Seven Months Old

Here were Molly’s stats as of her second-to-last gastroenterologist visit on 7/21:

Weight: almost 17 lbs (1 pound gain)
Length: 27.5 inches (1 inch gain)

Molly has finished her Prilosec this month at long last! Hopefully, the nightmare of the past several months is finally over. Although, I must admit, she still has her moments of screaming as if possessed. But, she now has these lovely quiet times as well…

…although I often suspect she is merely saving up energy for the next new development.

Some have been small steps, new talents…

… like making raspberries or smacking her lips, and means of expression…

…like wrinkling her nose.

We cannot tell if she uses the skills above to express displeasure, to get our attention, or just because she can. Most likely it is a combination of all three, and a few more reasons of which we are probably not aware.

There have also been some larger leaps. Molly has begun to crawl on all fours…

…pull herself up onto her knees, use a sippy cup, and eat finger foods. Not at the same time, of course. (Update: Since I started writing this post, she has also added drinking from a straw to her repertoire!)

Of course, we want to encourage her, but we’re afraid of creating a monster:

Although it may already be too late:

The cats are starting to suspect their carefree days of lounging about unpestered are numbered.

Tune in next time (in about a week) when we hopefully will have video of Molly crawling (thank you Jeff for the photographic evidence), and perhaps photos or video of Molly’s swim lessons, which she’s just started as well.

Until then- don’t melt, and take care.

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy

I just read this news item on CNN.com:

Iranians volunteer to fight Israel, and all I can say is the world must be coming to an end.

Am I being overly dramatic? Perhaps. But it would appear to me that this is all the current administration needs as an excuse to take action against Iran, who is already on our hit list. Bush and friends are looking for another holy crusade of their own.

Some days I feel guilty for bringing a child into this madness. I hope that she will be strong enough and wise enough not only to survive, but perhaps to change this pattern of violence and insanity for the better. And I especially hope that there will be others like her.