Hart Adventures: December 2013

Swinging at the park on his 7 month birthday

These 7 months have flown by! I just THOUGHT Sara Beth's first year went by quickly. This is insane. I can't wait to see how John David's little personality develops as he gets older. He is such a cool little guy! Everyone he meets comments on his smile (and his hair. . . oh yeah, and how big he is). Here are his 7 month milestones:

He finally learned to roll over! He can roll in both directions and is now much happier on his tummy. I guess being in control of your body makes all the difference in the world. He tries to get his knees under him and can spin himself around in a circle. Crawling is our near future, I think.
He is super-sturdy when he sits now. I don't have to worry as much about him flopping over all the time. I do still put a pillow behind him just in case though. Our floors are hard!
He is trying to pull up on things. He likes to pull up to his knees so he can reach a higher toy.
He likes to stand up and can even balance himself sometimes.
The babbling has started. What will we do when there are two kids talking nonstop at our house? He says "dada" and "yah".
We started giving him solid food this month. I'm making all of his food, like I did with SB. It seems easier this time around. So far, he has tried sweet potato, squash, avocado, banana, apple, pear, red bell pepper, sweet potato greens, sweet peas, and carrots. I thought he would be a little chow hound, but he started out slow. Mostly, he just stuck out his tongue and licked at the food. He liked it much better when he could feed himself, but that was a HUGE mess. Just this week, he finally seems to be catching on.
John David went camping for the first time earlier this month. We went to Petit Jean State Park in Arkansas with some friends. He was surprisingly good the whole time. It was so cold that he did end up in my sleeping bag both nights. He slept great! Me. . .not so much. We did a lot of hiking too. He saw a cave and a waterfall.
The weekend after Thanksgiving, we went to Santa's Wood Christmas Tree Farm to cut our own tree. This is our fourth year there. It's been fun to see our family grow up each year.
John David is such a happy boy! But. . . and this is big. . .he is officially a mama's boy. He is attached to my hip. No one else will do, but mama. That is so sweet, but I get nothing accomplished these days. Good thing he's so sweet and precious and lovable and squeezable and perfect!
The spot on his left cheek is not going away. The doctor said it was eczema, but I'm starting to doubt. We may end up taking him to the dermatologist before it scars his face.
On our home scale, he weighs about 18.5 pounds.
He is no longer sleeping through the night most nights. I don't know what's going on, but I end up feeding him even though I doubt he's hungry. It's the only thing that gets him back to sleep. :(
His laugh is precious! He is very ticklish, but his best spot is high on his inner thigh. Sister loves to tickle him!