Seven Months!

This month was a big month for Zach in terms of growth and development. To me, he no longer looks or acts like a baby. It all started with him being able to sit up by himself, which seems to bring him a little more independence and also makes him look so grown up. He has also started eating 'real' food. Zach also rang in his 7 month birthday with [drum roll.....] his first tooth! He is continuing to grow and is moving more toward the toddler stage than the newborn/infant stage. He is also closer to being one year old than being a newborn! It is amazing how fast time is flying by and how much he is growing. He is such a happy little boy and has the most contagious laugh. He also seems to have a pretty good sense of humor and can understand when people are being silly or making a joke. He is also super sweet and cuddly. He likes being kissed and loved on and will let people show him that affection. Zach loves to sing and will burst out in song during worship at church. I will also catch him singing with a sweet, soft voice while he is playing on the floor, riding in the car or in the stroller. To the other side of his sweetness is his active/wild side. He has always been a very active baby. He kicks, rolls, army crawls all over the place. He is very curious and observant. You cannot hold him in toward yourself, or even on your hip. He immediately starts turning and wants to be facing outward to see everything. We had another busy month, especially in terms of reaching some major milestones!

Happenings from the past month:   

• A few days after my 1/2 birthday, I learned how to sit up all by myself!
• Daddy got me a welcome home present from Ohio. It is a bright orange pig that walks and oinks. He missed me so much while I was up in Ohio and I missed him too. When I got home, I had the biggest smile on my face when I saw him. 

• I had my third round of immunizations. I am getting better and better at having shots. 

• My diet has now changed and I am starting to eat real food: I eat rice cereal, peas,  carrots, avocado, squash, green beans, sweet potatoes, and bananas.   

 

first food: peas

bleh- I did not like them! 

 "why mom are you giving me this stuff?"

 mmm carrots are much better!

making a mess with avocado. 

 banana is my favorite.

• I do this wave-like motion when I want something. I also do it to say hello to people. 
• I have some stinky feet. Mommy and Daddy used to joke and play a game with me where they would smell my feet and say, "Stinky!" One day mommy actually took a whiff and it was smelly ;)
• I can now put myself to sleep (at least at bedtime- still working on naptime)! After giving mom and dad some difficulty with my sleeping, they decided to "Ferberize" me. It really wasn't too bad and I cried some [under their watchful ears and eyes] but after 3 nights I could put myself to sleep almost right away. We have been traveling a lot this month so mom and dad haven't been super consistent with it when we are away. But I am becoming a MUCH better sleeper. I eat at 7:00, then have Bible reading and prayer time then am down at 7:30. I sleep until 3:00-4:00 and wake up to eat and then sleep until 5:30/6:00.
• I have a new-found love for my rubber ducky!
• Went swinging for the first second time. My aunts actually took me swinging up in Ohio. So this was my first time with mommy and daddy. It was very enjoyable, but I was having more fun looking at the little girl swinging next to me. Her exact words were, "He's so cute!" 
  
   
• I went to Atlanta TWO TIMES and got to spend more time with my Aunts, Uncle and cousins.

I love the L'Heureux's!

• Mom and Aunt Jen had fun getting [me] in the Christmas spirit. I also had some Christmas fun with Nana and Aunt Hillary.

Mommy's stuffing her stocking.

Little Who

 

• Had lots of fun playing in the leaves

• I love singing and I have started to sing a little tune independently. Mom will catch me singing in the back seat as we are driving or while I am being pushed in the stroller. I have the sweetest little singing voice and my mom loves hearing me sing. 
• I can get up on all fours and start rocking back and forth. It's only a matter of time now before I am actually crawling. 
• I can army-like crawl. I can definitely get across the room by myself if there is something that I want.
• My hair is still growing like crazy. Nana says that it seems to grow more every time she sees me. 
• I got some new winter gear in preparation for the cold weather and traveling up to Ohio. 

• Even though I am not entered in the Gerber Baby photo contest- mommy still says I'm the winner :)

• I got my FIRST tooth on my seven month birthday! It is a tiny little stub, but it is there nonetheless. Mom says I am now officially the sweet-toothed baby. Don't worry, I'm not really the sweet tooth [besides the ice cream my Aunt Emmy and Aunt Debbie let me sample AND the whipped cream Aunt Jen had me taste!!]

can you spy a tooth stub on my left [your right]?

please ignore the boogies. 

Statistics:
Weight: 17 lbs. 10 oz. [estimate]
Height: 29 1/4 inches [estimate]
Nicknames: Zachy, Boo Boo, Zach Attack, Zachy Doodle. 
Likes: Mirrors, rubber ducky, singing, Sergie the giraffe, mom's water bottles, bananas, Tigger, faces, real-word objects: measuring spoons, hampers, baskets, cups, belts  
Dislikes: Drying off after a bath, peas, staying still while getting diaper changed, naps  
Clothing: 6-12 months/ 9 months. Diapers: Size 3

Milestones:
Sat up independently: 10.19.13
Stand with support: 10.19.13
First taste with baby food: 10.24.13 [peas]  
Army crawl: 11.9.13
First tooth [bottom left central incisor]: 11.16.13

7th Month Pictures:

 hair is still defying gravity and does not appear to stop anytime soon. 

 army crawler. 

 i made it!

 loves tigger. 

 new favorite game- roll myself up in my blanket. 

