Hazel: 7 Months Old

Baby Girl is now 7 months old!  We are over the hump of her first year and time just seems to be flying by so fast I can't even it see it pass.

Hazel continues to be our ray of sunshine from the moment she wakes in the morning to the moment she goes to bed at night.  She brings more joy into our home than I can describe.  While her cries can be a little stressful or overwhelming at times they are few and far between and the rest the time she makes everyone around her smile.  What makes her smile these days is seeing those that she loves.  Getting the attention of anyone in our house usually puts a smile on her face...especially me.  There is no doubt that our Little Miss Sunshine loves her mommy, and there is definitely no doubt that I love her right back!

The weekday mornings are usually quite hectic so we let Hazel sleep as long as possible and then get her changed and ready for the day.  Often she will play on her own fairly well as we finish up getting ready but if that isn't the case we take turns carrying her around or the boys play with her or hold her while they watch a morning cartoon.  Then, everyone loads into the car and heads out for the day.  For Hazel this means going to daycare and soon it will mean going to daycare alone as Asher and Avery will BOTH be going to school.  It is a little strange to think she won't have any of her siblings with her, but I know she is in good hands.

In the evenings, after I pick her and the boys up from daycare, the night time craziness begins.  This usually includes a little snack/cuddle for Hazel and I and then cooking dinner (which thankfully Eric does most of while I care for Hazel or clean up other things around the house).  When dinner is ready, Hazel is usually quite happy to be in her high chair at the table with the rest of us.  I feed her while I try to feed myself, but sometimes her lack of patience means that I am eating whenever everyone else is done (other than Avery who is usually the last up from the table due to extreme whining about what we are having for dinner).

When dinner is over it is bedtime or very close to it.  Up until recently I would keep Hazel up so that I could team with Eric to get the boys ready for bed and have story time.  Recently though Hazel has started getting very tired and fussy at night so Eric has either been doing bedtime with the boys on his own or allowing them to stay up a little later so that I can put Hazel to bed and then help with the boys.  This is probably the most chaotic time of our day and as a mommy I feel very torn between wanting to savor the sweet night-time snuggle moments of a baby who won't be a baby too much longer and also having some time with my boys who I know miss one-on-one time with their mommy and deserve that time just as much as Hazel does.  While I LOVE having three kids, this has been one of the hardest things for me.  When we had equal kids to equal adults it was nice to be able to spend time with one and know the other was able to have some special time with Eric.  Now someone is either always left out or we have to double up, removing the option for special one-on-one time.  I am striving to figure out a solution to this, but at the moment we just keep pushing onward.

So that is a little glimpse of our life with a 7 month old.  It is beautiful and chaotic all rolled into one.  At 7 months our baby girl loves her toes, her thumb and her Momma to name a few.  She is sitting up, pulling herself around and always striving to get my attention.  She loves the silliness of her brothers and turns her head with a twinkle in her eye whenever she hears Daddy's voice.  She has a big Wisconsin-style cheesy grin that makes my heart soar and in just 5 days she will leave this month behind and become an 8 month old!!  Until then, I will enjoy every moment I have of this age! <3