The 7 month mark

Maya turned 7 months and has several accomplishments under her belt to show for it. Two bottom teeth are now clearly visible when she smiles. She's an expert sitter and has gotten very good at changing direction by standing on her feet, arms on the ground and pivoting to land her tush in another spot so she can turn around. Crawling has shown some significant improvements this week - she'll take 3-4 'steps' before flopping on her belly or landing on her tush with gusto. But she's clearly gotten the idea to lift her hands one at a time to make forward progress. Adorable to watch. She's also graduated to the big girl tub. No little baby chair for me thank you very much. She loves to sit in the tub (in about 3 inches of water) and splash around and grab at those pesky floating toys that always seem to be juuuuust out of reach. She got an A + at her regular checkup - 18lbs and 27th inches long puts her in the 75th percentile for weight and height- so not a wilting flower in the least but better than the 90th percentile trajectory we were on for a while. The pediatrician was impressed with how aware she is of her surroundings and how intently she holds a gaze and studies the situation before her. So grown up!!

A tooth grows in Queens.

Maya sprouted a tooth!! Teeny tiny little sharp point is poking through her lower gums - which explains the rather challenging week and early wakeup calls we've had. She had a rough night on Tuesday and would not go back to sleep. She started calling for room service at around 2am - wide awake and refusing to be left alone. Her flustered father who had gotten up to redirect her into sleep mode came back into our bedroom and exclaimed "she's wide awake", to which I responded "well, it probably her teeth" and the rather comical response that I got back in a defensive tone at 2am in the dark by a sleep deprived and flustered dad was "Well, I don't know what to do with a teething baby!". As if I do. ha! Wednesday nothing and at some point Thursday it poked through. She's ready for Peter Lugar's.

She's still not quite figuring out the forward crawling although she can cross rooms backwards with ease. She's also started doing some yoga poses - hands on the floor and stands into an upside down V, downward dog position. Doesn't really know what to do from their so she usually gracefully comes back down on her knees. We still get lots of daddas and the moment I was waiting for - the occasional 'mama' sounds, but 'dadadadada' is strongly preferred. Our nanny, Lilliana who is also vying for some Maya love claims Maya attempted Lilliana - with a 'nanana' sound that she had to call me at work to share. Too much cuteness.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee swiiiiiing!

Dada -dada

Maya uttered what sounded like her first word this week and now she's a little obsessed with multiple repetitions of dadadada... much to our delight of course and she finds the positive reinforcement very amusing. I'll try not to be tooo jealous it wasn't momma. I suuuupose 'm' sounds are hard then 'da' sounds when you're just starting out. But still. Doesn't seem exactly fair.

Other developments this week - Maya has become a very good sitter and appears to be on the verge of crawling, getting on all fours and rocking back and forth revving up her engine. She's already crossed rooms backwards, pushing herself with her arms and sliding back ending up under the crib, with her legs stuck under furniture and even in the closet. Not bad for just 6 months. Little girl is on the move and bouncy seats and play yards meant to confine are usually met with complaints. She prefers free reign on the floor. And along with all the moving and babbling her diet has become a whole lot more interesting in recent weeks and can now add avocados, bananas, pears and apples to her food repertoire. Sweet potato still seems to lead the pack as her favorite. She's growing quickly right before our eyes.

The weather in NY has finally started to turn after some unusually cold and snowy weeks which are really a nuisance in a city full of commuters. We've had some nice outings with friends including a trip to the Natural History museum last weekend and took Maya to the live butterfly exhibit which she loved - lots of butterflies all around her and landing near her. She didn't know what to think - she just stared in amazement with her mouth open. We're also looking forward to hosting a few lunches and brunches at our house in the next coming weeks (our new preferred get together times with friends) to catch up. Looking forward to warmer weather and longer days.