7 Months

What a month!!!  We have seen some of the biggest changes in Cannon this last month - I said the other day how it seems that during this last month, he changed from being a  helpless little infant to an active baby!  His little personality is really starting to shine through and we are loving it.  He is just so laid back, although we are getting little glimpses here and there that he will keep us on our toes just like his big sister.  I don't know if we can handle two active little ones (and of course an almost pre-teen).....hahahaha.  We have definitely got our work cut out for us!  Cannon is just so much fun now and I am loving my days during the week when its just the two of us.  Here's a little of what he is up to these days:

•Weighs 18.6 lbs acccording to our bathroom scale

•Wears size 3 diapers

•Wearing 6 months and 6-9 month size clothing

•Drinks 7 ozs in each bottle

•Eating baby food - so far he has had sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans, applesauce, pears, bananas, peaches. We usually give him a fruit in the morning for a late breakfast and then a veggie in the evening for dinner. He's doing much much better now with eating - especially the fruit - he actually starts whining if I don't feed him fast enough.  Now with veggies - he will eat them, but he definitely gets more distracted.

•Sitting up pretty well - still wouldn't leave him to play on his own - he loves to reach for things and forgets about the balance thing and would do a faceplant if I wasn't there to catch him.

•Pushing up on his arms & knees - the crawling position.  Not at the same time yet...but working on trying to figure it all out.

•Loves to stand up and jump on your lap while holding him - he is so strong!

•Loves to grab his feet and play with them and put them in his mouth...lol

•I have nicknamed him 'Octopus Arms' b/c he grabs at everything that is within reach of him.  He grabs at the blinds next to his change table, mine & Brookie's hair - and he gets such tight hold on it - takes awhile to untangle his fingers - ouch!  Last week we went out to eat and he started fussing so I figured I would just hold him on my lap while I ate - BIG MISTAKE!!! He was grabbing everything - my burger, the napkins, my drink,the wrapper etc.  It took both Andy & me trying to get everything away from him before he grabbed the next thing - it was actually pretty funny.

•Still no sign of teeth...still waiting for the first to appear.

•Recently found his ears and loves to mess with them.  This is going to make it challenging for us to know whether he is just playing with them or messing with them b/c they are bothering him. 


•Still a GREAT sleeper - has his last bottle around 8:15pm and will sleep on average for 12 straight hours.

I'm attempting to work on his sleeping arrangements again...dreading it.  Right now he is sleeping in his crib for all naps/ and at night but since I put him in his crib when he was so young, I put him so that he lays  across the short end and the rest of the crib was blocked off - just felt more cozy and secure when he was younger.  Plus he is still swaddled.  I know the time is coming where he is going to outgrow them and he is already in the biggest size they have out there.  So today was test #1 - nap time without the swaddle and having the whole crib to sleep in.  He fussed for a long while and then finally gave up and fell asleep.  He woke up about an hour later and fussed some more before falling back asleep for another hour.  So all in all - not a total disaster, but definitely room for improvement.  Needless to say - tonight he is back to sleeping in his swaddle and sleeping in the short end of the crib.  I think I will concentrate on naps first and get him used to the idea of having the whole crib before messing with his night time sleep (and Mommy & Daddy's sleep too).

•Takes 2 naps a day - one longer one about 2-2.5 hours and the other around an hour

•Loves to chew on his Sophie the Giraffe chew toy .  Yes, I broke down and actually bought one after hearing so many people say how wonderful it is.  And its worth every penny of the $20 I spent for a glorified chew toy that looks like it could have been found at Petsmart.  It really is a great toy for chewing on and so easy for them to hold since its just the right size and shape.

•Loves his jumperoo and bounces around like crazy in it.  Also loves the walker when we are outside playing.

•He is a rolling machine!  He can move clear across a room in 5 seconds flat.  There have been a few times I have turned my back and looked back to where he was and he's nowhere to be seen - he rolled his way into a corner behind the couch or something.  Oh the fun times that are on their way with him being mobile...

•He is such a HAPPY baby now - smiles all the time and at everyone!  LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!  Everywhere we go, thats the first thing people say - wow, he is such a happy baby!!!!  I just laugh and say if only they saw him the first 4 months...totally different story.  I love when he gives his bashful smile...it is just so cute!

•He has become such a laid back & calm baby - he is just so easy going.  He is my little shopper - he will just hang out in his stroller and not make a peep.  Brookie was always more challenging when she was little when I went shopping - she hated sitting still for any length of time - always had to be on the go.

•Loves getting kisses and being tickled - will make him squeal and giggle.

•Babbles constantly.  He has said ma ma several times - but its always been when he is fussing.....just sounds so funny.....he will be crying and all you hear is "ma maaaaaa"  clear as day.  Not really sure he really means it but still fun to hear.  Just today he started saying "ba ba".  So the babbles are progressing as they should be according to all the milestone lists.
•He is such a snuggler..he will just curl up into your neck/chest when you are holding - soooo sweet!  I am enjoying every minute of him like this b/c I know he will soon be too busy to be like that.

And now - the pics.  I think its safe to say that the days of getting cute pics of him posing with his sign are long gone!  Today, the second I put him down, he snatched up his sign (aka 'Octopus Arms') and starting chewing on it.  Then I moved it up out of his reach and then he found the blanket....oh the fun times!  But anyway... now its funny to see the pics that I do get - I think it really shows his personality...lol.  Enjoy!

This is probably the best shot we got today.....

This is how it all started...the minute I put Cannon down on the chair to start taking pictures, he lunged for his sign...

So a lot of the pics were taken minus his '7 Month' sign...

Such a ham!!!  Love his smiles!

 Found a way to pose with his sign....up above his head and out of his reach

Plotting his next move - how to get the sign down!!!

Looking all innocent with his little grin...

Giving me the 'I'm not up to anything look....'

Trying to avoid eye contact - not sure how long he can hold his straight face....

Oh!!! But wait....someone noticed where the sign was after a minute...but how to get it?

 Well he decided chewing on the blanket will have to do...

 Oh...but wait again!  If I pull on the blanket...the sign comes with it!  SCORE!!!

 Just relaxing and acting like he doesn't care about his sign....

Clearly he was just pretending!  He thought if he scrunched it up, he would be done with pics...

But nope...Mommy had to get one more....Cannon was NOT happy about it!

So we tried taking a pic with Brookie too....

And these are what we got....not an easy task!

I failed to get a pic of Cannon grabbing onto Brookie's hair for dear life...but this was the outcome....

 Poor Brookie...she has no idea how difficult her life is about to become with a little brother...hehehehe.  This is the best smile I could get out of her after the hair pulling incident.

 Finally - we are done with the chair and posing for pics - now its tummy time!!!  I never thought we'd get to this point with this little man - actually enjoying being on his tummy...but now he actually prefers it.

 This is how we find Cannon most times while on the floor - a rolling machine everywhere!!!

He's really starting to push up on his arms and get up on his knees - but hasn't figured how to do them both at the same time....

 Thinking about what and/or where to go next.....

Just rolling around on the floor enjoying his space...

  

Such a big boy!

Fascinated by the ceiling fan above him.....