Josh, Lindsay, and Mackenzie

Well, it's been a while since we last updated you on Mack in general so I thought it would be a good idea to do so now that she's 7.5 months.

In general, she's an awesome baby. She doesn't complain much, she sleeps like a rock, and is even getting to where you can put her down in her crib during the day (and she actually sleeps) for long periods of time.

She got her first official cold and ear infection the weekend of July 4th. It prevented us from going out, but to be honest we probably would have stayed home anyway since her bed time is around 8:00. We would never have known about the ear infection if she didn't have the cold; she seemed altogether indifferent to the ear infection. She didn't exhibit any signs of pain or tug at her ear at all. We took her in for the cold and that's how we found it. She's all better now, and no worse for the wear.

When we took her in they weighed her, and she was only 16 pounds. She's probably 16.5 now, but still on that steady 25th percentile track.

She's rolling and close to standing at this point. She still loves to sit and play with her blocks and toys, but if you're near her she just wants to use your arms to pull herself up. She can't quite figure it out with furniture, but she's a pro if she uses your arms. She LOVES her bounder (the over-the-door one) and her walker, and has even figured out how to move forward in the walker! For a while there we thought she might go through life in reverse! :)

As for food, I'm making all of it and it's both fun and rewarding. I love knowing htere is nothing other than plain old food in the portions, and it's so much cheaper than buying jars of food. She's had a lot of different things (besides her liquids and her organic brown rice cereal):

Veggies:
- Sweet potato (her favorite veggie)
- Corn (not a vegetable but a grain...I'm still putting it here instead of with fruits)
- Carrots (with butter)
- Peas
- Rutabaga (not a favorite)
- Squash
- Broccoli (ok, she hasn't tried this one yet but it's frozen and ready for her)

Fruits (she prefers these in general since they are sweeter):
- Avocado
- Banana (a favorite)
- Peaches (not a favorite; probably too tart)
- Strawberries (her absolute favorite fruit)
- Cantaloupe
- Apples (she loves them when I add cinnamon)
- Pears (she loves these just like her daddy)
- Mango (another favorite)
- Kiwi (ok, so she's yet to try this, but it's frozen and ready for her)
- Plumots (same goes for this one...just need to get her to try it but we have to rotate it in slowly)

I'm almost convinced she's had more veggies than Josh at this point. :) She eats really well and is getting the hang of holding her own bottle when we put the handle on it.

All in all, things are going well here. She's changing every day and is so adorable right now. We're enjoying every moment with her and she loves to hear from all of you so keep sending those cards and greetings!