Happy 7 Month Birthday Liliana!

Liliana,

You are SEVEN months old today.  I can't believe it.  It's amazing the strides you've made in the last month, and to be completely honest, out of every month so far, this has BY FAR been my favorite with you.

 One of my favorite pictures this month, heck, one of my favorite EVER.

This month has allowed for LOTS of time just between us two and for lots of time with the family.  Daddy was out of town for nearly a week this month and it was just us two.  I must admit that at first I was TERRIFIED.  What if you didn't sleep well?  What if Mommy got completely exhausted?  But, you were AMAZING.  You slept your typical 11 hours straight, you went down for naps without a single tear, and we played so much together.  On the time that Daddy wasn't traveling for residency interviews, we were able to get a lot of family time in.  We had over TWENTY hours on a roadtrip and you were amazing throughout the entire thing.  You added 20 minutes to each trip for a feeding and THAT IS IT.  Yeah, that's really special Liliana.

 You are SO cute with bows in your hair.

You've really started developing preferences for things this month.  For instance, you'll eat ANYTHING that's put in front of you, but gnawing on cell phones would probably be your biggest passion right about now.  You get pretty upset when I take them away from you.  It's kind of funny to see how quickly you stop your crying when I put the cell phone back in front of you, but sorry to say, I don't give in.  It's hard not to give in when you want something, but we've both agreed that you can't always get what you want or you're going to soon start becoming a difficult baby instead of the world's easiest baby ever.

 Daddy took this shot.  You are simply a STUNNING baby.  We can't go ANYWHERE without a million people swooning all over you.

You know the phrase "growing like a weed?"  Well, you put that phrase to shame.  Your 6 month outfits are funny looking on you: the pants are so tight that they show every glorious roll on your legs and the shirts are middrifts and expose your cute belly button.  Recently, thanks to a few generous Lacefield family members, you got a HUGE amount of new 9 month clothing items.  Thank goodness they decided to buy you some clothes because you would have been out!  You're wearing mainly size 2 shoes, however, in certain brands you're requiring a size 3.  You wear size 3 diapers.  As for food, you're getting 6 oz. of formula every 4 hours and get one helping of rice cereal and veggies each day.  In a couple weeks here, we'll introduce you to fruit, but your pediatrician didn't want us doing that too early because he feared you wouldn't eat your veggies if we introduced the deliciousness that are fruits first.  I can't wait to give you apples!  Seeing you adore squash, sweet potatoes, and peas has me convinced you'll love your fruits too.

 You play with these blocks ALL the time.  They're your favorite.

As for your developmental milestones, you always kick them in the butt and never have us worrying.  You started sitting on your own before your 6 month birthday.  You grab items ANYWHERE that they are.  You'll roll around on the floor (which has me thinking we'll need a full time pack and play in the livingroom full time) until you get whatever it is you want to get your hands on.  You do push ups on your belly and scoot forward or backwards.  You're getting ready to crawl and frustrate yourself when you're not able to hold yourself up on all fours for long.  You've started walking backwards AND forwards in your walker.  We have to keep turning you around every couple minutes because you just get moving and grooving in that thing.

 Look at the cellulite on those legs! ; )

The two things that I would remember from this month though are: (1) growling and (2) laughing.  You GROWL.  Yeah, all the darn time.  It's so funny.  People get a kick out of it.  Also, you laugh at just about anybody and it's so contagious.  This upcoming month will be so special because we get to share a Christmas with you.  That alone will make it the best Christmas I've ever had.  I am so fortunate to be your Mommy.  Thank you for being the perfect baby.  I love you.  I love you more than I ever thought possible.

 Merry Christmas a few days early Liliana, and Happy 7 Months!

Love,

Mommy