7 months

Yup, Olivia is 7 months old. No freak-out this month. Simply excitement and joy.

I could sit here and write the milestones that Olivia has reached or is reaching, and I will, but only briefly, because I want to do something a little different this month.

Today Olivia and I went to the park and we sat there enjoying each other and I was thinking about the past 7 months. My life was completely different 7 months ago. I have learned a lot about myself, my strengths, my weakness, but mostly I have learned about a little girl. My little Angel.

So yes, she sits up all by herself now and quite independently too. She falls over occasionally but then she occupies herself rather fast and the fall quickly fades away. Yes, she eats solid foods but really enjoys food that she can eat with her hands and not with the spoon...she thinks the spoon is stupid. Unless she is holding it herslelf. No, she is not sleeping through the night. Yes, she is a terrible sleeper. Yes she can roll over and does do it...but she does not roll all over the place. I think she is happy just to be...to observe...to play. Yes she babbles and occasionally says things like "da-da" and "ma-ma" even though I know she doesn't know what they mean. She weighs over 16lbs, the girl loves to eat her mama's milk. No, she has no teeth yet, for which I am quite grateful. Yes, she still puts everything in  her mouth.

All of these things are wonderful. I would be lying if I said that these things didn't make me happy (minus the no sleeping part), but that's not what makes Olivia....Olivia. These are milestones, things babies learn to accomplish and all at different rates, but it's not why I love her.

There is me: I warm up to people rather quickly and I can make myself fit into a big crowd, small crowd, whatever and feel right at home.

Then there is Olivia: She isn't shy. But maybe more reserved. Almost from the day she was born she was this way. Put her in a group of people.....let her warm up to the people. Let her watch me interact with the people in a positive way and eventually she will accept them into "her people" category. But put her in the arms of someone she is not familiar with right away and she is very unsure. I know that they reach a stage of Separation Anxiety and Stranger Danger but like I said, she has been this way almost from birth. I love it. I love learning about her personality. I think she is more like her Daddy this way. Not shy, just a little more reserved.

I love how observant she is. She watches everyone and everything. She hears every sound, sees every shiny object, and watches like a hawk. I think it will take her some time to really crawl and walk because I simply think she is just happy to "be". She is happy to watch the world around her and soak it all in. Oh how I love to watch her soak it all in.

Right now the phrase "attached at the hip." is quite literal around here. Makes it harder to get things done, but it is always nice to be needed.

She is a happy girl. Sometimes I think because she doesn't sleep well that she is going to be ornery and upset during the day....but no, she wants to be happy, and so she is. She gets that mouth open as wide as it can go and then smiles almost constantly. It isn't hard to get smiles from this one. Her smiles make my day every. single. day.

Remember I said she wasn't shy right? She is an attention hog. We will be out and about and I will see her smiling at complete strangers just to get their attention. Sometimes they see her and it is so fun to watch the smiles it brings to people's faces. They get a taste of what I get all the time. Sometimes they don't see her smiling at them and she stops smiling and quickly finds the next person to smile at. She knows she will get a reaction and she loves it. It kills me how smart little ones are. I love it.

She has the sweetest voice. But she isn't a talk -a - holic. I have seen many babies just babble and babble and babble all day long. That isn't Olivia. She picks when she really wants to talk and then good luck getting her to stop. But a lot of times she is just happy to "be." and other times she wants to talk and its usually to herself. Put her in a big group and she is as quiet as a mouse. Recently Olivia and I took a business trip to Colorado and she was so quiet the whole time. The day we got home....she was talking up a storm. She knew she was home with mom and dad and she felt more comfortable. I have a feeling this little girl is going to be some what of a home body.

I have learned so much from her. I have learned patience. I have learned how to love more than I ever thought possible. I have learned how much love she has inside of her. I have learned what the word "pure" means. I have learned so many things but so many of those things are indescribable. I can't put them into words. I just know....that watching her little personality grow and blossom makes me happy and I can't wait for the coming months....can't wait to get to know more about my little girl. My little Angel.

I know this was long so if you made it to the end: Thank you...and Congratulations! haha.