for caleb at seven months

Dear Caleb,

The period midway through the first year is at times a little awkward. At seven months, you are not quite still a baby, but still not yet a toddler. You are working fast to grow up, though. Every day you surprise me with new things you can do. Here's a bit of what you've been up to for the last month.

You are on the move! A week after you turned six months, you started scooting, and now you are everywhere! You still prefer the army crawl to all fours, and you remind me of a little worm as you work your way around a room. You are close, though, to a bona fide crawl: you can push yourself up onto your knees, rock back and forth a bit, and move your legs forward. What to do with your arms, however, is still a bit problematic; when you attempt to move them in sync with your legs, you fall back to your belly. You'll get there, and soon, because you are incredibly determined. In the meantime, you are developing some killer strong biceps.

You are still measuring very long and sturdy. There are days when you seem to me to be more giant than baby. Your length and top-heaviness, along with your inescapable desire to always be moving, contribute to the fact that you cannot quite yet sit unsupported. You have, however, begun your attempts to pull yourself up to a stand, which has moved lower the crib mattress to the top of our to-do list. Changing your diapers has evolved into an Olympic sport to see who can be faster -- me with getting you into a clean get-up, or you with your attempts to roll away. For reasons I still don't understand, you are easily enticed away by the package of baby wipes. On the food front, you have been introduced to more foods with different textures, including small pieces of our food that we let you gum; you have received everything we offer you with a wide open mouth. You've started holding your bottles yourself, which leads me to think you might be ready to try drinking out of a cup.

You and Garrett have started distracting each other at bedtime. After we tuck each of you in, we'll hear you both feeding off of each other as you giggle in the bedroom. When we come in to put you back under your blankets, we'll find you laughing and staring through the crib bars at your brother. You love to play together during the daytime, too. It's fun for me to watch you two have fun enjoying each other's company. You are still addicted to the pointer and middle fingers of your right hand, and sometimes as you suck on them, you'll play with your ear with your other hand. You are deathly afraid of both the blender/food processor and the vacuum, which for the time being often force me run those two appliances when you are sleeping because I can't stand to hear you scream so loud. And speaking of screaming, you have become quite adept at that, too. If something is not going your way, you let the world know with blood-curdling wails that lead me to believe you've been seriously hurt rather than just not interested in a bath at that moment.

In spite of the screams, though, I am still absolutely enamored by you. Your big, happy grin gets me every time you give it, which, to my immense pleasure, is doled out quite frequently. I'm excited to watch what new strides you make in the coming month.

I love you, Caleb!

Love,
Mama