Dear William,
Today you are 7 months old. A lot has changed in the last month. First of all, you've been eating many different kinds of foods. Today you are going to try asparagus! In the past month, you've had avocado, bananas, rice cereal, sweet potato, pears, squash, and millet. Yes, millet. Your father didn't believe millet was a real food, but I assure you, it is. According to the Super Baby Food book, millet is a grain that is high in protein, vitamins, and minerals, and is a good food for babies. I've made all of your food for you (aside from the rice cereal, which was gross), and it's all been organic and from the local Co-Op. It makes me feel like you're getting off to a really good start. You've been doing pretty well with the solid food eating. Sometimes when I am feeding you, you just giggle and giggle. I'm not sure what's so funny. You get your hands in the food and make a big mess. If I had to guess, I'd say you are left-handed because you always grab the spoon with your left hand, never with your right. We'll see.
The other big change is that you are now sleeping in your own room, in your own bed. It was hard at first, but I think it has been for the best. The whole thing required a lot of work. Our room was downstairs and your room was upstairs-- which is why you'd never slept up there. It wasn't just that I couldn't bear to be apart from you, it was also that I didn't want to be running up and down the stairs all night every time you cried. Your father took it upon himself to rearrange the entire house so that now our room and your room are both upstairs. It is still kind of a mess though. You are just across the hall from us, and if I listen closely enough, I can still hear you breathing. So far, it has worked pretty well. There have been a few nights when I was up with you every couple of hours, but there have also been a few nights when you've slept 11 or even 12 hours without crying! Most nights it is somewhere in between.
It is finally springtime, William. I can't even begin to tell you how glad I am that winter is gone. It was such a long, long winter. There was so much snow and ice, and I hardly ever went anywhere with you because it was so cold and so difficult to take you outside. Then one day, I saw the daffodil shoots just beginning to poke up out of the snowy ground, and then the next day I heard birds chirping when I woke up. I looked out the window and our next door neighbor's magnolia tree had buds on it-- a sure sign that we had survived the long winter at last. We've even had a couple of days when it was warm enough for you and me to go on a walk. I've noticed that you don't sleep anymore when you are in the stroller or sling and we are walking outside. Not like you used to, when you were much smaller, last fall. It's like you've forgotten all about fresh air and sunshine, and now the whole time we are outside, you are looking, looking around as though you've never seen this place before. It seems like you like it here.
We've got a whole new set of adventures ahead of us, William. And I am looking forward to every day.
Love,
Mama
