Happy 7-Month Birthday, Ethan!

OK. This is not funny anymore. Time is just racing by! Seven months have gone by in a flash. At this time last year, I was so looking forward to my summer break from school. Now, I'm willing time to slow down so I can enjoy my last few months of stay-at-home motherhood. 

Stats: No official stats this month. No unofficial stats this month either, for that matter. If I had to guess, I'd say Ethan weighed 16 pounds, 8 ounces, or thereabouts. He's still a very long baby. In fact, at least three people tell me that per day. No joke.

Likes: Gymboree would rank highly on his list of likes. Thanks to their Summer Passport, we go at least two or three times a week. He does Tummy Time there without protest. He has recently discovered his love for balls. We are working on rolling balls back and forth. Ethan is still a huge fan of Sophie the Giraffe. Sometimes in the car, he gets carried away with her, throws her out of his seat, and when he finds she is not coming back, he starts whining and fussing. It took me a few times before I connected the fussing with the strewn aside Sophie. Ethan also likes to play with musical toys, like his Baby Einstein radio. He enjoys controlling all the sounds and tunes.

Dislikes: Fortunately, this list is dwindling. There are very few things I can add to this. In terms of food, anything green (save zucchini) continue to be rejected by Ethan. He does not like being in his car seat unless it is moving, which is kind of a pain. He's outgrown the whole "nap in the car seat" thing, unless he's in the car or the stroller. If he's napping and I take him out, he wakes up within 15 minutes.

Tricks: Ethan is now sitting, unassisted, and he's really good at it, too. He loves sitting amongst his toys, reaching for different things, and putting them in his mouth. Since he is sitting so well, we stopped using the baby bathtub, and have Ethan sitting in the regular tub. It's adorable. He is successfully rolling onto his side from his back, but that's as far as he's gotten. He did manage to roll onto his tummy in the crib at Momma and Pops' house (while his legs were stuck between the bars), which he was not happy about, but we've never actually seen him do it. He is reaching out to be held. He mostly does it for me and Kevin, but he has also reached out for Uncle Yuval! Some new Ethan-approved solids are apricots, peaches, zucchini, and prunes. Most importantly, Ethan is no longer swaddled!! Wahoo! He now sleeps with a larger version of GiGi. The transition went pretty well, although some nights I still think he's transitioning, but we are very fortunate that he did as well as he did.

Mom: I'm making great strides. My anxiety in the morning is slowly diminishing. I'm on my third or fourth (can't remember anymore!) week staying by myself while Kevin is gone, and I'm doing well with it. I've also decided to get back into running. I went to the gym and dropped Ethan off in the babysitting room. We both did well! I've set some goals for myself, and am confident that I can reach them.