Seventh Months!

Reading books with sissy (and chewing on a baby chick he pulled out of his book)

With mom in "Sara's Ride"

An after dinner bath

I love to play in the water
(mommy should give me a bath earlier in the day so that she doesn't get the dinner
dishes waiting to go in the dishwasher in the picture!)

My most favorite activity - eating!

I get very messy when I eat

Sitting up!

Eating . . . . again

I really, really, really love to eat (blueberries and yogurt in this picture)

My favorite sitting position

My favorite toy - a pendant from teething bling

 Off to explore!

 Boo Boo waiting for food to fall

Look mom!  No Knees!  My newest trick - up on my hands and feet

Fun Facts About Luke

Fact 1
 Luke has entered the bumps and bruises phase of his life as he is now fully mobile -- rolling, crawling and exploring his environment.  A part of me has dreaded this phase in each one of my babies' lives!  It is such a joy to watch him grow and celebrate each milestone, but some milestones bring with them an element of pain as he grows more and more independent.  He experienced a few head whacks this week as an arm or leg slipped out from under him and he connected with the floor.  So pitiful to hear him cry, but so sweet when I pick him up, comfort him, and he stops crying.  I'm trying not to make a big deal when he does get hurt which is VERY HARD.  As my friend Amy says, save the panic for when there is more than a pint of blood.  Lord willing, I won't ever need to panic.

Fact 2
Luke is cutting his top two teeth!  His little gums are red and swollen, and you can see the ridges of the teeth about to break through the skin.

Fact 3
Luke has turned into an eating  machine.  He now associates the kitchen with food, his high chair with food, and if he sees anyone putting food in their mouth, he whines at them in hopes of getting some too.  He's tried lots of new foods, including some that I vowed I would never let him have, like cake and ice cream.  He doesn't like avocados too much, but he has eagerly consumed everything else that has been offered to him.  My rule of thumb in evaluating how digestion of any new food is going is to see how everything comes out "in the end" if you will.  :o)

Fact 4
Luke is an old pro at the diaper changing activity and holds his legs straight up in the air for me until his bum is all clean.

Fact 5
Luke has a very peculiar way of sitting on the floor.  He will spread his legs out into an almost "splits" position, and then turn his ankles in and press his feet on the floor to steady himself.  I've never seen anything like it!  Other times, he has one leg tucked up underneath him with the other out in front, and his foot on the floor for balance.  (see pics above) 

Fact 6
Luke still rides in the Moby Wrap (greatest invention ever) sometimes, but it gets a little hot for both of us in the summer time (the exception being the Dekalb Farmers Market where they keep it so cold it feels like the north pole).  Upon the recommendation of my friend Heather, I purchased an Ergo carrier.  Again, Lukey and I get very hot when we use it.  When Sarah was a baby, a friend had given me the carrier she had used for her kids called "Sara's Ride."  I gave it away many years ago, and the company has gone out of business since then.  When we began our journey to have more children, I found one on ebay and snatched it up.  I forgot I had it until the other day when I was looking through a storage bin that I had put larger sized clothes in (which Luke can now wear).  Sara's Ride is perfect for Luke at this age as his neck and back muscles are developed, and because of its design, there is plenty of air flow and we don't get so hot when we're using it.  Yay!

Fact 7
Luke loves water.  He likes drinking it as well as he likes playing in it.  When I turn the water on by his changing pad to get a washcloth wet to clean his bottom, he watches the water intently while smiling at it.  Daddy says it's time to get him a little baby pool to splash in.  Hope we can find one this late in the season!

Fact 8
Did I mention how much Luke enjoys eating?

Fact 9
 It's time to put up the baby gates!  Luke is no longer content to sit on his tummy mat and play with toys.  He knows that there is a world beyond his mat and he wants to explore it!  He is about to learn that exploration has its limits for his safety.

Fact 10
Luke has learned that if you throw food on the floor, a doggy (or two) will come eat it up.   I can see now that this is going to be a mixed blessing.  How wonderful to have dogs that clean up the mess on the floor.  How dreadful that the baby has already figured out how to throw his food.

Fact 11
Luke has learned a new trick - standing up on all fours (see pic above).  For now, he just pivots his body around when he does that.  I suspect that he will be "crab" walking soon, which will then lead to pulling up, which will then lead to walking, all before he is a year old.

 Fact 12
Luke is going on his first camping trip!  Check back soon to hear about that adventure!