Sunday, December 2, 2007

Seven Months

I'm a little late on this one, but Sophie has changed so much over the past month, I don't want to let number seven go unremarked...

Dearest Sophie,

In the past month, you have transformed from a reluctant-to-nap, high-strung, serious, fuss-bucket of a baby, who has a hard time settling herself unless her parents are walking her across Western Kansas strapped to their chests, into a delightful cherub of a chub who takes two naps a day like clockwork, happily munches on cheerios in her highchair, joyfully rolls across the carpet in pursuit of a rattle, and can sit by herself playing with a basket full of toys for a good half-hour.

Wow. What a difference one month makes. You sleep from seven until about seven the next morning and wake up with the brightest smile this side of sunny side up, showing off your two bottom teeth, sweet little pearls nestled in the pink of your gum (although alarmingly sharp). You like every food you've tasted except for apples and canned meat (and we don't blame you on the meat front; the stuff smells like cat food!). You love bananas. You'd eat them every meal if you could. You love them so much, you'll probably want to marry them when you're older.

The one sad thing about month seven, however, is your relationship to books. You'll no longer sit in Mommy's lap and quietly watch the pages turn. Now you want to eat them. You're dying to eat them. You want to digest our entire library: baby books, novels, the OED. You even have a couple of paper-cuts from a pile of student essays your Daddy left on the floor.

The best part of month seven, however, is just how darn happy you are. You may not have quite made it through a day without crying, but you're getting there.

And don't worry, we'll stick around till you do.

6 comments:

Ivy said...

Eli is fond our OED as well. Funny how they go right for the good ones! We've come close to losing a few words, which I know would make Mike and Carl cringe.

Donno said...

I love Sophie in her Hannah outfit! It is my favorite children's brand. So soft and cuddly and comfortable. What a wonderful report on the former fussbudget! We can't wait to see her and you all!

Erin Hatton said...

My word, Catherine, Sophie is beautiful!! I finally got a chance to catch up on your Sophie-blog and, my oh my, is she lovely! Plus, I now have new hope that my fussy-needy but ever-so-sweet little Felix will turn into the calm and content creature that Sophie is today. Love, Erin

Sallie said...

Sophie, You are soooooo beautiful!I love you.

Grandma

Sean said...

Barnaby is eating all of our books too! He's destroyed any of the pop-up books, or books with movable bits, and he's tried to chew through the binding of all of his regular books.

He also has a 80 percent chance of reading a book upside down. It doesn't seem that weird until you realize, if he can't read at all, he should probably have a 50 percent chance of opening it right... but even his mom's paperbacks and our novels without pictures, he opens them upside down, pretends to read for a minute while turning pages, and then gets to the munching...

Sophie is so beautiful, it's just deadly.

Jen K said...

Your passage on devouring books is lovely, mah dear. And if I remember correctly from my nannying days, eating books will soon transform into wanting to write books of her own -- on the books she already owns. How "green" of her. :)