7 Months Old!!!

I can't believe my baby is 7 months old! Where has the time gone?? He gets more fun everyday so it makes the "missing those infant days" easier! We have been taking a monthly picture since his one month birthday. Today, Monday March 26th Walker is 7 months old. He loves to eat, we started solid food at 6 months. His first food was rice cereal with carrots mixed in. He really liked the carrots! Next, we tried green beans...he wasn't too crazy about them. Then he had bannanas...another favorite, especially mashed up fresh ones! He has also had peaches, peas, applesauce, and squash.  He is on the go, exploring everything. His favorite thing to do right now is chase the dogs. Chloe can handle it sometimes...others she gets cranky and just hides. Avery is very patient and lets him pull up on her, pat her, and just bug her. We have started to experience some separation anxiety. If I am not in the room he is ok until he hears my voice then cries until I hold him. He even lays his head on my chest and peers up at me with those sweet eyes...it melts my heart!

This month took both Peter and I to get the picture. Since he can move he has absolutely no interest in sitting still for me to get the perfect picture. Peter sat him down while I was in position ready to snap the camera...Peter ran around behind me and jumped up and down until I finally got one I liked! I am thankful that he was there and willing to help because I may not have gotten a picture otherwise!

Let the fun begin...

Now that Walker can crawl he is very curious and into everything!!! A few days ago he discovered the dog's water bowl.  I saw him eyeing it and ran to get my camera, I knew this had potential to be pretty funny! (Call me crazy but I think it is fun to watch kids explore new things (if it is safe, of course) even if it has potential to make a mess at first...its how they learn!) 

I got there right after he dumped it...luckily he was in his diaper

Splish splash!

Slipping and sliding

He now likes to try and beat me to the water bowl...good thing I am quicker than he is! :-)

Walker also has a new toy. The door stopper. He loves to hit it and hear it go "boing".  Its so cute to see him sitting by the door, laughing at this make shift toy, while it makes funny sounds.  I'm starting to wonder why we spend all this money on toys when door stoppers, keys, phones, remotes, etc. are more interesting to little hands. 

After Christmas Peter made a big toy box for Walker. I wanted it big enough to hold lots of toys...however, that leaves Walker not being able to get into it. I also wanted a matching dog toy box. This one is small enough for Walker to get into and so of course he has begun to explore that too. I do NOT want him putting the dogs toys in his mouth so I makes sure to watch him like a hawk when he is on that side of the room.

Hmmm...what is this?

Looks like fun

Hi mom!

Notice his toy sitting right at his feet
(PS...please excuse our unfinished toy box.. Peter has to finish putting the white molding on the inside but law school takes precedence!)

Walker definitely keeps me on my toes with his curiosity but it is so much fun with him moving around and learning new things! I love that little guy so much my heart could just burst sometimes!

A few pictures

Peter has been especially busy at school. He has a big 25 page brief due soon (he has put in over 100 hours of work on this...Im so proud of him for working so hard!!), then after that he has an oral argument, right after that exams start; along with interviews for internships and a TA position for next year. He has been at school on average 12-14 hours a day. Needless to say, Walker and I sure do miss him...a lot! However, we understand that it is very important for him to work hard and put in the hours. This week   we had really nice weather in Charleston so we visited some parks, took some walks, and played with bubbles! I took some pictures of some of our outings.

Bubbles!

The stick got hit attention

Downward dog...he does this ALL the time!

Love!

At Riverfront park

More pictures?

He always sucks in his lower lip, little cutie pie!

Watching the birds

He wouldn't look at the camera.

What a week!

The week of March 11-18 was a week of milestones for Walker! In a week's time he learned how to sit up from a laying position, he began crawling, and he started pulling up on things! Whew! It was a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday deal...each day he learned something new. Thursday when he pulled himself up on the couch I about fell over. I was so flabbergasted yet ecstatic at the same time.  We have a determined little man on our hands, and a proud mommy.  He was one excited little boy and his sleep pattern definitely showed it.  I have read that when babies learn how to do new things they want to "practice" all the time. This proved to be true with Walker. Our once bedtime routine went straight out the window. At night we usually take a bath, put on lotion with massage, pajamas, read a few books, sing a song, say a prayer, then I nurse him before I put him in the crib. When he goes into the crib he usually falls right asleep or  "talks" to himself until he does so. Not this week. Since he is now able to sit back up he would sit up for a while and play but then forget he could lay himself back down and scream to his hearts content. I must admit it was funny walking by the nursery and seeing his sweet little face looking through the crib bars, with a big grin like he was saying "Hey! Look what I can do!" When he did finally fall asleep he was awake again in a few hours to "practice". However, let me clarify...Walker is usually up every 3-4 hours as it is.. but I can usually nurse him and put him right back to sleep. Now he was waking up bright eyed and bushy tailed. It was usually around midnight, about the time Peter and I were getting ready to go to bed...so we had a few late nights but I am ok with that (as long as it doesn't last)

First night he was able to sit himself up

Having a good ole' time

I just added this because I thought it was funny... on top of all this he is teething (like any baby at this age) He gets those gums onto anything he can. He got his bottom 2 teeth on the same night in the middle of January, He was 4.5 months old. 

Trying to stand in his bathtub

Using Avery to stand up. He loves to sit on his knees like that also.

Pitiful I know, but I couldn't resist. This was at nap time

Using daddy's legs to stand up

Ready, set, GO!

I will upload a video of his crawling skills as soon as I take one! 

Kinsley comes to Charleston

What's just as good as having siblings?...Cousins of course! Peter and I were both lucky to grow up with a lot of cousins that we got to see on a regular basis. I am so excited that Walker has a cousin 2 hours away and many more (yes, 2nd cousins count!) 4 hours away! Like I said in a previous post, we are so lucky to have family that is very willing to come visit us. Saturday March 17 (St. Patricks Day), LaNelle, Kinsley, Patti, and Mom came to Charleston for the day. They arrived around 10 and we just hung out for a little bit, letting Walker and Kinsley play. It is so cute to watch them interact with each other. They are both under a year old and already have so much fun together.

Another great, yet dangerous thing about living in Charleston...Tanger Outlets! That's where we headed for the afternoon. Peter wasn't too excited about shopping with a group of girls but he was a trooper. It was a beautiful day and the kiddos enjoyed riding in their strollers.

After we shopped we decided to go to a park. There is a great park under the Ravenel (Cooper River) Bridge. 

By this time we were hungry. We headed downtown and ate dinner at Joe Pasta. It was delicious...I even let Walker eat a few pieces of cut up pasta. Of course, he loved it! After that we walked across the street to "Cupcake". They have my favorite flavor on Saturdays...Salted Caramel...a little bit of salty with a lot of sweet...Yummm! 

By then it was getting late and our visitors were going to have to leave soon (sad face) so we headed back to the apartment to separate out belongings from the shopping bags but really to let Kinsley and Walker play for just a little bit longer. 

Playing with the telephone

Kinsley checking out the dogs

Kinsley trying to get Chloe's attention.., adorable!

We had a really good time and can't wait until Kinsley visits Charleston again!