7 months - Vincenzo

My darling Vincenzo,

Your seven-month birthday was three days ago, and I am amazed as usual at how fast the time has gone. You are a sweet, sturdy, handsome little guy and your smile (and laugh!) melt my heart every time.

You are still conservative about smiling (relatively), but when you do it is contagious, open-mouthed and full of joy. You like to smile at waitresses and especially at the flight attendants on our trip to Italy for Christmas – they were your absolute favorites, even when you were in the middle of melting down. And your laugh, your Papi and I agree that it is the best ever. It’s so contagious. I wish I could predict what you find to be funny, just so I can make you laugh on cue when I’m feeling down.

You have grown so much in the last few months. I saw your first tooth coming on New Years Day, but it took eight days (!) to break through your gums, and man was it sharp. Number 2 was close behind, and now you have a little two-tooth smile that is even cuter than it was before, if that’s possible. It seems like your upper teeth are ready to make an appearance, but so far they are taking their time.

You learned to sit up right after we got home from Italy, and you mastered it right away. You are amazing the way you sit with a toy and study it and turn it over and over, totally lost in thought. It’s incredible to see. Sometimes when you are in the right mood, you can sit there for over an hour just studying your toys quietly. You like it when I (or someone else you trust) sit right behind you, or if I sit with my leg next to you. I’m not sure if you like the physical closeness, the support in case you fall, or just the comfort of knowing someone is there. You occasionally put your hand on my leg or just reach out to make sure I’m still there. It’s very sweet.

You’re generally a cuddly little guy, and you like physical contact. When you get upset and you’re sitting by yourself, you reach your arms out to be picked up, or try your hardest to grab whoever is nearest to you. You like being held and cuddled, and you like us to walk around with you and talk to you. You also like sitting on my lap when you play with your toys.

Feeding you has been a lot of fun – you make great faces!! You pretty much assume you won’t like something the first time you try it, and you make an awful face accordingly, even if you decide you do like it two bites later. But then you sometimes change your mind later anyway, and we can’t keep track of what you like to eat.

You have slept through the night, quite a few times now! It’s wonderful, and when you wake in the morning you are really happy and cheerful for a little while. You and I often spend some cuddle time together in the morning before anyone else is up. We did that every morning in Italy, it was my favorite time of the day, cuddling and playing with you. But … ugh, we’re still swaddling you. That’s going to be a hard habit to break.

You still like taking baths, and generally spend bath-time chewing on a rubber duck. I remember your first night in Italy, your grandmother thought a nice bath would be a good way to get you ready for bed. She stripped you, carried you off, and dunked you right into the tub without warning. You screamed your little head off! Things went better after that. Except for getting dressed to go outside in the cold, you hated that with a passion.

These past seven months with you have been the most beautiful months of my life, and I can’t wait for all that lies ahead. You are the best little boy I could imagine.

Love,

Mama