Seven!!!!

Emily is seven months old. And believe it or not, she is a dream baby. No, seriously. Throw her on the floor and give her something to gnaw on. She's like, whatev. Good to go.

She weighs 23 lbs. 5 oz. She wears 12-18 or even 18-24 month clothes. She's super duper strong. As in pulling herself to standing at 7 months old strong. I'm not kidding.

See?

Emily is not a power puker. This is a first for our family. She is a spitter though. She is totally gross. She needs a bath every night because she is always drenched in barf.

She actually likes to eat. I know! I've never experienced that before either. It's amazing. You give her food and it makes her happy. HAPPY. Unreal.

Addie calls her "Mi, Mi" (Mee, Mee) or "Beh, Beh". Kind of like Fat Bastard. She says, "Noh! Beh, Beh!!" Emily smiles and laughs when Addie does this. I do too because I silently say, "Get in me belly!" everytime Addie says this to Emily. Snicker.

I really enjoy being around Emily. Her smile lights up the room. She is happy in the morning when she first wakes up, happy to play on the floor, happy to watch a little boob tube with her sisters, happy to go in the car, happy to watch other kids play, happy in her stroller, happy to snuggle, happy to...well, I'm sure you get the point.

When Emily has a need, she army crawls over to me and grunts until I pick her up. And don't underestimate the speed at which she makes her way around. This method is very effective for her. She goes anywhere she wants and does it quickly. She is even climbing the stairs. Yes, I grimaced too.

Right now, she is a total mama's girl. She hears my voice and starts "talking" to me. She also likes to blow raspberries. And she likes to imitate chickens. At least that's she sounds like to me when she mutters to herself all day long.

She's still a horrible napper unless she is in her swing. Otherwise, it's 20-45 minutes at the most (by the way, did you know a baby's sleep cycle is 45 minutes long and at 20 minutes they transition from light sleep to deeper sleep? Betcha didn't. Answers lots of questions, now, doesn't it?). The good news is that she is happy after a short nap so our whole lives aren't ruined this idiosyncrasy.

She sleeps about 11.5 hours a night. If I wait until she is really tired, she goes down very easily and without a fuss. If I try and put her to bed and she's not ready, she cries and cries and screams and balls her hands up into little fists and gets really red in the face. It's much better to let her wind down and decide on her own. Since that usually happens around 8:15, I don't make a big deal about it. We used the Babywise technique to establish a schedule and sleeping routine and, once again, I can't say enough good things about this parenting philosophy.

Her sisters positively adore her and attend to her every need. Having her in our family has helped them to blossom, as well. They have learned how to show love and kindness and to serve others by their simple, day-to-day interactions with Emily.

If you would have asked me 3 months ago if I'd ever even like Emily, I would have easily said, "Um, no." She was a beast until 17 weeks. I thought she would always be a needy baby with the start we had. Thankfully, she has blossomed into a wonderful baby. She's super baby. She is quick to smile and very easy going. She has really enriched our family. Not only do I like her, but I'm totally in love with this little girl.