Happy 7-Month Birthday, Andrew!

Today Andrew is 7 months old.

He has been army crawling since earlier this month, but he is now officially crawling on hands and knees. He is getting more and more comfortable and confident with that mode of crawling, so he's on his hands and knees most of the time now. He's starting to pick up some speed and cover some distance.

Here he is earlier this week crawling at the playground:

And here he is crawling after the cat, showing some of his speed and mobility:

As of a couple of days ago Andy has been pulling himself up to stand. As of today he can do that at the couch. He has already been tentatively cruising, but now that he can pull himself up he is starting to pick that up, too.

Andy is now wearing size 4 diapers, and I switched out his clothes for those in size 18 months. He had filled out, but with all of his movement he may lean back out a little bit!

Andy had a busy day today.

Here he is checking out the baby books I brought back out for him.

Waiting for dinner at the new Mexican restaurant in town

Checking out Dada's dinner

Being goofy

Posing

Notice that the cat is just out of reach

And, of course, crawling

Andrew's Weeks 29 & 30

Andy has really grown in size this past week! He is filling out all over. I'm going to have to swap out his 12-month clothes for 18-month very soon.

Andy is still army crawling. He continues to try to do conventional on all fours crawling and as of today has completed more than one cycle of hands & knees moving together multiple times. Hopefully I'll be able to post a video of that crawling soon. In the meantime he is moving more quickly over the small amount of ground he wants to cover, much to the cat and especially Matt's chagrin.

Andy's personality is growing more prominent. He now gets upset if you take something away from him, especially if it's something he shouldn't have, and he's not shy about letting you know his displeasure. He remains a happy guy who enjoys trading smiles, but he is also a very busy, focused, and determined kid.

At library story time.

Playing with blocks before the story time starts

Trying out the scarf

With the shaky egg

Active at home

Posing

Examining the (play) sword

After the tag (a favorite thing to examine)

Wearing the knight costume hat (before being nominated to be the dragon)

Not so sure about sitting on the couch

With his brother

Wondering why Matt is on the couch

Trying to get Matt's attention

In matching pajamas (unplanned, since these are both hand me downs from different sources)

 Watching Matt color

Riding in the cart together for the first time (and simultaneously enjoying the ride while holding on for dear life)

Getting a kiss

Watching Matt

Matt reading to a silly baby

Andy continues to enjoy solid foods. Among the newest additions to his diet are rice, oatmeal, and plum.

Andy has managed to make it over to the cat before she realized she needed to move

Gotcha!

Coming after you

Finally, a tired baby photo

Asleep on Dada

Sunday Zoo Outing

We took advantage of an unseasonably warm day to venture out to the zoo yesterday, joining some friends. The temperatures were in the 50s, so you'll notice we're wearing sweatshirts. And yet the snow from a few weeks ago is still hanging around, making for some unusual sights, like zebras, ostriches, and lions in the snow. The paths were snowy, muddy, or wet thanks to the snow. Luckily Matt wore his usual boots for all of the puddles.

Waiting in line (Matt and his buddy rode in the wagon most of the time, while Andy got carried by Mama or Dada)

Checking out the tigers

Boy on cow

Watching the zookeeper weigh the goat

Pulling his friend in the wagon

Posing on the tortoise sculpture

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a quiet morning at home, then went to my moms' club's annual Valentine's Day party, where Matt got to run around with his buddies and Andy got to socialize with some other babies. 

The boys opening their cards from their great-grandmother 

Someone was up bright and early this morning... 

Andy playing with the Valentine's Day balloon while Matt makes Valentines for family members and friends

Andy eager to crawl after everyone at the Valentine's Day party

Since I'm posting, I'll add a shot Jon took when he was outside with Matt this weekend in our second snowstorm of the past week. Here he is posing with their snow creations:

Andrew's Weeks 27 & 28

I posted for Andrew's 6-month birthday and for his crawling, but here's what else he has been up to these past 2 weeks.

Week 27

Keeping busy at big brother's last sports class

Chewing on one set of keys

Reaching for a ball

In his cozy robot pajamas

Chewing on my carrier at library story time

Yes, he is working on some teeth (his top two front teeth - and no, they're not in yet!)

Gaining a lot of confidence in his ability to stand

Examining the triangle

Sitting

There's a smile!

At big brother's literacy playgroup, playing with odds and ends

Trying to hold three shapes at once

Yummy food

Week 28

Someone stole my spoon!

Taking a look at himself in the mirror

With a shaky egg at library story time

Playing with his feet while waiting for big brother to get dressed

Very pleased to be snuggling up with Dada

So many toys, so little time!

Andy has tried a number of new foods, including pears, sweet potato, peas, carrots, and peanut butter (in keeping with the recently revised guidelines, we introduced peanuts sooner rather than later). Sweet potato was probably his favorite out of those, with peanut butter a close second. So far he has enjoyed everything he's had.