7 months.

7 month old Halli Ann!

Halli weighed in at 13 lbs 13 oz at her check up at the docs office. They had her come in for her second part of the flu shot and to measure her again. She's almost doubled her birth weight!

I wish I could freeze time. 

I know you hear mama's all over the world saying those same words but I just can't help it. I finally know why they all say it.
 Halli is at such a cute stage! 
Laughing, smiling, deeply intrigued at the world around her, easily entertained by new or old objects in front of her, and I can(and have for a few months now) finally feel the love she has for us! She can't help but smile and get super excited whenever she sees us. I don't even have to say or do anything but smile at her and she gets all bubbly and smiley.
I love how she clings on to me as I walk around the house with her,
I love how she plays with everything I have on and looks at it like it's the most intriguing object in the world.
I love how she moves her tiny hands so slowly when reaching for an object, then when she has it in her grasp will shake it around violently only then to slowly move it into her mouth =)
So cute!

Her favorite thing to play with is tissue paper or wrappers. She does love her toys but oh when tissue paper makes its appearance...there's no going back. 
The other night, Tyler was watching her and I came home to find her bouncing in her jumper happy as can be waving the tissue paper around and squealing in delight, not even noticing mommy coming into the room.
It was the cutest thing ever.
I don't know how I feel about the tissue paper obsession. It always usually makes its way into her mouth and I worry that it's not good for her or that a little piece will come off and she'll choke =( So I don't let her play with it often but when we do, I watch her and make sure she doesn't eat it. Or i just make sure she has a binky in her mouth.

 But sometimes sitting up gets too tiring.

so we switch to the tummy! She is liking it more now thankfully. 

her head looks pretty big in this pic cause you can see it in compared to her little body. 

Halli's first rubber ducky she got for Christmas from her gma&gpa =)

I tried seeing how Halli did just sitting in the tub but she only lasted like 30 seconds on her own. You can see my hand hovering above. The water must throw off her balance.

 Halli is now sleeping in her crib!!!!!

Long story short, Halli slept through the night in the swing and nothing else. We'd tried the crib when she was 3 months but she was not having it. This did not please Halli's pediatrician. I didn't like it either but it got everyone more sleep! So we decided that after we got back from our cruise, we would pack up the swing and put it away for good. {So that we wouldn't be tempted to relapse} 

It wasn't pretty the first night...but it went better than when we'd tried back at 3 months. The hardest part was getting her to take naps in the crib. For a few days she was so cranky cause she wouldn't take good naps. Then tyler's sister gave me an awesome tip to roll up a blanket and put it around her head. Sounds crazy...but it worked! This is the set up that does the trick!

She likes feeling enclosed and also screams bloody murder when she rolls over onto her stomach. So having two little blankets/burp cloths rolled up on each side of her takes care of both!

finally we have mastered the art of the crib.

Her bedtime is between 10-10:30. Sometimes 10:45 but no later than 11 if we can help it. We're slowly working on getting it earlier. She still occasionally wakes up once halfway through the night almost always around 5 or 6 for her binky. Then once i give it to her she goes right back to sleep till 9. 930 if i'm lucky. It's worth it to let your baby cry it out the first couple nights. They will learn. Now Halli hardly makes a peep once I set her down AWAKE into her crib, swaddled{except for her arms} and with her bink.

We read her stories at night as her bedtime routine. Always Goodnight Moon and a few others. I have that book memorized.

Halli will usually take a little cat nap on me between her second nap of the day and bedtime. It's my favorite =)

This video was a failed attempt to capture Halli's explosive giggles. She was busting up at me being a goof but as soon as Tyler started recording she got camera shy. Still cute though.

  

This is a cute video we have of her saying da-da. She has now started saying na-na but no Ma-ma yet 

=(

And then this video is of me in Tyler's words: brain washing Halli to like green beans. Tyler isn't a fan of the color green on his dinner plate...shame shame. He hates green beans. But I LOVE them! And so does Halli =)

Halli likes everything i've fed her so far except avocados. 

This was her first encounter with avacados.

She gagged them down and eventually threw them all up =( The first time I fed them to her. It was sad. So we'll try them again later..much later.

I think her favorite food so far is squash and peaches. Which is just like her mama. I loved squash as a baby. And still do!

she looks so old holding her sippy cup! Which she only does for a few seconds at a time.

 We got a new TV and entertainment center finally! Halli likes to play..

 and watch the news =)

{like our new rug?? I do!}

 We went shopping at the mall the other day...

 check out the floating Halli!

I finally got to hold my niece!!! After months of waiting she is finally home from the NICU! She is so tiny and so cute and cuddly! Look at that cute tongue!

Me and my sister holding our babies! Halli looks so big!

I've recently been stricken down with a cough =( nothing else, no chills or fever. Just a stupid annoying cough. Hopefully Halli stays healthy! There's only so much I can do to keep her from getting it when i'm the one who takes care of her during the day. 

Halli Ann tidbits:

-she loves Daddy's beat boxing. It's an instant smile!

-still loves to be swaddled. I think it's a sleep cue for her. Cause the instant she's swaddled her eyes get droopy.

-She's in size 3 dipes because when we ran out of our size 2's we had a ton of size 3's from baby showers and stuff. So size 3 diapers it is! Plus, they're super absorbent so she doesn't leak out of them at night.

-Is holding her own bottle at one minute intervals.  

-like I said above, hates avocados, loves squash, peaches an tissue paper. But I don't let her eat tissue paper. Although, if it was her way she would.

-super ticklish! 

-rolls over both ways now but is still a bit rusty at stomach to back. I missed her first first roll from back to stomach because we were on our cruise. Her Auntie Megan got to experience it! =)

-Sits up on her own.

-No where near crawling. Buut I think i'm okay with that! =)

-No teeth yet! Also something i'm okay with.