Seven Months Old

Dear Sweet Torsten,

You are seven months old! Where did the time go?  I have enjoyed every minute of the last seven months, savoring every second I get with you.

You started crawling this month!  It's an army crawl, but it gets you wherever you want to go and you can get there quickly.  I'm in the process of installing a gate at the top of our stairs because we've had a few scares, all of a sudden finding you at the top of the stairs! You also learned to pull up on things.  You usually pull yourself up to your knees, but have also pulled yourself up to standing.

 Besides becoming more mobile this month,  you have started to eat more food!  I give you cereal, usually rice or oatmeal mixed with breast milk  in the mornings for breakfast.  You aren't big on lunch, but if you eat something, it's usually a rice cake or some puffs or yogurt bites.  For dinner, you usually eat a 1/4 of an avocado and some applesauce or vanilla yogurt.  You have also had sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, green beans, blueberry applesauce, peaches, and pears. You love to drink water and drink about two cups of water a day from a sippy cup.  I am amazed that you know how turn the sippy cup around to find the spout and how to tip the cup up to get a drink.  You also do a lot of self feeding. You're getting so old!

You are a pretty good sleeper!  At night you sleep about four hours, eat, and then sleep seven more.  I'll take that!  Your older brother, Klaasen, still doesn't sleep through the night and he's almost three!  You love to take a long morning nap between nine or ten o'clock and then a shorter afternoon nap whenever you get it.  You usually take your afternoon nap when we are in the car picking up Maida from school.  You love your crib and even if I lay you down halfway awake, you will usually look around at your room, grab your blanket, and go to sleep.  Your favorite position to sleep in is on your tummy, with your head straight down.  I worry about you not being able to breathe with your face into the mattress, but no matter how many times I try to turn your head, you always turn it back.

You are a mama's boy and cry every time I leave the room.  You are easily distracted, though, and can usually get your mind off of me quickly.  Your brothers and sister help a lot by playing with you and making sure you don't put anything in your mouth that doesn't belong, so that I can shower or do the laundry every once in a while!  You absolutely love your siblings and would be so bored without them around.

I love to watch you explore.  I love to watch you pick up a toy and turn it around and around, examining each side of the toy.  After you've looked at it, you immediately put it in your mouth.  Usually after a lick or two, you pull it out and examine it again.  It's so fun to watch you learn about your environment.  It's so funny how you've already got your favorite toys and toys that you don't like to play with!  Your favorite books are the  touch and feel books.  They keep you busy all during church.

You were 26 pounds at your last appointment and even though everyone else thinks you're big, I appreciate that you're not as big as Klaasen was.  He was about five pounds heavier at this age!  You are in a size five diaper and 18-24 month size clothes.  You can shake your head "yes," and "no," and use them appropriately most of the time.  When you got your shots at your last appointment, you kept shaking your head "no no no no no no!"  You say "mama," and "dada."  You can also make a car noise and love to scream.  In fact, you can throw a full-blown tantrum, complete with throwing your head back and everything!  Grandma taught you how to give a five this month, too!

We love you, Torsten.  I can't imagine life without you.  Sometimes raising four little kids seems hard, but I can't imagine not having you.  You add the perfect balance to our family.  I can't wait to see what this next month has in store!

I love you precious,

Mommy