dear mila, you’re seven months old!

dear mila,

seven months looks so good on you. you’ve grown and developed so much in the last couple of months — weeks even. it’s hard to believe you’re the same tiny baby who used to sleep non-stop. you’re always awake now, and always so active!

you crawl.
you stand.
we think you’re getting ready to walk.

it’s awesome, and amazing and terrifying all at the same time.

you’re such a good eater. you have two solid meals a day, and snack on every thing we eat in the interim. you still wake up twice a night to nurse, which is just fine, because i (secretly) cherish the ten minutes i spend holding you in the middle of the night. everything is quiet, dad and mochi are asleep. you’re so floppy and cuddly when you’re half asleep, i can hardly stand it. you’re getting heavier and heavier, though. it’s almost hard to carry you! you’re nearly 18-pounds!

mila, your smile is the best thing i’ve ever seen. it’s so big, it takes up your whole face! this giant smile of yours is the same one you give everyone, all the time. it’s amazing. it looks like you’re posing for the camera, but you’re totally not. i hold the camera with one hand (thank goodness for auto focus), peek to the side of it and smile — and this is how you return the favor. i hope you always smile like this.

you laugh hysterically when mochi comes in the room. he walks in and your big eyes light up and you start growling (that’s how you laugh these days, you growl. it’s weird, but it’s your thing and we love it). you love petting him, but it usually turns into hair pulling. thankfully, he’s patient. and tough. you, on the other hand, are not such a good listener. we repeat “gentle, gentle”, to no avail. mochi doesn’t seem to mind too much.

you crawl so fast! in just two weeks, you’ve gone from flopping around the floor to get where you want to go, to full on, bell-off-the-ground crawling. and two days later, you were pulling up to stand on your own! now you’re starting to let go and stand for a second on your own. i know you’ll be walking soon, and mila, the house just isn’t baby-proofed enough yet, so please slow down. please?

also, since i’m begging you, can i also ask you to say “mama”? you make so many mmmm sounds, and i say mama to you ten thousand times a day hoping you’ll say it back. come on! indulge me! say mama!

mila, dad and i love you so much. watching you grow up is life’s greatest joy. we thank God for you every day. we don’t deserve you, but we’re sure happy you’re here.

love,
mama