Scoops is 7 Months

Yesterday, Scoops turned 7 months old. It's amazing to me how much she's changed in such a short time. She's barely been on the planet for half a year and I'm already missing her newborn cry and that silly falling reflex. Here's what she's been up to recently:

Sitting up is a piece of cake now, and Scoops will stay seated for many minutes at a time, until she feels like being mobile. She's not quite crawling yet, but she's so darn close, and keeps practicing with lots of scooting, wriggling, spinning on her belly, and grabbing and pulling herself around her crib or the floor (if she can find something sturdy to grab onto). She loves making noise by banging her hands on just about anything, and is very fond of high-fiving mommy's chest while nursing. She's babbling away and has lots to say. She's got "boob" and "mama" down, so we're just working on "daddy" now to make sure all the essentials are covered. Also, mommy swears she hears "I love you" once in a while, but that remains debatable for now. We've started incorporating some French into our vocabulary, particularly when we read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? Unfortunately, mommy's French sucks, so Scoops will have to make up for that later when she knows what's what. She's getting stronger, and can pull herself up to sitting from a reclined position (not from lying flat on her back, thank goodness, because mommy's not ready to lower the crib yet). From sitting, she can actually pull herself up to standing sometimes. The walker she got for Easter several weeks ago has made her fearless, and she loves to practice taking steps when holding onto someone's hands. We're certainly not trying to encourage her to become an early walker, but we may not have a choice in the matter. Except for one morning when she woke up about 40 minutes early, she slept through the night (10-12 hours) 21 days in a row! Unfortunately, the past 3 nights she has been waking 1, then 2, then 3 times. So tragic. We're blaming it on that elusive first tooth, and hoping it will make its dreaded appearance soon so we can be over it.

We're excited to see what the coming weeks will bring, and look forward to sharing Scoops' development with you!

What are some of your favorite 7 month happenings? Has your baby passed this age? What are some fond memories? If your baby hasn't reached this age yet, what are you looking forward to or worried about?