Emptied to be Filled: Seventh Heaven

Our precious boy is seven months old now. His little personality is showing more and more each day. A little bundle of sunshine and smiles is he! Every day I am in awe of how blessed I am to be his Mommy.


Believe it or not, this is the best monthly shot we could get! He'd rather eat his monkey than sit beside it!

John Hudson started eating solid food this month! He has been a champ with trying new things. Some he likes, some not so much. So far, he has eating egg yolk, avocado, beef broth, beef liver, banana, sweet potato and carrots. At first he seemed to like them all, but has recently decided that he does not like avocado (thankyouverymuch). And the egg seems to give him an allergic reaction, so those two are off the list for now. Many people have turned their noses up when we mention that John Hudson eats beef liver. But after learning about how wonderful it is for him to eat grass-fed liver, I just couldn't pass it up. Granted, it does stink and makes him smell like a little liver all day--but he tolerates it well!

John Hudson's hair is officially LONG. He gets mistaken for a girl at least once a week. Michael says its because of his teething necklace (which is probably a good assumption). I'm just not sure if I can bring myself to cut that sweet baby hair yet! We'll just be sure to dress him in clearly BOY clothes :)

During playtime, John Hudson is scooting all over the place. Although he's not crawling yet, he has learned how to barrel roll to wherever he pleases. He flips and flops all over his crib at night. This month we've particularly enjoyed reading. He is so sweet to hold the book (and try to eat it) and seems so interested. We enjoy reading the Jesus Storybook Bible as part of our nighttime routine. A few weeks ago I bought John Hudson a new teething toy at Target. It is the target version of the famous Sophie the Giraffe toy. To say he loves it is an understatement. Just one squeak from monk-monk instantly sends a smile to his face. It seems to really help his teething.

Speaking of teething, John Hudson still only has two teeth. But if constant gnawing is any indication of more to come, then we'll have more soon. For now, I can't get enough of this precious smile.

This month has brought better sleep with it, thankfully. We had to do a version of "cry it out" which I said I would never, ever do. But when we hadn't slept in two months we became desperate. He only cried for three nights and now we lay him down awake each night and he goes to sleep quietly and quickly. Here is our nighttime routine:
7:30: Nurse, bath, coconut oil massage
7:50: Rock and read Jesus Storybook Bible (Daddy usually reads to us), sing one song, pray
8:00: Kisses and night night!
John Hudson usually wakes up between 1:30-2 to nurse and again around 5-5:30. He's awake for the day around 7. Some would say that being up twice in the night and for good at 7 am is not great, but compared to seven or eight times a night, we'll take it! Plus, nursing at night keeps my milk supply strong and its the sweetest time ever with by baby boy.

Fall has brought with it many fun things. A trip to the pumpkin patch down the road from our house, our fall family gathering at Dickert farm, and morning walks bundled up for the crisp air. We are enjoying each day with our little guy more than the last. Truly, children are a blessing from the Lord!