The Golden Age of Babyhood

Kaitlyn is now seven months old, a month into what I've thought of as "the golden age of babyhood" since Alexandra went through it.

I love my babies at this age; they are so fascinating and just... enjoyable between six and twelve months. (In case there's any doubt, I love my babies all the time. But some ages are more fun than others.)

She's becoming much more independent than she was; her attention lasts longer, and she will spend several minutes playing with toys. She loves reading and has favorite books.

She's curious about everything and wants to grab anything in sight, from toys that she can manipulate to large objects that she scratches at to her sister's hair. When she finally grasps the objects she's reaching for, she loves turning them over in her chubby little hands to examine them, taste them, give them a good shake, and whack them against things to see what happens.

She experiments to figure things out; when she sits on the table in her Bumbo while I prepare lunch, she smacks the soles of her feet against the wood, enjoying the sounds. She'll grip a toy with both hands, raise it above her head, and try with all her might to pull it apart. When she discovers that she can get a new view of something by rolling from her back to her side, she rolls back and forth several times just to practice.

She's on the verge of exciting physical accomplishments. In two weeks, she went from not being able to sit up at all to sitting up by herself for several minutes while playing. She loves to grasp my fingers and pull herself up to standing, especially if her big sister is standing right next to her. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks back and forth, eventually stretching out on her tummy to reach whatever it is that she wants. And she has three teeth coming in, all at once!

Also at this age, she's at her most social. She can distinguish between her family and friends and strangers. Mommy is still her favorite, but she adores her big sister and has a special smile just for Daddy. She's always been a pretty cheerful baby and likes to smile at almost anyone who smiles at her. Just don't make her mad, because there are certain triggers (such as not feeding her RIGHT NOW when she's hungry after a long nap) that turn her from easygoing to enraged, from smiling to tearful and red-faced.

It was surprising to me how many differences I could see between my girls' personalities, right from the first weeks of their lives. Now those personality differences are more obvious. Kaitlyn has always been my cuddle-bug, my little Mommy's girl, the one who likes silence like me, whereas Alexandra was fairly independent right away and likes background noise like her daddy. Kaitlyn loves interesting textures and would rather be constantly on the move, touching and tasting things, while Alexandra always wanted to sit back and observe.

It is so exciting to watch babies gain new skills and abilities, and it astounds me how much you can know about these little beings who can't talk, just by observing them and interacting with them. I'm so looking forward to the next few months of the Golden Age.