sit up and play, he doesn't really like to be laying down unless he can be eating his toes.

Ryan's smile continues to light up a room and he's usually got a two-tooth grin for everyone! He likes to roll a ball back and forth and watch us bounce it (sometimes off his forehead...ahem, daddy) and he likes playing with blocks that go into a musical bigger box--sometimes he even picks them up and puts them in the big box.  Ryan really likes to watch Nika (or Milo) and will always reach for the puppy if she is nearby. He loves stroller rides and will sit up straight, watching the scenery intently.

His sleep habits continue to be quite a blessing and he seems to be happier the earlier he goes to bed (7:30 instead of 8:30). Sometimes he takes 2-3 short 40min. naps but will conk out for 2 hours at a time sometimes. He's going on a 2.5 hour nap this morning which has allowed me to mess with his pictures for too long! (see coming posts).

We love our little boy and are having so much fun watching him grow up and learn new things!