7 Months Old!

It seems like Jackson has grown so much in this last month. His personality just comes out more and more every day. Here are some updates about Jackson this month:

-He is so BUSY! He is constantly moving, looking around, jumping, climbing, etc. He reaches out and grabs anything within arms reach. You can forget drinking anything when you are holding him because he will yank the cup/bottle out of your hand.

-He seems to have gotten so much stronger! He has begun kicking when he is mad/frustrated. When he is done nursing, he is ready to get up and go (unless he is sleepy). If I don't stand/sit him up right afterward, he bucks and kicks and fusses until I do. He is just so interested in what's going on around him. He also has begun throwing his toys when he is done playing with them. He gets some good distance too! He is almost able to pull himself completely to a sitting position from laying down.

-He LOVES to be naked and gets such a kick out out of watching himself "dance" (jump up and down) in front of the mirror. I think his favorite part is when we are getting him undressed because he starts smiling/laughing when his clothes come off. He is a ticklish little guy!

-He is sticking his bottom lip out into a pout pretty much every time before he starts crying. And let me tell you it is the most pitiful sight in the world. I think he's learned that he can get pretty much what he wants from us because that look breaks our hearts every time.

-He is on a great sleep/nap schedule-two naps a day for an hour and a half each. He is sleeping for 11 hours a night, although he wakes up to nurse after about 7 hours. He goes right back to sleep though.

-We are STILL waiting on some teeth. He got a runny nose and was sneezing and fussy for about 2 hours a few weeks ago, but then was perfectly fine after that. We were thinking maybe some teeth were coming through, but nada. He is beginning to chew on his bottom lip a lot now, so maybe we are getting closer.

-He continues to rock back and forth on all fours, so it's just a matter of time before he starts crawling. He has mastered scooting backwards, though. He loves when we encourage and clap for him when he is trying. We have caught him trying to pull himself up onto things a few times now, so we will most likely be lowering the crib VERY soon!

-He sits up all the time and can sit for very long periods of time. He is beginning to play more independently, and loves to sit and play, surrounded by all his toys.

-We weighed him on our scale and got 19 1/2 lbs. He is very long and lean and it is getting harder and harder to lug him around in the carseat these days. He is in 9-12 month clothes.

-He is eating stage 1 baby food and has tried: apples, bananas, peas, carrots, prunes, and sweet potatoes. We have only been feeding him baby food at dinner, but we really need to start giving it to him more often in the day. The problem is that he has never been super excited about solids. I expected him to go crazy for them, but he has seemed kinda indifferent. He will open up for the spoon, but has never seemed overly impressed. I started letting him grab the spoon with me and guide it into his mouth, and that seems to get him more interested. Sometimes he thinks it is a game and will spit it out at me and laugh. But tonight, we tried sweet potatoes again and he actually got excited! He was reaching out and wide eyed, and he ate much more than usual. I hope this trend continues! He is still nursing about 7-8 times a day. We are going to start Stage 2 baby food soon which include meats. We are also going to start giving him some some soft finger foods for him to try.

-He absolutely loves to be sung to. When he is fussy, if we sing to him we can get a smile every time. That also goes for "this little piggy". It just never gets old for him. We need some new songs to sing, though. I feel like we need to expand our song selection for him! I recently remembered a song from my childhood, and he LOVED it. This is the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEEsX69iIxY . I actually remembered all of the movements to it, which were confirmed when I found the link. Man, that takes me back!

-His eyes are still deep blue and his hair is coming in more and more. It is a light brown right now. His fingernails grow so fast and I feel like I am constantly clipping them.

-He is such a sweet baby. He still is fascinated with anything that his Daddy does and it is a challenge to feed him if Justin is in the room because he is so enthralled with him . He also really loves his mommy too, though. After his morning feeding we snuggle on the couch together every morning and I rub his back as he sleeps for awhile before he finally fully wakes up. That is honestly the best part of my day. That, and watching Jackson's face light up when he sees his daddy for the first time each morning.