7 things I have realized while raising my sweet 7 month old.

I started this post awhile ago, on June 14, and am just finishing it now, so here it is!

today my beautiful girl is 7 months old!!

So, why not share 7 things I have come to realize...

1. Having a daughter has made me even more content in my own skin. It feels natural to be her mom! Another way I've realized this is that I am totally content at home - I can spend the whole day with just her, and I feel like I have had a wonderful day. And then seeing other people is just a bonus!

2. Having a husband that chooses to be a hands-on-dad is something to be thankful for every single day. Michael loves to spend time with Matilda, and even gets up early to do so!

3. You know you are living a new sleep-deprived reality when you get 4 hours of a sleep in a row and you think to yourself, "wow, that was a treat!!" - thankfully Matilda is now sleeping unswaddled and through the night - this is not something to take for granted or to brag about either! :)

4. I am not a clean person in general - my house is normally some form of cluttered or messy - however, baby food has made me realize that a baby messy with food grosses me out!! Something I read said "put a dollop of the new food onto baby's high chair tray and let them explore it with their fingers." I tried that and the minute it was a big smeary mess and her hands went up to her hair - I was done!! I apologized to her as I was wiping her clean frantically with a cloth... I'm learning some flexibility with this one...

5. It is important to continually encourage her to try and learn new things. She is a quick learner, and I have often wondered if she could have mastered a skill sooner, had I only let her try (example: sitting and sleeping unswaddled). I am excited to help her learn how to crawl but I am also loving the ease of having a stationary baby.

6. Having a baby in the winter was perfect timing - when we didn't need to go out, we didn't even want to - and now that we are going on outings and spending time in the stroller, swings, grass and bike, it is so nice to have the beautiful weather. Mental note - next time get pregnant again mid-winter!

7. I have never loved someone as much as I love Matilda. When I'm not with her I'm looking at pictures or videos of her or at least talking about her. She is her own unique self and she is beautifully content and happy. I am excited to watch her grow up and change but I am loving to just soak her in now. The other day my sister Leah was telling her boys, "sometimes I love to just sit and watch baby Matti!" and I couldn't agree more :)

Here is her update!
(click on the image to enlarge it enough to read the update - the older she gets, the more things there are to write about!!)