A Note from Mom:
Hey my little buddy, my little boo boo- I find it so hard to believe that you are already 7 months old! The past couple months, I couldn't wait until you turned one month, or two months, or three months, but now that you are seven months, I feel like I want to stop time or at least make it go slower. This month you grew up so much and became such a big boy in my eyes. You now sit up all by yourself. You eat real food. You weren't too happy with the peas, but things began to look up with the carrots, squash and sweet potatoes. Then you were having a field day with bananas. When you like a food you kick your little feet in satisfaction. You even start to complain because I can not replenish the spoon and get it to your mouth fast enough. You also celebrated your seventh month birthday with your very first tooth. I almost wanted to cry because it was such another big milestone that you reached this month. You continue to be your fun, active self. You are such an active [but not really feisty] baby, yet gentle and sweet and lovey at the same time. Although it is getting harder to watch you grow and lose your baby-ness, I am excited to see you become more vertical, as you learn to pull yourself up, and eventually stand and walk. You bring so much joy not only to your dad and I's life, but to everyone's life that you are a part of. Get excited for the next upcoming months as you will be celebrating some of your first holidays!

my 'not-so-baby' baby

good-bye october

Our family went for a little jog this morning. We parked near the Botanical Gardens, and after we were done with our morning workout we decided to walk through the gardens. I am so glad that we did because it was absolutely beautiful. It was peaceful, the leaves were all sorts of colors and it was the perfect fall morning. Our little stroll turned into an impromptu fall photo shoot with the little man. Too bad I didn't have a cuter outfit on- oh well that is life.

Prepare for picture overload

 

 "ooo- a leaf!"

 

 "i think i'll try it!"

 "papa bear there for the save!" 

 he LOVED playing with the leaves!

 evidence of his excitement playing with the leaves. too much kicking!

boys will be boys :)

After our little stroll and photo shoot, we headed to Starbucks and picked up some warm, fall drinks. Dinner is in the crockpot, pumpkin muffins are in the oven and baby is down for a nap. What a wonderful day. 

Good-bye October. Hello November!

Fall Project

Although I have many 'boards' on Pinterest, I only use a few of them: food, kid's crafts and back when I was teaching: lesson plans I found on there. Oh- it was also helpful with giving me ideas of Zach's nursery. One area where I have not dipped my toes is Home Decoration or DIY projects. Well folks, that has changed! I have officially completed my first crafty project for the home.

Lace Burlap Table Runner

I actually don't remember pinning this table runner, but while I was browsing some of my boards a month or so ago, I came across this pin and stopped to ponder it for a minute. I thought it would be so cute to make the table runner as the backdrop for a fall table centerpiece. I envisioned the table runner with little white pumpkins and white flowers in cute little vases going down the middle of the table.

To be quite honest, I had no desire to decorate for fall this year. The house is still on the market and my husband is still looking for a new job. With all the unclear plans in the air, I didn't feel like decorating, only to have to pack it up in a week or two. All of my decorations are also packed away. Well, since we are still here I thought I would give into my artsy-fall itch and make my vision come to life.

My mom, sister and I (and Zach) went apple picking again the other day and we stopped off at some more fall stands. My mom mentioned that she wanted to get a white pumpkin and I figured if I was going to do this whole table scape, I better do it now because pumpkins will be disappearing soon. I bought three mini white pumpkins and decided to go for it. I made a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics and bought the burlap, lace and liquid stitch glue.

The table runner was super easy to make:

Materials:

• Burlap- you can buy it by the yard at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Michaels also had some pre-cut and packaged. I went with the by the yard because it was cheaper and you can control how much you buy.
• Lace ribbon of your choice
• Liquid Stitch
• Scissors 

Directions: 

• Cut burlap to desired length and width. Our table is a little over six feet long and I wanted the runner to hang over the edges a bit so my runner is 7 ft. long and 15 inches wide. 
• Apply liquid stitch to the edges of the burlap and glue the lace down.  [I thought liquid stitch would be a lot faster, cleaner and more sturdy than a glue gun. I also don't know how to 'actually' sew!] The liquid stitch does dry clear- when it is first applied it is white.
• After it is done drying- go back and snip any lose ends to clean it up.

See- easy peasy. And here is the end result with pumpkins and flowers!

I love it and I am so happy that I decided to make it. I also love that this table runner can serve as a blank canvas on any table in any season. You can add some evergreen branches, berries and candles for Christmastime, or some fresh spring flowers for a dash of color in Spring!