I know every mother says this but seriously! Where does the time go?!? I can’t deal with this growing up stuff! Your funny expressions and babbling, your little hands finding your soother yourself now and putting it in your mouth. When you are done eating you start gagging as if I've force fed you for the past 10 minutes, like you are literally so full you are going to vomit if I put another piece in your mouth, until a banana comes into your peripheral vision and the hunger seems to reappear!

You went through a little sleep regression phase a couple of weeks ago and we made the bad (but awesome) decision to let you sleep in our bed for a few nights. For the few of us parents who have a baby so independent that they never wanted to sleep near you, never needed the comfort of your touch to go into dreamland, this was a little piece of baby heaven we never experienced. Knowing full well it could be a long term solution (mistake) to a short term problem. Luckily we stopped ourselves after a few days and you were fine to put yourself to sleep in your crib as always. 

Your independence is showing up in the way you play, picking up toy after toy, examining and chewing on them, opening and closing a book, you will entertain yourself for so long this way. It also shows up in a more challenging way when we try to do heinous acts such as wipe your face or de-thaw your food at a less than super human pace.

I had one of the more challenging days I've had with you today, teething is starting to happen and you are whiny and demanding to say the least. Clingy but without wanting to be held, how does that even make sense? Trying to pry the tongue out of my mouth, scratch it with your sharp nails then getting royally pissed when I remove your fists from my mouth. Not wanting to sleep but being so tired your eyes are red, incessant yawning and rubbing your eyes then crying so loud when I put you down for a nap while spinning around in your crib exorcist style. Still, in the car ride back from town I sat in the backseat with you and watched you fall asleep while holding your hand and had to wipe more than a few tears away because I love you so much. I would love nothing more than to be a stay at home mamma to the 7 month old you for the rest of my life.