The McKay Family: Eleanor is 7 Months Old!

**DISCLAIMER**This post is the longest I have ever posted! Our seven month old has many new discoveries that I need to tell you about!

On Christmas Day Eleanor turned seven months old. She is at such a fun age. She really enjoyed Christmas this year. I wasn't sure what to expect from her with opening presents and having so many people around in one setting. She really had a blast and enjoyed all the attention. She especially loves to play with other kids. She is fascinated by them. Initially, she will just watch them and then she wants down to play. She always seems to gravitate towards other kids. She is a little social butterfly. Luckily we have not experienced a high level of separation anxiety that many of you moms have warned me about at her age. She has cried for me when we were at home and her daddy had her and she saw me, but luckily that has not transferred to other people or settings, just Daddy at home. Sorry Daddy. It is always a bittersweet moment when she does this, because in one sense it is like, "Yeah, she really loves me!", but I feel bad for Chris at the same time.

Well....within the last month Eleanor has discovered how to pull up on EVERYTHING- her crib, the couch, ottoman, chair, Pack n Play, Tv stand, end tables- you name it she has pulled up to investigate it. Eleanor has bumped her head a few times on these objects thus causing Mommy to remain in a constant state of, well, PANIC. Luckily, I have a pretty tough daughter because she rarely cries when this happens. I get very worried when she is standing in her crib and I will go in and either get her out or put her back down to go back to sleep. On two occasions she has stood in her crib and reached for the side putting a big gap between her body and the side of the crib causing her to slip on the covers, fall, and bump her head against the side. Of course screaming follows, but luckily we have not had a bump or bruise come up yet, although I am sure that it is inevitable. As a result, Mommy is petrified that this will happen again and if I hear her standing up I immediately run in her room to stop her. I can't tell you how many times I have shot up from my bed and ran into her room to stop her before she bumps her head. She has also discovered how to stand by herself, which is also terrifying for Mommy. The longest that she has stood alone without holding anything is about 10 seconds. She has attempted to step a couple of times when she is standing alone but she falls immediately. She does, however; move from one piece of furniture to the other and she takes actual steps to do this, but she is holding on as she does this.

We are also in the process of teething. Eleanor already has two teeth on the bottom front part of her mouth, but the pediatrician says that she can feel some coming on the top as well. Ok, your going to think I am weird- but when Eleanor first cut her teeth (@6 months) and I looked at her with them for the first time, I thought, "my little girl isn't a baby baby anymore". It was a sad moment. Now I think it makes her look too stinkin' cute to have her little toofies. She has also started to bite down on her spoon as she eats. She thinks this is so funny and will smile and laugh as she does it which looks so cute. Her favorite foods are carrots and sweet potatoes. We have recently found out that she is not a big fan of green beans. Mommy has to combine them with bananas to get them down. She will not just eat them by themselves like she does all of the other veggies. We have not come across a certain food that she just refuses to eat. I think she is a lot like her daddy in this regard because he will eat basically anything.

Eleanor spoke her first word at 7 months also. For the last couple of months my mother, Chris's mom and many others had claimed that Eleanor had said "momma" when she cried. I heard her several times throughout the last couple of months but it wasn't a clear "momma" it was more like "mmmmommmmma"- more like a moan than actual words but it did sound a lot like momma. Well, she actually said "momma" loud and clear on New Year's Day. Chris witnessed this as well. She wasn't fussing or crying, she was just playing in her excisaucer and as I walked up to her she just said, "Momma" and looked right at me. Talk about melt your heart!!!

My little seven month old enjoys.................................

Playing with Mommy