8 Months Old

James turned 8 months old on January 23rd! It's hard to believe that he is growing up so quickly.  Really it seems that he was born just last week. I would like for time to slow down.  I really try to savor every moment with him, and enjoy all the new things he does each day.

He is a crawling machine! He knows how to turn the xbox on and off, which he just loves.  He pulls up on all the furniture and "cruises" on it.  I think that he might walk before he's a year old, but I could be wrong.  He still hasn't said any words, but he is constantly babbling. Right now he is sticking his tongue out all the time. And when he "talks" he likes to stick it out and curl it up. It's quite funny to watch.  He is so animated, and 99% of the time he is very happy.  He likes to explore everything, and tries to climb on everything too.  My mom said that the prayed I would have a kid just like me, I climbed on everything and had no fear. 

James has a huge appetite. He eats a whole banana, and a serving of oatmeal after nursing, each morning.  For lunch he nurses and then usually eats 2 veggies and a serving of oatmeal.  This week we introduced chicken pot pie to him.  I pureed it, since he has no teeth, I knew he wouldn't be able to chew the chicken.  He LOVED it! So far the only food he refuses to eat is lima beans.   He is a good napper, normally taking 3-4 naps a day, since he is on a 3 hour schedule for eating.  I am considering moving him to a 4 hour schedule again, but I'm not sure he will go back to it. 

Prayer Request

I would like to ask that anyone who reads this please pray for the Murphy family. I have known Ashlyn since she was very young. We went to church together until my family changed churches.  Last year she got married, and now she is pregnant with a precious baby boy.  A few weeks ago at her 20 week ultrasound the doctor did not like the way the baby's heart looked so they were sent to a specialist. Their baby boy has been diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot with Absent Pulmonary Valve Syndrome.  He is going to need surgery after birth, and I can't even begin to imagine what Ashlyn and her husband are going though. Please pray for strength and comfort for them, and also for baby Murphy to continue to grow strong and to be as healthy as possible at birth.

Please check out their blog and pray for Baby Murphy. 

Big Boy Car Seat

Today I purchased James a big boy car seat.  My mother-in-law has a subscription to Consumer Reports (CR), so I checked on there to see what was the top rated seat.  I was not willing to spend more than $200. I know that safety is the number one priority for James, but price does come into play. 

When looking on CR I found the Evenflo Momentum 65 DLX, and was very interested in it. It was not the highest rated convertible seat, but it was just below the Britax, and a reasonable price.  I searched online, and called local stores, but no one carried it in store.  I really wanted to see the seat in person before committing to it.  I decided to check CR for the All in One seats, and the highest rated one was the Evenflo Symphony DLX. It was rated highest of the All in One seats at a score of 66 out of 100. I had a fair rating on the rear facing fit to car. It got a very good rating on harnessed crash protection, forward facing fit to vehicle, ease of use, and crash protection/belt fit booster.

I have owned Evenflo's in the past for my nieces. I like that the straps have the "infinite slide" so there is no re-threading required to adjust the strap height. All you have to do is slide them up!  I know that will come in handy once James is facing forward. I have a friend who told me that she purchased the same car seat for her son and they love it!  I was happy to hear a good review from someone I personally know.

I do not plan on using the car seat for a few months, because James still fits in his infant carrier just fine. I do like being able to cover him up in the infant carrier when we are going to the car, especially since it's so cold here right now.

Once we start using the seat I will definitely post my personal feelings about it. 

7 months old

James tuned 7 months old on December 23rd.  Taking his monthly pictures has officially gotten fun!He will not stay still for them any longer.  I love taking the pictures each month and being able to compare them to the previous months.

At 7 months old James is crawling everywhere, and pulling up on everything. I can no longer put him in the floor and walk out of the room for a second.  It is so much fun to watch him explore, and he gets so exited when he does something new.

I know he is almost 8 months old now, but he went to the doctor on Jan 15th, and he is 16lbs 11oz, and 26 3/4 inches long.  He's a growing boy! He still loves to eat, although he likes to act like he is gagging when I offer green beans and lima beans.

Christmas 2012 Pt 2

Christmas Eve James and I went to visit my good friends the Phillips in Cumming. It was so nice to be able to spend a couple of hours with them. Jessie and I are 2 days apart in age, and both married Joshuas and both have babies born in May named James. lol!

In the evening on Christmas Eve Joshua's family came over to celebrate. We have a tradition of eating breakfast for dinner, and I love that. It's so yummy!  I was trying to be flexible and keep James up a little later than normal so he could open his presents from Joshua's family.  He only lasted till about 7:30. He was a tired little guy. But he did open his presents from Mimi, his great grandma.

 

 

Christmas morning after James nursed we let him open his stocking, that way he could play with that stuff while I fixed his food.  All of his other presents were sitting out and he wanted to get into them so bad! It was cute.

 





After James ate breakfast we opened presents with him. We had to break up his present opening because he got tired and needed his morning nap. He got so many good presents from his grandma and grandpa, Joshua's parents.

 

 

After we finished opening presents with Joshua's parents we went to my grandparents house. We enjoyed a yummy lunch of prime rib, twice baked potatoes, green bean casserole, sunday salad, yeast rolls, and mema's chocolate cake. We always have the same exact meal every year. I love it. It's probably my favorite part of the day! James was happy throughout the day, but was over opening presents, so he didn't help open anything.

 



Christmas night Joshua's family got together again, and yes we were expected to be there.  We had another meal of prime rib. We get almost the same exact meal twice in one day. 

Overall Christmas was a success! It was fun to watch James experience everything.  I know that it was hard on him to be passed around so much and have his schedule messed up by all the gatherings.  But he did so good!