7 months!

Our sweet baby Jameston turned 7-months-old on Tuesday, which also happened to fall on his Mommy's 28th birthday. I know this probably goes without saying, but I've gotta write it because I am beaming from ear to ear right now just thinking about our precious gift from God: he's the best present I've ever had!


My goodness, he is learning so much lately. These days our bald little boy is definitely an active fella, taking in the big world around him each day. And Brett and I are having the time of our lives watching him grow. I've heard this before, but now I can say that I truly understand...it is absolutely AMAZING to see life through your child's eyes!

With at-home measurements, we guesstimate JW, as we call him (or his even more concise nickname, "J-Dub"), to be around 20 pounds and 28 1/4 inches long. I think he realizes he is now bigger than Mr. Bear :-)

These days our BIG boy is eating solid foods three times a day, taking a bottle or nursing 4-5 times a day, and he started drinking diluted juice from a sippy cup about two weeks ago. Atta boy, Jameston!

This past month has been filled with some big "firsts" for our little guy. Now he is:

• Sitting in the tub: This is by far one of his favorite parts of the day! We bought an Elmo bathmat that he sits on after we start letting the water drain. He is still not the most independent sitter, so we take him out of his bath chair after he's all cleaned up and let him go to town! It is so fun to watch him splashing in the water (we need to wear scuba gear ourselves because of how drenched we get!) and grabbing at the different colorful characters. He is definitely our little water baby; can't wait to see how he reacts to swimming pools in the summer!
• Movin' and a Shakin': Jameston is a busy boy these days! Diaper changes are becoming more difficult, and his gross motor skills are great!  He is inching forward while on his stomach, and moving around a lot by pushing off of anything (the floor when laying on his back, our laps, etc.) with his feet.
• Brushing his new-found teeth: Let me clarify that, we are doing the brushing of course :-) He doesn't quite know what to make of it yet, but he makes the cutest little scrunched-up face when having it done! He still only has the two on the bottom, but his top right central is about to break through.
• Signing: I have started some Sign Language with him, mainly when he's eating, with the words "more," "all gone/finished," "food" and "juice."
• Passing objects back and forth between hands-and knowing when he drops something where to look for it!
• Reaching for and banging on EVERYTHING: Although we have not yet baby-proofed the house, we are becoming more aware of what's around us and try to be extra careful of what is within arms-length of our boy, who appears to have go-go Gadget arms!
• Sleeping through the night!: Let me type that again...our baby boy is (finally) sleeping through the night! This is a very recent development (seriously, only the past four nights...BUT he also did it several nights last week), so we hope he is onto something! I feel like I need to knock on wood as I type that because this has been an area we have really struggled with him. He still wakes up a couple of times during a 10-12 hour stint but has learned that he does not need to eat in the middle of the night anymore :-)
  
  
  
  
• (Above) Jameston is the Star of the Month at his daycare! And to celebrate, they have posted pictures of him and a list of his favorite things. Also, the other babies in his classroom get to enjoy some of his favorites: stuffed animal (Tigger), book (Goodnight Moon...one of many; he's not picky, since he mostly looks at the bright colors and just wants to put books in his mouth right now!), and toy (Lots of Links...of course, he's not picky when it comes to toys either, but I figured this would be a toy the babies could easily "share"). Ain't that right, Baby J?

At 7 months, Jameston LOVES:

Going for walks in his stroller, 

His Baby Einstein DVD, 

Playing in his Jumperoo,

(have I said that before? :-)

When Mommy claps,

Anything with tags and straps,

(to put in his mouth!)

Watching ceiling fans,

and Marlie!
 

We want to remember that, at this age, Jameston has:

• Unfortunately, had to endure allergies (thanks to our crazy weather) and constipation (thanks to one of his favorites foods, bananas)
• Been super clingy, especially to his Mommy (maybe stranger danger? Thought that happened a little later...don't know for sure, but I don't mind a bit :-) 
• Started to bite our necks when we hold him...we are assuming he does this to relieve gum pain from teething. Needless to say, we are not enjoying this new Vampire-like habit of his! So we are sure to say "No" when he does it. It's easily forgotten after we look into his baby blues...

Notice the bowls when he's in his highchair? They are not his food bowls (don't want him to learn to play with his food!) but merely a distraction ploy we use if he gets fussy while eating...and Marlie is another good distraction or "de-fusser," as she has been nicknamed :-)

Just love that smile and laugh of his!

We love you, JW, and thank God for you every day!