Yes, the big news this month was she began crawling. It is still new for her, and she quickly degenerates into rolling or pulling herself, but she is crawling. Earlier in the month she began rolling, first in a very limited way and later to the point that she could roll from one end of the large sheet we lay on the ground to the other. The week before crawling she began leaning on her elbow, propping herself up on her side and interacting with the world in a very mature-looking way. It is really so cute.
Another big milestone for Elena is she began sitting in her high chair at the table with us. She probably could have done it earlier but we were trying to hold out until we moved into our new house, so we didn’t have yet another thing to move. But, eventually it was clear that she was ready and it would be easier, so we got the high chair. It really changes the way Elena lives with us: during dinner she can sit at the table and do her own thing and allow us to eat. During the day I can put her in it and get some number of minutes – small or large – where she is happy to be sitting with daddy and able to do her own thing while sharing a moment. She is also eating food more regularly as Sigrid tries to give her one thing or another every day. For the most part she doesn’t like what she is eating but she eats nonetheless. She likes to bite down on things, most likely because of all her teeth that are slowly-but-surely getting ready to push through.
Elena has been trying to talk all month. It’s only periodic, but there are moments where it is clear that she is trying to verbally communicate yet is not uttering anything resembling a word thus far.
The sad news for me is that Elena and Sigrid left a few days ago to spend August with Sigrid’s family in Germany. Over the years I’ve gotten used to being away from “home” for a week or two and any “missing” of loved ones that comes with it is just sort of normal at this point. I’m not sure whether it is the duration or the fact it is Sigrid and Elena who I am apart from or a little of both, but I’m really feeling the ache of loneliness in a way that I haven’t in many, many years. The closest thing recently is at the end of a visit from my sons, just as I get used to them being around and in my life, the painful realization that they are about to be ripped away once again.
So alas, I will have little first-hand knowledge to report on Elena’s seventh month. As much as I want time to slow down these days, I must confess to hoping August rightly flies by.
