Doesn't she just look like a little ball of fun?! Well, she is! She's 7 months old now, and she continues to be very content, happy-go-lucky, and FULL of life. It doesn't matter what situation she is in, whether it be traveling, staying the night in unfamiliar territory, going to the store, or being dragged along during house-hunting for several days, she just grins and bears it. Adaptation is definitely not a problem for her. She's happy regardless of where we are or what we're doing. She just goes with the flow!She has continued developing this awesome sparkling personality, and it just draws people in. So many times when we're out and about, people will approach us and just start chatting her up, gushing over her beautiful smile, saying how happy she looks, and why wouldn't they? Look at her!! I hate to sound like a bragging mom, but I'm not kidding when I say that people are drawn to her like moths to a flame. It's unbelievable the response she gets when we're in public. It really warms my heart to see her make so many people smile. The positive impact she has on people never ceases to amaze me. She's awesome! I feel so lucky that I'm the one that gets to love her forever! I get to take her home with me, take care of her, and in return, get unlimited smiles and a few cuddles here and there. I feel so lucky to be her mom! She's only 7 months old, and already, she makes me so proud.
This month, like last month, saw a lot of changes. Are we seeing a pattern yet?? Let's see... so, feeding... ahh, yes, the food. Well, she's completely weaned off of breastfeeding, and she eats formula from a bottle like a little champ. My body has completely adjusted to the change, and I have to say that it's quite a relief to be done with breastfeeding. While I enjoyed nursing, I feel so much more relaxed now that I don't have to worry about milk production, whether she's getting enough, if she's gaining weight, etc... The pressure of being her one and only source of food has been lifted, and I feel like I can enjoy her more because I'm not constantly worrying about all those things. Now, for baby food... we had made progress with the squash, but now, she won't eat ANYTHING! I still can't get her to eat ANY foods, so I've decided to give up trying for now. I'm going to give her a week or two, then I'll try to start again with the cereal and see where it goes. For now, she just gets a little cereal in her bottle at night. It keeps her belly full, which keeps her sleeping, which keeps me happy. Typically, she gets up once a night, around 11p-12a, I give her a bottle, then she sleeps until about 7am. Works for me! She also got her 3rd tooth (right of the bottom middle two). Maybe that has something to do with her refusing food? Then again, maybe not!
Maya's physical development has just skyrocketed this month. At the beginning of December, she started "inch-worming", and she gets around VERY well that way. She's fast, and she doesn't stay in one spot for more than a few seconds. Seriously. She's all over the place! After experimenting a few times with getting up on her hands a knees, it didn't take her long to figure out how to crawl! She's in the very early stages of crawling, where she's still better at "inch-worming", so most of the time she resorts to that. It took her awhile to find the courage to lift up her right hand to crawl. For some reason, she could crawl with her left side with no problems, but when she had to pick up that right hand, she'd go right to her belly and start "inch-worming". It was the funniest thing! Now, she lifts both hands and crawls, but "inch-worming" is still faster and therefore gets used as her main mode of transportation! She doesn't just want to get places, but she wants to get there quickly! She's also started tripod sitting. We have to put her in a seated position, but she sits pretty well once she's up there. She's also pulled herself up into a standing position onto her toybox! I'm afraid she'll be walking before we know it! She's determined to stand and climb already! Yikes!
What else? Oh, yes... Maya started screeching and squealing A LOT! I think it's really cute because she does it when she's really happy or in a good mood. It's always a happy sound, not a mad cry. Hopefully other people can discern that sound, too, otherwise they may get a little annoyed by all the ruckus. Too bad if someone's annoyed because I'm not going to make her stop making that beautiful joyful noise! No way! Speaking of noise, she also started clapping! She hasn't really figured out that she needs to straighten out her fingers, so it's actually a pretty silent clap. Noise or not, it's a clap! She always smiles great big when she claps, like she's so proud of herself, and she should be! That's not an easy task for a baby! It's really adorable!
Maya also said her first word this month! We heard her in her crib one morning saying, "Dadadadadadada...". It's so cute, and Will's so happy that she's saying "dada"! Not only is she saying "dada", but it's her FIRST word, which makes it extra special for him. I wonder when she'll say "mama"?
