Five Months Old

Today, Josiah is five months old. He is definitely keeping us busy as of late.

His newest development is...

Okay, so this picture is quite useless, but do you know how hard it is to see, let alone take a picture of baby teeth?! That's right, teeth. Josiah has cut his first two teeth on the bottom. He has been working hard for days now, chewing/attacking everything in sight, and finally on Monday, we saw the slits in his gums where the teeth were making there way through. By yesterday, we could see the little white ridges poking through. He has been understandably cranky, and trying to shove everything in his mouth even more than usual. When we get too near to him, he actually attacks us, kind of like a little dog or bear cub, with growly noises and everything. Here he is chewing on celery. I thought it would be nice and cold on his gums. I actually thought of the idea because I remember my sister-in-law Melanie giving her kids cold, raw veggies from the fridge when they were teething (great idea Mel!), cut way too big for them to swallow of course! So far, this trick has been the most effective in relieving his little red gums.

Josiah is getting very good at moving around on his back. He can spin in circles, and move backwards pretty far across the floor. It scares me that he is getting around, and I am already looking through our space with new eyes, trying to keep all of those tiny choking hazards off of the floor, since everything he sees goes right into his mouth.

Hair cut number two. The kid grows like a weed and so does his hair. As his big cousin Maren pointed out, it also grows straight up in the air, just like his dad's! I think he will be forever stuck with spiky hair if it continues to grow up, but I like it!

We picked up a walker for Josiah, which he didn't really get at first (and his feet don't entirely reach the floor), but lately he is starting to push himself around, backwards (I'm noticing that all of his movements are backwards!). He loves the walker, and I'm sure will enjoy it more as he figures out to better maneuver it, frontwards.

Josiah is still an amazing baby, who is usually very happy. He loves to laugh, and squeals with delight when we play some of his favorite games. He is extremely ticklish too! I think he has Chris' laugh, so contagious, and from the belly when he really gets going. He loves people, and works his hardest to engage anyone who will listen. We really feel that he is extroverted. He is also developing quite a set of lungs, as he has practiced many variations of screaming (as anyone who has talked to us on the phone in the last month has discovered!). I am enjoying this phase of his life, and can't wait to see what this month holds!

And that's about it for our five month old little guy. Oh, and everybody is right, the time just flies by. I can't believe my baby is this old already!

Happy Birthday!

Chris is now another year older, although probably feeling a whole year younger, because for the past while he thought he was turning 37 instead of 36. That may have had something to do with the fact that I kept telling him he was turning 37- oops!

So yesterday, we had a great day. Josiah and I brought Chris breakfast after our outing (taking Josiah out of the house was part of the treat!). Then, he just hung out for the morning (after a quick work meeting), and played games, and opened presents, then we took birthday cake to share with his parents. After that, we came back home, and had some down time. The boys took naps while I got things ready for the evening. Friends of ours kept Josiah for us, so we could go out for supper. We were thinking of catching a movie too, but the old guy is having back issues this week, so we had to call it an early night :)! It was really nice to get out though. A pretty low key birthday compared to some others, but I think he enjoyed the day!

Not a bad looking guy for being on his way to 40, huh?!

Psalm

Lately, things have been pretty crazy, not so much for Chris, Josiah and me, but for many people around us. It seems like every week there is a new crisis, or someone having a really rough time, or someone struggling with illness. As I have been praying for these things, God has brought back a verse that he gave me a long time ago when I was having a difficult time. I find it so comforting to know that God is near when we need Him, and when we feel helpless in the midst of our circumstances.

" Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom and broke away their chains. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for he breaks down the gates of bronze, and cuts through bars of iron." Psalm 107:13-16

Progress Report

Well, here are the results of our weight loss efforts in the past couple of weeks:

Chris:
Current Loss- 5 pounds
Total Loss- 20 pounds

Jenn:
Current Loss- (Well, actually gain! I have not done so well in the past couple of weeks, but I am back on track, and working hard again!)- gain 4 pounds.
Total Loss- 11 pounds

Thanks to everybody who has continued to encourage us through the ups and downs!

We're Finally Back

After sharing a cold for about a week, we are all feeling much better.

Here is a picture of the boys, both feeling pretty miserable:

I wanted to share a few highlights from the past couple of weeks, since we've all been out of commission. The first is a couple of pictures of the small Super Bowl celebration Chris had at our place. He was thrilled to share this experience with Josiah and his two brothers, although, I must say that Josiah had to go to bed right after kick-off. All of the TV, shouting, and excitement exhausted him. Chris was left to watch the game with Mitch and Scott (probably for the best!).

#1

This is Josiah, acting very hyper. I think he was picking up on his dad's energy!

His limbs just couldn't seem to stop flailing all day.

Here are all of the boys, just before the big game.

#2

After I gave birth to Josiah, a group of girls got together, and gave me a gift certificate to La Spa. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I had my appointment. It was so nice and relaxing.

They started by serving coffee, then doing my hair, then a massage, then finishing my hair.

What a perfect afternoon!

#3

In developmental news, Josiah is getting so strong. He now spends quite a bit of time playing on his tummy, rolling over, and he is mobile! Not is a traditional sense, like crawling, or walking, but he lays on his back, lifts his bottom, and scoots himself. He can get pretty far in a short time!

Josiah is loving stories too! Here he is reading with daddy. He loves to hold the other corner, turn pages, and occasionally grab the book and suck on it. Everything is going in his mouth. Any tips on how to teach kids that books are not edible?!

Eating cereal is still going well. We have increased the amount a bit. Josiah continues to fight to hold the spoon, and the bowl, which makes it all feel a bit like a wrestling match.

The other problem is...the huge mess! The stuff is like paste, and sometimes if I forget to rinse the bowl, it has trouble coming off, even in the dishwasher.

Oh, and it's not that easy to get out of hair either.

#4

On Valentines' Day, my mom came up and spent the day with Josiah so Chris and I could go out together. It was so wonderful to get away for the afternoon! We went out for lunch, then to a movie, and finished off by strolling around Chapters. We really don't get out much together (actually only two times since the beginning of December)! I'm sure this will be easier once we feel Josiah is old enough to pay a babysitter to come stay with him, but for now it is a struggle. Although this month we have started a babysitting swap with some friends, which we have done once, and we love it!

Oh yeah, and Josiah continues to grow and grow like crazy. The pants he is wearing in the picture were too big on him just a month ago!

And that pretty much sums up everything new in our house.

Hopefully I will be back to posting more regularly now that everything is back to normal!

First Meal

Last Monday, Josiah had his four-month old doctor's appointment, and it went very well. We are thankful that he is very strong and healthy; although, the doctor indicated that his activeness may keep us hopping for quite some time to come!

For a while now, our doctor has been recommending that we start Josiah on rice cereal, due to his size and increasing nutritional needs. We really wanted to wait until the four month mark, so last week, we thought we'd let him give it a try. It was so funny. He laughed his head off, and so did we- we both commented that we had never seen him as happy as in those first few moments when the spoon hit his mouth. Take a look...

Near the end, he actually grabbed the cup out of Chris' hand and started sucking on it furiously. I'm not sure what was bigger, his mess or his smile!