She is seven months old!  Just this week she got good at sitting up.  She may topple over eventually, but it is a controlled topple now.  There is some interest in getting on all fours, and she is quite mobile with a combination of rolling and spinning.

She loves eating solids with the help of her 6 teeth, 4 of which all came in at the same time.  Besides food, she gets excited about a fist full of hair to pull (either Odessa’s or Mom’s), getting tickled, the bouncy chair at “baby school,” slapping tables, doing double leg drop-kicks, baby talk “ha-na-na” and food.

We just started weekly swim classes and she shared her first bath with her big sister.  Slapping water is even more fun than slapping tables, and she does not mind water in her face at all.

Pearl falls asleep easily, but tends to take cat naps more often than long naps.  Even nights can be a long string of cat naps, strung together by rocking and replacing the pacifier.  She wakes up smiling regardless.

She first rolled over a couple weeks ago.  Big news in baby world, I know.  I hear she can roll from front to back (the “easy” way), but I have yet to see it.  Every time I put her on her back, she crunches her little baby body up and rolls over onto her belly.  She can get her arms out from under her now, but after a few minutes of holding that heavy head up, she face plants forward and squeals.

She maintains her happiest baby status and is a good contender in the cute category, too.

In the bad news category, that new baby smell is gone.  I am not sure when it went away.  I went in for a good sniff today (at the back of the neck) and noticed it was gone.

My favorite moments with Pearl are in the middle of the night, when she wakes up to eat.  She is patient and calm.  When full, I rest her head on my shoulder, near my neck and pat her back for a burp.  She is totally relaxed and her head seems heavy on my shoulder.  Her soft hair comforts my cheek.  In these moments I am in baby paradise.  Thank you, baby.

What is a baby to do?  Things move pretty slowly in baby world, but she keeps her self busy in the typical newborn ways.  Her favorite activity is smiling.  Of course it is self-perpetuating… her smile makes us smile, makes her smile, etc.  Next up, is hand/mouth exploration.            She can easily bring her hands to her mouth now and enjoys rubbing her fists and fingers in her mouth.  Hands usually do the exploring, but in this situation, it is the tongue that explores the hands.  Talking, hair pulling, etc.

Nicknames happen, like it or not.  Here are some so far…

Pearl Girl, Pearly, Princess Pacifier and the oh-so-original… Pumpkin.

There are advantages and disadvantages of being the second child.  Calmer parents with some experience are a trade for shared attention and fewer Easter pictures.  Here is Pearl’s lone Easter photo.  She was talkative and adorable for family, but by the time the camera got taken out, she had settled her self asleep.

“That’s a little baby, short and silly”  -Odessa “Big Sister” Johnson

Pearl loves attention, smiles and kisses – you know all that wonderful baby stuff.  She is getting more steady with her head, despite having to hold up those chubby cheeks.

Here are her 2 month-old stats: 11lb 4oz, 23in long and 15.15in around that beautiful head

Pearl spent a wonderful extended weekend with her family from Montana.  She is a lucky girl, to be loved by so many.  As you can see, the affection is mutual.