7 Months Old

My baby boy is no longer a baby.  Seriously.  This past month he has gone from being a baby to being a 'not-baby' (for lack of a better word).  At seven months old, Nathan weighs 21 lb 1 oz.

This past month we have nailed down Nathan's routine.  Like Matthew and Kayla at this age, he doesn't have a set schedule (ie. specific times where things happen), but we have a routine and things happen around the same time each day.  I'm not a stickler for specific times, so this works for us.  Nathan's routine is:

7:00am  Wake up and have breakfast (3 Tbsp baby cereal + 1/4 jar fruit + homo milk in sippy cup)
7:15am  Play time (while I pump)
8:15am  Bath time
8:30am  Nap time
9:30am  Wake up and have bottle (5-6oz)
11:15am  Lunch (1/2 slice bread + 1/4 jar fruit + homo milk in sippy cup)
12:00pm  Nap time
2:00pm  Wake up and have bottle (5-6oz)
3:00pm  Snack (Yogourt / Cheerios / Graduates / Mum Mums / Cheese)
4:15pm  Nap time
5:15pm  Wake up and have bottle (5-6oz)
6:15pm  Supper time (Usually whatever we're eating + 1/4 jar fruit + homo milk in sippy cup)
7:30pm  Bottle (5-6oz)
8:00pm  Bed time

Nathan learned instantly how to drink from the sippy cup this month.  My only wish is that the sippy cups I had were the ones with handles, because I think he would figure out how to put it in his mouth himself...however, I'm too cheap to buy new ones :).  Matthew and Kayla learned, so he will too!  He knows that when he's eating a meal that all he has to do is reach for/grab his cup and he'll get a drink.

He has also learned how to grab small piece of food (ex. Cheerios and Graduates), but he grabs them with his whole hand and so it ends up in his palm and then he can't get it in his mouth.

Nathan has become very aware of when people are eating and he isn't - especially if it's something that looks delicious.  When he saw that Kayla had a ring pop during the Cloverdale Rodeo parade he freaked out.  No lie.  He saw it and went nutso.  Jon took one for the team and opened a ring pop for himself to share with Nathan.  Nathan's not spoiled at all ;)

Nathan got his first tooth on May 6!  Matthew and Kayla were quite excited.  Now they say that they're babies (dolls) are getting teeth too.

Nathan has made no progress in the rolling department.  He did roll once this month (!), and the only reason I knew is because he started screaming in anger and when I looked it was because he was on his tummy.  I think he might be another 'Matthew' (ie. slow in accomplishing the developmental milestones).

Nathan continues to be a very easy baby.  He definitely likes to be held and played with and entertained, but who doesn't?  He's often being accidentally pushed over or knocked and so I don't blame him for wanting protection.  He is extremely friendly and is very giving with smiles.  He definitely smiles with his eyes.  He isn't necessarily quick to giggle when you tickle him, but he does have a cute giggle when you hear it.

Nathan loves Matthew and Kayla, and they love him (most of the time!).

Nathan loves when you dial/answer the phone.  He giggles with the beeping sound of the buttons.  He gets excited when I pull the jolly jumper out.  He LOVES dogs.  He talks and jumps as soon as he sees one.  It's a good thing that Lacey (my parents' dog) is very tolerant of babies because Nathan doesn't quite have the concept of being gentle down pat yet :).  He HATES having his nose picked/cleaned.  He doesn't like having his shirt pulled on/off over his head.

He LOVES sleeping with his blanket touching the one side of his face.  If his blanket isn't in easy reach, he'll try to pull off the playpen fitted sheet in the playpen or the receiving blanket he lays on in his crib.

Nathan went on his first camping trip to Cultus Lake from May 8-11.  We stayed in my parents' fifth wheel...and so there was my Mom, Melissa, Jackson, myself, Matthew, Kayla, and Nathan all in there.  With so many little kids, we had Jackson and Nathan each sleeping in their own box on the ground.  Yes, a box.  It was a long cut-flowers box, so the sides were only about 6" high.  It worked perfectly.  Matthew and Kayla shared a bunk bed (Yes!  It still worked to put them in the same one this year!), the bunk above them was reserved for Jon, I was in the bunk bed across from them, and Nathan was on the ground by me.  Matthew and Kayla's bunk is a fair bit off the ground (3 feet?), and so they still slept with the bars on the side that my Dad had constructed last year to prevent them from falling out.  The first night, Matthew, Kayla, and Nathan all went to be at the same time...unfortunately...I don't think I put one of the bars in correctly, and Matthew must have tried to move it himself...because all of a sudden we (my Mom, Melissa, and I) heard a ear-piercing scream from Nathan.  I ran into the bunk room to discover that the bars had fallen off of Matthew and Kayla's bunk and landed right on Nathan's forehead.  Poor kid.  He had a few small bruises on his forehead - it could have been a whole lot worse though!  He was a little bit traumatized.  Matthew didn't touch the bars again after that (and I made sure they were in good and tight too!).

I LOVE this picture.  This is exactly what Nathan is like...so smiley!

First time having a bath while camping!

On Friday, we were getting ready to go for a walk and so I had put Nathan in the stroller already, and parked him by the back of our Tahoe while I got his blanket out.  Kayla was going to ride on the tip of the stroller (where Nathan's feet go) and so she started to climb on herself.  Unfortunately (yes, unfortunately again), the stroller was on a slight slope and so the weight of her climbing on from the side caused the stroller to tip, with Nathan in it.  Luckily I noticed from the corner of my eye so I was able to catch his head before it hit the ground.  He was a little scared, but not hurt.

Tired from a busy few days of camping!  (Looking at this picture, I noticed that he definitely gets his cheeks from me!)