Sometimes I wish I could just freeze him in time and enjoy this stage forever. Oh sure, there are some drawbacks (none important enough to even mention), but he's sooo wonderful! He can sit up to play, he's awake most of the day, he's generally happy and smiley (which makes me happy and smiley too!), and I can see him learning things all the time. He's gotten pretty good at holding and manipulating his sippy cup, but he really doesn't like drinking out of it. He gets the water out and then just spits it everywhere! He really needs water in his system so we've been letting him take sips out of grown-up cups. Then we discovered last weekend that he can drink out of one of my soft, rubbery-straw cups (thanks for the freebie, Nuptial Necessities!).
We have been turning up the baby monitor on full volume again at nights like when he was tiny. Since he generally sleeps through the night, waking up only once or twice to briefly make baby sounds, it's pretty nice. I like hearing him make little noises and go back to sleep. If you had told me a year ago that I'd enjoy being woken up at night to hear someone babble then I would have told you to get your head checked.
I'm not really putting this in the letter form it should be in...so let's save the rest for that :)
Dear Anthony,
On the 16th, you were 7 months! I'm amazed at how well you play, the way you can manipulate items in your hand, and how much you want to be with me. When we're playing and you're sitting up straight then you reach your arms up for me. If I don't instantly grab you then you use my shirt to pull yourself up to standing and throw yourself on me! If someone else is holding you then you're still all smiles when you see me (as it has been ever since you could smile), but a lot of times you'll throw your whole body at me now.
You can army crawl, and somewhere on my computer I have a video to prove it. I was ecstatic when I saw it! I know this means the end of my peace of mind for your safety, but it's fascinating to see you struggle and learn as you work your way across a room towards a favorite toy. It's still beyond hilarious to you if you have a toy with the little plastic pages you can flip back and forth (especially on your phone because it changes the song).
You can stand up against something and hold on if I prop you up there, but we're still quite a ways off from you pulling yourself up (although I can tell you want to!). You've gotten especially mobile in your walker-car lately. You look stinkin adorable cruising around the living room in your hot rod that reminds me of a bumble bee! Today you got all crazy with your sippy cup and knocked your whole windshield off :)
You're getting so big, and I don't just mean that as a figure of speech. You were slender and stream-lined at 6 months, but now that you've had a good 6 weeks of solids there is some chubbiness to you! It's totally adorable and not at all over-the-top; your close family might be the only ones who can tell. But I know you went from a 6-months size shorts/pants to 12-months in a very short time span!
I love you more and more every day, if that's even possible. I hold you tight and kiss you all over; I already dread the day you will grow up and replace me (with a wife). Today the storm woke you up after you were only 20 minutes into your nap. Even though it's probably the first time you've woken up from a storm and might have gone back to sleep, your little baby cry at the loud thunder and shaking of the house was so sad that I instantly wanted to comfort you. You would only fall back asleep on me, even though you usually prefer to sleep without being held now. I sat down on the couch, and you slept on me while I read a book for about an hour...then Daddy came home and woke you up :) My arm was severely fatigued, muscles were cramped, but I can't think of anything in the world I would have rather been doing. I love you.
Mommy
I know it's a goofy face, but I couldn't resist.
