10.16.11 - Seven Months Old

Cale is officially over the half way mark to his first birthday!  It's been a fun month with him - he just continues to shock me with how much he learns and how he changes on a day to day basis!  Cale has become VERY active...and he continues to become more and more active...it makes me a little nervous for when he starts to crawl (which isn't too far away) - I'm going to be exhausted!  

He not only is active when he is awake, but also when he was asleep.  

Check out the bed head to prove it...

Cale dropped his third nap this month, which has made it so much easier to get out and do things during the day.  He is on a great schedule (for now)...he wakes up between 7:30-8:00am, goes down for nap #1 at 10am, wakes up between 11:30-12:00pm, goes back down for nap #2 around 3pm, wakes at 4:30pm and then goes to bed for the night around 8pm.  We dropped the "dream feed" this month, and it didn't seem to phase him at all. 

 When he was younger and I was trying to get him on a schedule, people told me I was crazy!  Now that he's older and we've been consistent "training" him to fall back asleep on his own if he wakes early, it is SO nice!  He is so predictable and it makes my days with him so much easier.  It's fun to plan lunches and play-dates with friends.  The down side of a scheduled baby is that nap-time usually doesn't happen unless it's at home.  As in, Cale doesn't sleep very well in his car seat...in fact, he will rarely fall asleep in his car seat, so I have to make sure we're back home by nap time.  That's not a big deal to me, but I know some people prefer the flexibility.  I like the time at home during Cale's  nap to get things done and to just be still for a bit.

Now that Cale is only napping twice during the day, he is exhausted by bedtime.  He rarely falls asleep before he makes it to the bed, but one night last week, he couldn't quite make it...

Our pediatrician told us that we could try giving Cale some yogurt this month.  We tried - he hated it.  We tried it again - he spit it right back out.  So, one day when we were out running errands, I stopped to get some yogurt - you know, the live cultures, natural, fro-yo stuff?  Well, I got the plain yogurt and decided to give Cale a TINY bite...I really didn't think he would like it.  I. was. wrong!!

First Taste

"It's SOOO cold, Mom!!"

"But, I love it!"

"More Please!"

Cale has also mastered the sippy cup this month.  When we visited my mom, she gave him some water in a straw and he loved it.  After a few weeks of practicing with a straw, I got him a sippy cup with a straw and he went nuts!  It's so cute to watch him suck on his sippy cup! 

We live close to a GREAT mall in Dallas.  Cale and I often go there because a) it's been too hot (until recently) to walk outside, and b) it's the closest Sonic to us and sometimes a diet vanilla coke makes my day.  Here Cale is, loaded up and ready to head inside.  Check out the shoes - they're reversible!  Aren't they so cute!  Of course, my mom found them and didn't stop with just one pair... three pairs were delivered to our house last week!  We never know what might show up at our door, but all joking aside, we are SO appreciative!!

Inside the mall, there are fountains and a pond with turtles and ducks.  Recently, Cale has started to be very interested in the ducks.  He loves to watch them...

Cale has started picking up his puffs and crunchy stix and feeding himself!  That's been fun to watch - he gets SO excited when he gets one in his mouth.  He's getting better at it everyday!

In the last two weeks, he has become completely enamored with our dog, Mickelson.  It's a good thing Mickelson loves him too!  The first thing Cale does when he wakes up in the morning or from naps is look around to find Mickelson.  Then when he spots him, he grins so big!  Sometimes, he even starts laughing.   I put Cale on the floor and Mickelson likes to lick Cale's feet.  Mick is so patient with Cale - we're working on teaching Cale to be gentle, but it's a slow learning process and Mickelson's ears are pulled quite often.

A Sweet Boy and His Sweet Dog...