7 months (written 4/29)

I can't believe another month has flown by.  McKenna is growing so fast!  In the last month she has become a lot more fiery.  She is less laid back than I originally thought, but she is still as sweet as can be.  She lets us know when she wants to eat and objects to some of what we try to feed her.  She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to tell us when we're doing something wrong.  She loves to be held and will sometimes cry quite loudly if we aren't obliging.  It makes tasks like dinner, changing Jake, or really doing anything with 2 hands a little challenging. That's not all the time, though.  Sometimes she is thrilled to just sit and watch what's going on around her.

McKenna is now a master sitter.  She (almost) never falls anymore and she enjoys playing on a blanket with some toys (at least for short periods).  Jake has enjoyed this too, and often brings her toys if she starts to get fussy, although he's been known to take what she's playing with too.

McKenna loves food.  Our pediatrician said that around 6 months babies often declare themselves as "milk babies" or "food babies."  McKenna has definitely declared "food baby."  She goes crazy when we eat, although she really can't have anything aside from jarred baby food and yogurt.  She loves eating, but she hasn't quite figured it out yet.  Jake ate fine right from the beginning, so it's been fun (and sometimes quite comical) to see her try and figure it out.  She has no idea what to do with that active tongue of hers, but I feel like she is getting better at swallowing her food, which really improves her mood.  She likes yogurt quite a bit, and has been doing well with lots of new fruits and vegetables (all pureed, of course).

McKenna is an awesome night-time sleeper.  She's been going to bed around 9:30pm and not getting up until about 10am.  Andrew does go in to feed her a bottle before he leaves for school around 7, but that doesn't seem to even wake her up.  She drinks her milk best when she's asleep these days anyway, so it works out great.  She's been having 4 bottles a day, plus yogurt in the morning and a vegetable in the evening. Her naps are so/so and not nearly as regular as Jake's were, but she usually sleeps twice a day, once for 2 hours and once for 30 min to an hour.  She wakes up incredibly happy and makes it obvious by whining when she's ready for her crib, which is the only place she'll happily sleep these days.  She loves her bed!

McKenna is feisty and demanding at times, but she is as cute and sweet as can be.  She loves being held, being tossed in the air, hanging upside down, walking around in someones arms, being sung to, anything electronic, our dog, and attention.  Her favorite toy is a stuffed bunny from Kim and Darrell, but she's happy to chew on whatever she can get into her mouth.  She is great at picking things up and is able to get way more than we ever think is within her reaching range.  She still has no teeth, but her gummy grin is adorable.  Her eyes haven't quite picked a color yet- some days we think they're blue, then brown, then green, but mostly we guess they are gray.  She is wearing 6-9 and 9 month clothing, but her 0-3 month shoes are still too big- at least in length.  Her tiny feet are so chubby it's crazy, and adorable.  I love this little girl, and being her mom is the best!