7 Months!

Today is Aaron's 7 month birthday. It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed. Thom and I read somewhere recently that with children, the hours pass slowly, but the days pass quickly. How can one afternoon drag on for so long when I'm tired, but a whole month passes by in the blink of an eye?

Aaron is developing quite a personality. He is a curious, social little boy with a maturing sense of humor. Except when he is tired, he tends to be in a good mood. He is constantly searching for new things to examine and touch.

He wants to grab everything these days. No longer content to just sit on the swing with me, he wants to grab the chain holding it up and see how he might apply his rattle to the chain. When walking around the house with him, I have to be careful of his grabby little paws that try to pick up anything within his reach. Many times I get up with him from the couch after a feeding only to find he has a throw pillow or the corner of the blanket on the back of the couch in his hand. He grabs things before you even realize they are within reach or that he was even paying attention to them.

He seems even more social these days, too. He loves being out and about and will be content in new surroundings even when tired to the point that at home he'd be having a meltdown. When strangers talk to him, he'll smile and sometimes shyly turn his head to the side in his stroller. He's a real charmer and seems to especially notice the ladies, be they toddler girls or adult women.

He still laughs and giggles at the old standbys - kissing his check, making silly noises. But he also has begun to find himself funny. One evening, he made a loud ear-piercing screech. We laughed at him and he laughed too. Then I was kissing his cheeks and making him giggle, but when I stopped, he paused and then tried to replicate the screeching sound. He didn't quite get it, but he still thought it was a funny sound and laughed at himself. When he laughed at himself, it was a different laugh than the giggle of being kissed by Mommy. This went on for several minutes. We couldn't help but laugh with him.

Here is a slideshow of some photos we took today.