Seven Is a Wonderful Number

Seven days of creation.

Seven colors in a rainbow.

Seven members of my family.

And now, seven months of Moriah's life.

Yep, seven is GREAT!  :)

At seven months old, Moriah continues to charm us with her easy-going, happy personality.  She's just an easy girl to take care of!  (And of course, she's very easy to love and adore.)  :)

 She sleeps all through the night, from about 8:15 p.m. to 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. the next morning (although those times are very flexible).  When she gets awake, she lays in her crib, looks around her room, and sucks on her fingers until I come to get her.  Only occasionally does she whimper at all while she's waiting.  Last night she uncharacteristically cried a little while after I had put her to bed, so of course, I checked on her; I found that she had turned herself around and wiggled herself backwards so that both of her legs were sticking out through the crib slats and she could not propel herself forward or roll over.  In addition, she had spit up a little on the sheet and had her face in a wet spot, and she needed to burp!  Once all of those issues were resolved, she was happy as a clam and went calmly and quietly to sleep.  :)  A few mornings ago, she started crying sometime after 6:00 a.m.  Knowing that it wasn't a normal wake-up time for her, I peeked in on her to make sure she was OK.  By that time, she had quieted down and wasn't crying at all, so I left her in her crib to see if she would go back to sleep, which she did, for more than an hour.  When I got her up, I realized that one of her legs wasn't down in the leg of the sleeper like it should have been but was sort of tucked up against her body.  She didn't seem to be in pain at all, but I suddenly understand why she cried out early that day.  Other than those kinds of occurrences, her sleep is peaceful and sweet.

 As always, I had lots of fun taking these pictures of Moriah; and this time, I also had a good time experimenting with some different editing options with them.  The picture above, for example, is edited with a 1960s look.  Even though I wasn't born until 1976  ;-), I can't help but see myself when I see that picture.  Is it because Moriah looks like I did as a baby?  Or is it simply because of the colors and feel of the photo because of the editing?

 During this past month, Moriah had her first haircut, and she also graduated to taking baths sitting up in the regular bathtub with the help of a bath ring.  She is much better able to play and splash in the water with that, rather than her old baby bathtub, and I love to watch her have fun in the water.  Other things Moriah enjoys at this stage are sitting in the Bumbo in the playpen (or lying down in the playpen) and playing with toys there; lying down anywhere (the floor of her room, my bed, in the laundry room, on the guest bed, anywhere really) and playing with toys (or even some "non-toys," like an empty wipes bag that made a fun crinkly sound when she squished it in her hands); and swinging in her swing (although she doesn't get to do that as much as she used to because Jed tends to come over when she's in it and lick her hands and face, so we save the swing for times when Jed isn't around).  The thing that perhaps gives her the greatest pleasure these days however is being in the Johnny jump-up.  Usually during quiet time, I'll hang it in the door of Josiah and David's room or Tobin and Shav's room or a doorway of whatever room I happen to be working in and she jumps and kicks and dances all around while watching whoever of us happens to be in her line of vision.  I remember how much Shav used to LOVE the Johnny jump-up, and I do believe Moriah is following in his footsteps.  Of course, the other thing Moriah enjoys is being held in someone's arms; and fortunately there are plenty of arms that are happy to hold her.  :)

 As far as food goes, Moriah continued to eat well and heartily during this past month.  Besides rice cereal and oatmeal (baby cereal), I also fed her green beans and peas (from our regular food, not baby food); she seemed to like the peas more than the beans.  I also fed her baby food sweet potatoes and baby food squash; and after the first few bites which made her face break out in hilarious-to-see grimaces, she quickly got used to them and ate them well.  The other big food change this month is that she advanced to Cheerios--and then, a few weeks later, to sweet potato puffs.  When I spread some out on the highchair tray in front of her, she reaches for them and manages to get one or two in her chubby little fist; but so far I haven't seen her manage to put one in her mouth by herself.  No matter.  It's no trouble for me to pop them in her mouth, and sometimes I have little helpers who enjoy doing it, too.  :)  I really love the Cheerio stage.  It makes feeding a baby at home so much easier (and less messy), and it really helps when out and about with baby.  For example, during Josiah and David's violin recital last night, I was popping Cheerios in Moriah's mouth to quiet her (she wasn't fussing, but she was buzzing her lips and making other happy sounds which I normally love to hear, but didn't want to have her doing during the recital).  :)

One thing that is unique about how Moriah eats is that after almost every bite of soft food (rice cereal or squash or whatever), she sticks the middle two fingers of her left hand into her mouth and sucks on them a little bit.  After she does that, she pops them back out and is ready for another bite.  :)  It reminds me of the thing you use when chopping food in a food processor--the thing that pushes the food down into the part where the blade is.  (Is there a name for that thing?)  It's as if Moriah is pushing down the food with her two fingers.  :)  When she first started doing that, I thought I would try to break her of that habit; but then I reconsidered.  Even though it's a little messy, it's not really a big deal at all because after she eats, I have to wipe up her face and hands anyway, so who cares if there is a little more sweet potato to wipe up?  Besides, I can tell when she's ready for a bite because she takes her fingers out.  So I just let her keep doing it and didn't try to fight that battle.  :)

Watching Moriah with her big brothers is a special delight.  She good-naturedly ignores their noise...

 ...puts up with their exuberant hugs and kisses...

 ...and even laughs at their jokes.

What do I love the most about Moriah?  I love the way she giggles when I lay her on the changing table and she knows I'll probably tickle her neck.  I love the way she smiles at the animals that dance on the mobile above her when I wind it up after laying her in her crib.  I love the way she lifts her head and welcomes me when I go into her room to get her out of bed.  I love the way she's found her voice and practices using it to babble with all kinds of sounds (including "dada," but I don't think she connects it with Jeff yet at all...however, I think he's going to win the "dada/mama" race because I don't hear her saying the "m" sound much at all, but she definitely says the "d" one).  I love the way she moves her fingers sometimes when her grandpa and grandma get ready to leave after supper; is she waving goodbye?  I love how she softens the hearts of those of us who are privileged to call her ours.  I love how she's changed us as a family.

It's been a wonderful seven months, Moriah.  Thank You, God, for giving her to us!!!