Has it really been a month?

Wow! I can't believe it has been a month since my last post. Well, needless to say we are keeping busy. Brendan is passing developmental milestones at a mile a minute it seems like. He is now 7 1/2 months old. He got two bottom middle teeth a couple weeks ago and they are like lil' razor blades. He explores everything he sees and hears, mostly with hands and mouth. His communication has improved and I also noticed he may be testing boundaries to see the reaction he receives.

On New Years eve, I cut my hair short after being so tired of it being pulled on like a rope- and I needed a change. Brendan will grab anything within reach with pinpoint accuracy. He has also got the index finger/thumb grab down too. He is able to feed himself and we encouage him to try.

Brendan is eating solids twice a day now since his 6 month check up. He had rice cereal or oatmeal and a fruit or vegetable each meal. His favorites so far are sweet potatoes, applesauce, bananas, and carrots. After exhausting all of the organic baby food we could try, I decided to make my own for him. We met with a Green mom's group at a Farmer's Market and purchased local organic produce. I cooked it, pureed it, and froze it. He has mango, avocado, carrots, and squash. It took a while, but as I get better it will go faster I'm sure. On the right is him in is high chair for the first time. Thanks Aunt Pat!

He can feed himself, and has learned to drink from a sippy cup, regular cup, and straw this month. He likes to blow bubbles through a straw and watch. We can't help but laugh- we used to do it too!

Over the last month Brendan has been my business partner and we have shown a lot of homes to prospective buyers. He has also attended business meetings, the most notable one was about 40 agents from my brokerage. He was so well behaved and also very well-received. I decided with my real estate career really taking off that clients will just have to accept that I will sometimes have Brendan with me. If they don't like it, then they can do business with the competition. (and boy is there a lot of it! Realtors are a dime a dozen.)My family is my inspiration for my Green Real Estate career and I'm going to build my reputation as family orientated. The only downside is, boy is he heavy!! I'm thinking he's around 22 lbs. and more in a car seat.

He loves to jump and his favorite place is in his jumparoo. This things is so loud when he jumps. You can't hear anything else but the jumping. It is awesome and you cannot help but smile and laugh as he goes to town playing.

During this month he also learned to sit up on his own and maintain a balance. He tries to pull himself up from laying but isn't quite there yet.

His language has also improved. I have been signing with him things like: food, more, all done, book, baby, and milk. He doesn't sign back but I feel we are able to communicate in many other ways. His baby talk is especially charming and cute!

On the right is a trip to the park. I'd like to get him a swing for the tree at home too. We like to go outdoors often and he has recently been interested in leaves. He pulled some off of a low hanging tree branch and carried them all the way home and for some time after too. They went in the mouth, but he didn't eat them.