Kaitlyn is 7 Months Old

Well another month has come and gone. Kaitlyn is 7 months old today...entering her 8th month of life! This month has been full of development for Kaitlyn. She has really started to develop her personality this month and express herself and her desires a lot more this month.

Nicknames: Kaitlyn has a ZILLION nicknames. She IS called Kaitlyn a lot of the time, however her middle name is slowly taking over. The kids...mostly Krista call her Brielle or "Breeze" or just "Bri". Krista also simply calls her "Girl". She is also "Kates" or "Coco-baby" (for reasons unknown to us... she was named "Coco" by Erik).

Eating: Kaitlyn has now been eating solid food for 1 month and as of a few weeks ago, she is finally starting to like it! Her favorite food by far is carrots. But what baby doesn't love carrots? I offer solids two times a day (lunch and dinner), but she usually chooses to eat only one of those meals. I would say, right now we are up to about 10 spoonfuls at a sitting. She is still nursing quite a bit--usually 5 or more times a day (but a lot of her feeding is still at night, much to my dismay!).

Self-Expression: As far as vocal skills go, she isn't into talking much yet, but she can make herself heard in other ways--shreaking, squealing and yelling for instance. I have reassured people that if genetics has anything to do with her verbal development, she'll be making up for not talking in no time! She loves to giggle and say ga-ga though, so we do hear her talk quite a bit. No mama or dada yet though. I'm getting anxious to hear that!

Physical Development: Kaitlyn is great at sitting up. She has now been sitting very well for 1 1/2 months. She can wave her hands around, turn around and play with toys all without falling. BUT, as for the rolling or crawling...she really isn't too interested. She really hates being put in a lying position now and will cry until you let her sit. If she is put on her stomach she will immediately roll to her back and then cry until someone puts her up to sit.

Sleeping: Well this isn't my favorite category at the moment! For the last few months she has been waking several times at night. This month we moved her from her bassinet to her real crib! That was a big step--mostly for me who was sad to see the bassinet go to the basement. We really kept her in it for too long anyway--the packaging said 3 months or 15 pounds--Ooops! So now she is in her crib, which is placed right beside our bed. I also bought her a sleep sac. A very European "baby bag" that is used in place of a blanket. Basically you put the baby in the sac, zip it up and snap it around the shoulders---the arms are open. These bags come in sizes 0-6 months and then 6-24 months. I of course bought her the larger size so it is HUGE on her! She seems to LOVE it though--she is nice and cozy inside. I also got her a nature sounds box to put on her crib. She falls alseep by herself to the sounds of the waves. I love to stand by her crib at night and watch her drift off with the waves. She also has a little soft flower with petals that crinkle and she like to hold that or her soft blankie that Grandma gave her that comforts her. When she wakes at night (if it has only been a few hours since her last waking) all I have to do to get her back to sleep is stroke her cheek. SHE LOVES IT! She just falls right back to sleep. If it has been 3 or more hours I usually nurse her. She wakes about 3 times per night still...but this too shall pass :)

Growth: Kaitlyn saw the doctor for her 3rd round of shots last week. She did great again with the shots and won't need any boosters until her first birthday. She weighed in at 8 kg 400 g or 18 pounds 8.5 oz. She was 67 cm long. For clothing size, she is still wearning 6-9 months. I can't see her in the 12 month size for awhile, but you never know! She may jump up quickly.

Play: This girl loves to interact with her brother and sister! Whatever they are doing interests her! She loves to stand in her exersaucer and watch them play. She also loves to sit and throw around her toys. She has a few favorites including her soft blocks with bells inside and a yellow first years rattle that was Erik's.

This weekend is Kaitlyn's Baptism! We are very excited for her to become a memeber of the Catholic community. When I asked Krista last week what Baptism was for, she said that it was a "celebration"! YES, correct! Then I asked "what it was that were are celebrating?" and she said "For a baby to become a member of Jesus' family." YES, correct, again! 2/2! Religion: A++

So tomorrow Toomas' sister "Tadi" Helen, "Onu" Janne, Isabel and Elise will be arriving from Stockholm for the Baptism. We are very excited for this big event and have invited about 50 guests. We have several Estonian familes and their children coming, as well as our very close friends here from the village. We have really made some wonderful friends here in Fegersheim too so it will be great to celebrate with them all. It should be a fun day!

So that is our 7 month update in a nutshell...I'll be back with Baptism photos soon!