Yesterday, one of my mommy anxieties came true: Cate rolled off of our bed.

We were about to take a mid-morning nap together, so I was sitting on the bed right next to her. She was at least a foot from the edge of the bed, and I turned away to grab her bib and burp cloth. I took my eyes off of her for maybe 3 seconds, and in that time, she did a full 360-degree roll. I turned around just in time to see her fall – I lunged to catch her and missed. She landed like a starfish, arms and legs out, flat on her little face.

Dave was downstairs and heard me scream, then a thump, and then Cate start to wail, so he came up to see what happened. She was fine – it scared her, of course, and I’m sure it hurt, but she didn’t even have so much as a bloody nose. Thank God.

After I got her calmed down, the adrenaline wore off and the nausea kicked in. If it weren’t for my gastric bypassed stomach, I’m pretty sure I would’ve thrown up. (As it is, it’s almost impossible for me to barf.) Instead, we lay down together and she fell asleep on her side facing me, clinging to my chest like a baby koala. She never sleeps like that, so it broke my heart even more, and I lay there with her and cried.

She seems to have forgotten the whole thing already, I just wish I could stop feeling guilty about it. I know this type of thing happens with almost every baby, but then I think about how we all have that nightmare that we’re falling from some great height, and I wonder if these types of events when we’re babies are what put those thoughts in our subconscious. So the idea that I might’ve damaged her tiny little psyche is just killing me. Ridiculous, I know, but that Mommy Guilt is a whopper.

Cate said “dada” for the first time yesterday. And she hasn’t stopped saying it all day today. I suppose it doesn’t really count because she hasn’t said it with intent, she’s just babbling and most of time it’s more like “dadadadadada.” She isn’t addressing Dave directly or anything.

She also said “die-die-die-die” a few times, and I told Dave that’s his fault for letting her hang out in the room when he’s watching horror movies. (Totally kidding. Again, she doesn’t know what it means, she’s just making sounds.)

I know lots of babies say dada first because the D sound is easier to pronounce. And particularly in Cate’s case, since she always has her tongue stuck out, she hasn’t figured out the M sound yet. She’s good at all of her vowel sounds, but only a few consonants so far – B, G, H, N, Y and now D. Earlier tonight I thought I heard a T as well, but I’m not sure. Still, kid needs to work on that M sound. Mama needs some reward for all this work I’m putting in. Hmph.

In honor of Cate’s 7-month birthday, she got her very first haircut. Which was actually more of a single snip – she had this one long piece of her bangs that kept falling into her eyes, so I trimmed it.

I was trying to even it up with all of her new hair that’s growing in, but I may have made it a little too short. Dave says she looks sort of like one of those kids in “Village of the Damned.” I think she looks cute. If she starts singing creepy children’s songs or jumping rope in slow-motion, I’ll worry. Until then, I think we’re ok.

Also, since the Stroller of DOOM! has been officially retired, my folks bought us a new one. It is so awesome, and was such a relief for my back since I finally had a break from toting her around on me for our daily walk.

I know you can’t tell that she was having fun, but she was. While we were out, we met one of our neighbors who was out for a walk with her 9 month-old, and who was very nice, but she (the neighbor, not the baby) had dreadlocks and was wearing army pants, so I think she might be too cool for me to hang out with. I’d feel like a big corporate nerd around her. I mean, come on, I don’t even buy the chlorine-free diapers at Whole Foods.

Oh, and thanks to Danielle for the tip on how to flip a video. I’ve re-posted my sister’s home movie.

Man, I need to get some videos of this child doing something other than bouncing in her jumperoo. It’s just that I can’t hold her and videotape her at the same time, and the jumperoo seems to be the only place I can set her down and she doesn’t scream. I will figure out another movie idea soon, though. Promise.

Today is Cate’s 7-month birthday. Now when I write these little milestone recaps, I have to go back and read the previous month’s, to make sure I’m not forgetting anything or mentioning something twice. I guess lots of parents probably brag excessively about their children’s accomplishments, and I don’t want to get too redundant. Anyway, Cate’s latest achievements:

* She raises her arms when she wants to be picked up. Which would be quite cute, except she does it all the time. And oh man, my aching back. Girlfriend is heavy.

* She’s still working on those first 2 teeth. You can see them just under the surface, but they have yet to make an appearance. I’m not in any rush for her teeth to come in, since that’s when I’ll have to start her on a fluoride supplement. That’s what happens when you live in the boonies and your water supply is from a well. We have to compensate for what our water is lacking. Fun.

* She’s slightly improving at sitting up on her own. I’ll get her sitting up, let go, she’ll be ok for a few seconds, then she flops over and face-plants on the carpet. It’s sweet, she reminds me of myself after a few margaritas.

* She is a backwards-scooting maniac. Set her down anywhere, and you will find her a minute later several feet, and usually at a 180-degree angle, from where she was. I guess that’s the problem with crawling backwards, it’s hard to stay in a straight line. It’s pretty hilarious to watch. Although half the time, she’ll get up on all fours and start to fuss because she can’t figure out what to do next.

* This has been the month that we’ve really started experimenting with solid food. So far, here’s the tally:
Likes: rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans
Dislikes: peas, yo baby yogurt (!), bananas (!!), and apple juice (!!!)

I find it really odd that she rejects all of the sweet tastes, but I guess that explains why I only craved salty foods when I was pregnant. The apple juice kind of made sense to me – she’s only ever had water in her sippy cup, so when you’re expecting water and you get juice, I’d imagine that’s it quite a shock to the taste buds. So the fact that she spit it out and started to cry seemed like a reasonable reaction. But the bananas and the yogurt? I have no explanation.

We have a new stroller that should be delivered tomorrow (courtesy of my parents, who rock), and I can’t wait because I’m so tired of lugging her around in the Baby Bjorn, and I think this will be much more fun for both of us. Who knows, I might even get over my fear of walking her down the big hill that we live on.