THE BECK FAMILY: Elle's Seventh Month

At Elle's sixth month appointment Dr. Petrovich asked me if Elle was babbling words that begin with consonants. I said no even though I remembered her saying "yaw, yaw" while chatting in her crib. I started by repeating "da, da" to Elle a few times. The next thing I knew, she was repeating "da, da" over and over again... and over and over! Aaron was over the moon when he came home and heard her call him. She didn't know she was calling him, but after a few reactions from Aaron she was all smiles and giggles!. They have this same conversation every day before Aaron leaves for work and when he comes home. It's the sweetest!

This month:
-Elle is a chatterbox! She chats, squeals, yells, and grunts. Reece even provokes an agitated scream out of her when he takes something away from her.
-Speaking of screaming, she is becoming FEISTY! We keep telling Reece that he better be nice now because he's going to get payback once she is mobile and better able to defend herself!
-Sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, and a mix of barley, oats, and spelt have all been added to her diet. She eats, but not well. She would rather be playing, chatting, or watching us. Regardless, we are feeding her three times a day and giving her four six-ounce bottles.
-We had no idea Elle was teething until her first tooth appeared on February 25. Unfortunately her second tooth didn't break through until March 20 (almost a month later)! To soothe the pain, she sucks her lips in over her gums to look like a little, old lady. It's pretty cute!
-Elle is taking much better naps now. Most days she only takes two naps, one from approximately 9-10:30AM and one from approximately 1:00-3:00PM or later. I've been able to consistently put both Reece and Elle down at the same time in the afternoon.
-Diaper changes are challenging now that Elle is becoming more active. She wiggles, kicks, and lifts her bum at just the right time making it difficult for even an expert diaper changer.
-Elle has excellent motor-control of her hands and can grasp a swinging toy or lunge forward to grab a toy far out in front of her. She is getting really brave and will lunge without fear toward anything she wants. We have to be really careful while holding her or while she is on the changing table.
-Elle loves, loves, loves to sit. She is so good at it, she never falls. This has limited her back and tummy time, so she isn't rolling around as much as she used to. When she is on her tummy, she will rotate in a circle or scoot backward as she is playing. She just started to roll from her tummy to her back and vice-versa while sleeping in her crib.
-We cut the long side of Elle's hair and unfortunately remembered to save it (for her baby book) after we threw it away. Oh well! We will have to save a clipping when she gets her first official haircut. Everyone kept telling us to leave it and that it would all catch up in time. As you can see from the pictures below that that was not going to happen!
-Elle is waving goodbye now! It's sweet to watch her wave goodbye to Aaron each morning as he leaves for work. She watches him as he walks down the outside hall to the stairs. Every few feet or so he turns and waves. She lights up, smiles, and waves back at him. Reece is always at Aaron's side and once he reaches the stairs they say goodbye, throw kisses and Reece runs back to me. This exchange makes me smile and is a sweet way to start our day.