+ Update +
You're doing slightly better. The diaper rash is going away, but you still have poopies that worry me. Your food doesn't look as digested as it should be, but I admit my experience with baby poop is limited.

At any rate, you are a happy baby. You've been very silly lately, and love to laugh at yourself in the mirror. The interesting thing is while you are a happy baby, you are also a serious baby. I asked Daddy about this, and he said his mom used to tell him what a serious kid he was. I think you take after him in this way. You don't seem unhappy at all, just pensive. You will watch things going on around you, it's not like you're fixated on one thing (which would be a bad thing if you were). You just get this serious, thoughtful expression while you're taking it all in.

Your sitting is fabulous. And crawling is still RIGHT there. Your teeth are threatening to break too, and Grandma Laurie and I have bets on which one will pop first.

+ Reflections +
When you're a new mommy, time kind of flies by. Okay, there's no "kinda" about it - it flies by. And you remember snippets of those early days, when you first brought home your tiny baby, and you think you remember enough to savor it forever. Then something happens to jolt you back x-number of months (years?) and you're there again, holding your brand-newborn baby. That something happened to me last night.

You're in between diaper sizes. I bought a big box of 3's at Costco, but they're 16-plus pounds, and you were only 14/4 at the doctor 2 weeks ago. I have some 2's, but figured I should buy another package just to get through a little longer before the 3's. Well, Costco only has Huggies, and the other package of 2's were Huggies we got at your baby shower. At the store on Sunday, I bought Pampers Swaddlers because they were on sale. Yesterday I opened the package to put them in your basket.

Whooooooosh! I zoomed back 7 months, and I saw myself standing in my hospital room, then in our bedroom the night after we brought you home. It was the smell of those diapers (which I like, anyway), and it just flooded me with this rush of the emotions I had when you were first born. I remembered how excited, and tired, and truly scared I was. And how utterly full of love and wonder for you, my tiny daughter. I couldn't believe anything could be so small and so precious, and I was so afraid of not being worthy of the task of raising you. That smell just overwhelmed me. I actually had to sit down in the glider, diaper squished to my nose, and close my eyes while I tripped down memory lane.

Wow. I am not even sure this post does justice for the emotions that smell brought up. But I think it is totally fascinating that a smell can bring back things even the most recent visual memories cannot.

+ Cruddy day +
Today is not a good day. To tell the truth, I suspect you might have celiac. :( You have had bad poopies ever since Sunday. You had a slightly upset stomach before that, which is the only reason I'm not fully convinced. But the, well, quality of those poopies has deteriorated. What has this done, besides make you uncomfortable? It's resulted in horrible diaper rash. Bah! You've made it 7 months without diaper rash, and here we are. I just hope the Desitin helps. And I think you'll be rolling around on a blanket and waterproof pad buck naked tonight. Auntie Chelle will probably think that's funny.

The night itself wasn't so hot either. You woke up at 2 a.m. in a mood to play. You literally played with your binkie and stuffed elephant while talking to yourself for 1/2 hour. Just as we had both drifted off to sleep, you woke up again, screaming at 2:45. *sigh* Probably your tummy or bottom. Who knows? You did nurse back down, so that's one blessing.

Then I found out at daycare that someone TOOK your diaper rash cream. So I had to run to the store, get some, and bring it back. Not. Happy. It has your name on it now. I never thought I needed to label diaper rash cream! Yikes! I also brought some food in for you. You're apparently going to get that twice a day now. Hopefully it doesn't result in too much increased poopie (and resulting diaper rash).

Yay. Poopie talk. Must be very stimulating for everyone. Incidentally, more photos in her album now. Email me if you still need the password to our family and friends page.

+ Weekend update +
It was a nice weekend, but way too short as always. You were very cheerful this weekend, but you've been having some tummy upset. I have my theories on this, but I'll wait on that. We went to a party Saturday and then you went to Grandma Laurie's for a brief visit while daddy and I went to dinner. I think you enjoyed that. Yesterday we went to the grocery store and you had a field day. You were so good, and so giggly, people kept staring at us. Very funny.

Not so funny was something else that happened yesterday. We went to church and delivered you as usual to the nursery. Phyllis is great, and the others help make your time in the nursery a lot of fun. But we walked in to find you in a walker, with cracker crumbs on the tray in front of you. Oh, you were in great spirits, giggling and slapping your hands on the tray while you bounced up and down. Grandma Laurie nearly fainted on the spot, and I kept everyone calm, knowing I had never told Phyllis about my celiac disease and keeping you away from wheat. In fact, it simply never dawned on me that in the 50 minutes or so you're in there, they might feed you. It should have, but it didn't. Well, you also had a couple of bites of fruit (canteloupe, watermelon, lemon) at lunch, and one of the above things definitely didn't sit well. You had lots of poop, one borderline diarrhea diaper, and endless amounts of gas. Pooh. It took 3 attempts to get you down for the night (which is the only part you're usually really good about), and you woke up at 12:30 for the first time in quite a while. This morning, more poop. I think we'll stick to our adamant no-wheat policy for as long as possible. But for the record, you were 7 months when you first had Mommy's Poison (a/k/a gluten).

Incidentally, other new developments: You are beginning to develop separation anxiety. You call for me when I leave the room (usually a squeal), and cry when someone you don't know takes you from my arms. You love the throw-it-and-make-mommy-fetch game. Mmmmm. You love to sit and you're trying really hard to figure out how to do it yourself. On the changing table, you are constantly doing crunches and grab onto my hands whenever you can to pull yourself up. You sit very consistently on your own now. I'm amazed how much better you sit now than you did even just a week ago. So strong. You're not quite as fond of green beans as you used to be, but you love love love lemons. Ummmm. I guess that's it for now.

+ Boys are fun! +
Of course, if you believe Knott's Berry Farm: "Boys are Dumb. Throw rocks at them." But, you see, I don't believe them! Last year, I ordered Jeniffer to bring us a husband for you. And guess what?! Oh, wait. I can't tell if she succeeded or not. You might have a little husband on the way, or a little best girlfriend. I'll just have to let her tell first. :)

Congratulations, Jen! I'm just glad s/he cooperated for you!