Seven Months Old

Well, time continues to move along at warp speed for us. Shelby is an absolutely delightful baby. We feel so lucky. Here's what she's doing nowadays:

• Shelby is getting better about tolerating tummy time. She is not really into being on her tummy, playing on her tummy or sleeping on her tummy. She went from fussing immediately during tummy time to putting up with it, but only if you distract her with a toy or book. She is great at sitting up but not really into being on her stomach or rolling. She rolled for a while but then it was like she got bored with it and stopped once she figured out how to sit up. Is this normal?
• I think she is almost crawling. Sort of. She sort of wiggles her butt around like she's thinking about propelling herself forward but she hasn't quite figured out the mechanics of it yet. I think she's close. Or not. Who knows.
• Shelby still does not have any teeth but I think she is starting to teethe. She was fussy last night and felt slightly warm. She also hasn't felt much like eating solids at dinner for the past couple of nights. She has also expressed a new interest in chewing on straps or anything fabric-like. Perhaps I should give her some chilled washcloths.
• She is obsessed with the cat. Whenever he comes into the room or passes by her field of vision she's instantly fixated on him and will stare intently at him. He has even tolerated her petting him a time or two.
• Shelby is making lots of fun new noises and sounds and is really starting to babble now. The sounds bla, da, ba and la are her favorites. But what about ma?!
• It's really entertaining to plop her down next to a small container with a bunch of her toys in it. She will carefully remove each toy one at a time, inspect it, toss it aside and move on to the next toy. If a toy is particularly interesting it might get a chomp or chew. The look on her face of total concentration during this game is absolutely precious.
• She expresses happiness and excitement when you pick her up. She wiggles all of her limbs up and down in this coordinated happy dance we like to call "Happy Baby Starfish."
• Shelby is becoming more skilled in eating solid foods and actually keeping the food in her mouth. When you hold the spoon in front of her she will open her mouth for a bite. We call this "Happy Baby Bird Mouth." We are weird.
• As for the poos that come with solids... Oh. Oh my. We shall not speak of them. Every time we change a diaper, we quote Anchorman. "It's quite pungent. Stings the nostrils."