Seven Months (and one week)

I tell you what - this baby thing just keeps getting better and better. The wild giggles when I make a funny face during bathtime. The joyful babbles while he plays - "bababababababa." The little grunts as he propels himself across the floor with amazing speed to reach a desired (and usually forbidden) object. The fluffy cloth diapered bottom waggling high in the air as he lifts himself up on his tiptoes. The scrunched-up, repulsed face when Mean Mommy makes him try some applesauce. Seeing his personality start to emerge and noticing him beginning to have his own opinions ("I don't like to have my hair washed, Mommy!") The smiles, smiles, smiles! The squirming in my arms as he leans away from me, showing great determination as he reaches for something interesting. And, of course, the precious sleeping baby face, rosebud mouth in a pouty pucker against my shoulder. Seven months old. Davis is really and truly moving now.  He is a masterful creeper and can get himself clear across the room.  He has started noticing and picking up pieces of dust and fuzz on the carpet (sending Daddy scrambling for the vacuum), not to mention the huge beetle that Daddy removed from his hand just in the nick of time.  He can officially get himself from his tummy to sitting all by himself (although he has only showed off that skill a couple of times).  What a big boy!  It seems we spend most of our time trying to capture his creeping, sitting, and loud babbles on video . . . without success, of course.  I think babies know when they're being filmed and immediately stop doing whatever it was that you were hoping to catch them doing. His favorite things are straps and silky tags.  If you offer him the choice of a toy or a non-toy (cell phone charger? sticker? empty box? remote control? shoelace? sock?), he will scoot towards the non-toy every time. We haven't gotten him a cup of his own yet, but he holds Mommy's cup with assistance and likes to take sips of water from it, or from a shot glass that's just the right size for baby hands.  He has no interest in baby food and shows great strength in pushing the spoon away and spitting the food everywhere, yet tries to grab your pizza off your plate and, while at a restaurant recently, was grabbing fistfuls of salad from Mommy's plate and trying to put it in his mouth. He prefers sleeping on his tummy now.  He's getting better about napping for longer than 30 minutes at a time (knock on wood) and even falls asleep in his crib on his own . . . sometimes. He started at a new babysitter this past week and did great.  We had visited four times beforehand, so he already seemed comfortable with the new place and has been all smiles whenever I drop him off. Is eight months this fun?  Even better?  What about nine months?  Greg and I are cherishing every precious moment with our little seven month old and we're also excited about all the great things we have to look forward to! Here are some pictures I've been saving up for you from this past month:

From Loving the Life We Live