to our 7 month old mover and shaker

greta, you are seven months old today and we continue to marvel at all that you can do. it seems like you are growing and changing so much. i just said to your papa the other day that it might be a while before you crawl, and then BAM! just like that you started getting up on your hands and knees and are moving and scooting all around. you are SO on the verge of crawling. you get up onto your hands and knees and rock back and forth. you are able to scoot and pull yourself around the room, pushing with your feet and pulling with your arms. sometimes you still get mad and mommy has to come over and sit you back up again. but as soon as i sit you back up, you lean forward and it all starts again.
you are eating foods now and seem to have the hang of it. so far you have had rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, squash, peas, green beans, and sweet potatoes. carrots seem to be your favorite, but you will eat it all. you also seem to like drinking water, although you prefer when mommy or papa gives you water out of a straw over trying to figure out how to hold your cup.
in the mornings after you eat you sit and play in the kitchen while mommy cleans up and fixes her own breakfast. you sometimes get sad at the loud noise that the blender makes (and the vacuum, and the hair dryer) but if mommy laughs about it you will laugh too.
you are still sleeping well over night and lately have been taking 3 naps a day at about an hour each. when we lay you down now you IMMEDIATELY roll over onto your belly. sometimes you also fall asleep on your side, which makes mommy and papa laugh because you look like such a big girl when you do it. you still play with the bars of your crib and scratch at the sheets but you don't get your legs stuck in the bars much anymore.
when we play in your room you LOVE playing in front of the mirror, especially now that we moved it so you can see the whole mirror. you like to play with your bear stuffed animal and sometimes you lay your head on the bear like you are snuggling. you like looking at the touch and feel books and playing with the ring stacker. just today i swear you were trying to put the rings back on by yourself.
you smile when mommy sings baa baa black sheep to you and you crack up at papa's "jammy shake shake" song that he sings when you get your pajamas on.
you have started to want to be held standing and will lock your knees when we try to sit you down. you are SO curious about everything, always looking around checking things out. it's tough to nurse you anymore because you want to know what else is going on. you love watching people, especially other kids like your buckley and ford cousins and the other babies at your swimming lessons.
you love getting things like the remote control and mommy's wallet, and seem to enjoy chewing on your shoes while you ride in the car.
you are blowing raspberries like crazy and seem to think it's funny to blow them on mommy and papa's faces. you also are doing lots of babbling and shrieking, and seem to think it's funny when we shriek back at you.
your hair has been cut and your two teeth have come in and it makes you look like such a big girl. but you're still our snuggle bunny, and will sometimes lay your head on my shoulder and let me rub your back for a little while. you know your name and will look when we say "greta", even though we probably confuse you by calling you "buddha", "boo boo" and "bootie". you are an amazing little firecracker of a girl who doesn't miss much and we love love LOVE you. for always.

Happy Mother's Day

From Greta....

greta and friends at grandma and grandpa's

moving around

we have yet to capture it on film yet, but greta is getting more and more mobile everyday. she continues to roll like crazy, but has also started pushing and pulling herself around on the floor. she will be sitting up and then will lean forward so that she is on her hands and knees. she then will either push herself with her feet/legs or pull herself in a sort of army crawl. she also sort of rocks back and forth while she is resting on all fours. she hasn't yet figured out to get both her arms and legs working at the same time. i think that would be considered crawling, and then we're in real trouble.

pears

i was having a pear today and greta was eyeing it. i gave her a taste and then decided to put a few slices in this little mesh feeder thingy. she went to town!! sucking on it, slurping on it...it was hilarious. and super messy. she was a sticky mess of pear juice. but it was fun and it was her first time with a "solid" food. she seems to be teething again pretty intensely, so i think it probably felt good on her gums as well.

Swim Lessons

here are some pics from greta's swim lesson this week. this was her third lesson, and joe went with us this time to take pictures and to see greta in the pool. at the beginning of the class the instructor has the parent blow bubbles so that the child can see (and eventually copy) this skill. the first two weeks i was blowing bubbles while greta looked around at other kids and at whatever. this week i noticed that she was watching me and laughing when i was blowing bubbles. i guess that's the first step. the pictures are of us swimming to the side and holding on to the side. we also do some floating and kicking. in the video you can see greta "jumping" in and her underwater swim that they do at the end of the class. overall i think she enjoys her time in the pool. at least in the one photo she looks pretty happy about it.

homemade

so i decided to try making baby food for greta. and let's just put it out there that i am not great in the kitchen, nor do i like trying new things. however, making baby food is SUPER easy. steam the food, puree it up, and presto.....baby food. the only trick is getting the lumps out, which i think greta and i both discovered when she tried the butternut squash food i made. you can see her reaction (spitting, gagging, etc) in the video. i think it's the texture she doesn't like, because she had some store-bought squash at grandma's house and did okay with that. the next food she tried that i had made was peas, which she tried today. and she liked them. ate them up. no spitting or gagging whatsoever. it's so fun to try new foods and see her reaction. and i must say there something very satifsying about making food for your baby. although i think her favorite food so far is probably the carrots, which were store-bought. but wait til she tries my applesauce!!