Our Felicity: 7 months

Yesterday Dan commented that Felicity is now closer to a year than a newborn...I find myself taking in each and every moment trying to treasure these times in the deepest nooks of my heart. I read somewhere that gratitude is a way to hold on to moments just a little bit longer, a way to slow the hands of time. These days are full of so many thankful things...

This month Felicity's obsession with paper hit a whole new level. I was never so surprised when I found some under her little bum! I guess the girl is trying to tell us she needs more fiber in her diet :) Maybe this is why the avocado I tried feeding her didn't hold any appeal. I refuse to believe that our daughter could not like avocado so I've determined that she must not be ready for solids yet. We'll try again next month. Until then, paper will have to supplement her regular diet of MiLk.
Perhaps the biggest accomplishment of month seven was Felicity's week in the nursery while Dan and I were at a training. The training was in the same location so I was able to steal away to feed her when needed. After the first day Fliss did a stellar job. She cried most of the first day which broke my heart, but the rest of the week was much better. The nursery workers said they realized that she was OvErWheLmeD with all of the kids coming close and when they gave her some space she did much better. She's definitely not used to all kinds of kids in her space for a whole day so I'm so grateful they realized this and adjusted accordingly. By the middle of the week they were even able to get her to nap! I went up to feed her when she was sleeping and one of the college girls said, "Should I move her to the crib?". The kind woman who had been in charge of Felicity the previous day gave an emphatic, "Noooo!" Smart woman. She had Felicity figured out after one day: the girl does NOT transfer!
This month Felicity has started sitting up on her own. She's still a bit wobbly and prone to falling so we always stay close by. It's hard to believe, but she still has not rolled from her back to her stomach. We will taunt her with toys, mommy, and daddy, but she just won't do it. She will practically be on her stomach, and then she will just stop reaching.  One of our favorite things was putting her in the high chair while we were out this month. So cute! Of course she wound up with a pile of shredded napkins beneath her in no time!
Her days of sitting in the bumbo on the kitchen table are coming to an end as she has started flailing her arms in excitement on a regular basis. This newfound movement is making my little photo shoots a bit more challenging. For this month's she kept lifting the BlaNkiE in front of her face and moving so much that it was difficult to get a picture that wasn't blurry. Going to have to figure something out soon because I'm sure more motion is in store for us in the near future.
We had a lovely Mother's Day celebration a few days before the actual holiday. I awoke to pancakes that spelled mom (thank you Riems for the inspiration), and the best part was I got to sleep in while Dan and Fliss prepared the breakfast. They took me to one of my favorites, HoNeY, for lunch and we followed up with a trip to Graham's in Wheaton. But my absolute favorite part of Mother's Day was my card from Felicity. It was sitting on the table with a crumpled up piece of notebook paper stuck to it...meant to look like a flower from my girl who LoVeS paper, the girl I love so much, the girl who makes me a mommy.
On actual Mother's Day we had the privilege of dedicating our sweet girl at church. She did such a great job up front....no crying even though it was way past her nap time. Pastor Bill dedicated her and Auntie Rina said a beautiful prayer over her. We are so grateful to have a God who gives us wisdom and help on this journey of raising her, friends and family to encourage us in raising her for His glory, and to be entrusted with His beautiful creation, Felicity, everyday. The verse used at her dedication was Psalm 34:8:

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. 

May the Lord be her refuge all the days of her life so that she might truly have FeLiCitY. We are so grateful to Him for another month with her. It's starting to feel like she has always been here and difficult to imagine what life was ever like without her...