7 Months.

7 Months.

Oliver is 7 months old today. Seven! I can't believe he is now closer to a 1 year old than a newborn. We had a pediatrician appointment today, and it went relatively well. I was able to talk really candidly with the doctor about vaccinations, which was a huge help. I don't think she really argues with people about their decisions, but she engaged me in conversation about it, probably because I was so obviously a conflicted mess about the issue. I think she's so used to people having their minds made up, which is surprising to me, because it's been (and continues to be) such a tough decision for us. We basically decided to wait some more.

Ollie had the slowest growth of his entire life, gaining a mere pound in two months. I remember when homeboy was packing on a pound a week! He's now 21 lbs, 3 oz. So close to being triple his birth weight!

He's also now moving backward pretty seriously. You can't turn away from him for a minute lest he end up beneath the couch. And his cheeks, they continue to be out of control. I'm guessing that entire new pound is in his cheeks.

His recent lack of cuddliness (probably one of the hardest parenting things I've experienced so far) seems to be transforming a bit. He'll now clunk his head down on my chest or shoulder randomly, and stay there for a little snuggle. We do get plenty of sweet time together, but it usually involves him eating or sleeping. Heh. He's also started resting his head sideways while he's on his tummy, which is painfully cute. I can't believe he's waited 7 months to find a comfortable resting position, because his head is indeed quite large. Heeeead! Pants! Now!

His favorite books these days continue to be the "Sheep in a _____" series (we have ...Shop and ...Jeep), "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?," and "Who Lives Here? What Do They Say?," which is the most random soft book ever. It has a "seal," and that's in quotes because it looks absolutely nothing like a seal. The sheep, I mean, "sheep" at the end also looks more like a teddy bear than a sheep. But still, he absolutely adores the book. And, while I'm insulting his taste in literature, a note about the Sheep in a ____ books. I would never have thought to pick these up on my own. They're pastel colored, which I'm so over. And, the drawings of the sheep are kind of ugly. However, the sing-songy, rhyme-y lyrics use a lot of funny sounds, which makes him giggle. Beep Beep! Sheep in a Jeep! I think he has the same love for the Sheep books as he does for the alphabet song. Grown ups are so silly with all those dorky consonants. They really should just stick with bahbahbah, blahblahblah, and the odd mamama like all the cool kids.

One of my favorite parts of his little personality is that if someone else is holding him, and he starts to cry until I take him, he'll almost always turn back towards whoever was holding him, stop crying instantly and give them a giant, beaming, gummy smile. He doesn't hold grudges, I guess. Maybe I should take some notes from him. Sure, the obvious answer to this is that he just wants to feel a little more secure being held by mama, and then he's fine interacting and smiling at whoever, wherever. But a little part of me thinks that he feels some compassion, and knows that smiling back at the person will cheer them up instead of leaving them wondering what they did to make him cry. And that tiny little suggestion of my kind little boy makes me all weepy and sappy.

I'm so, so blessed to know this child.