9 months!

Dear Hunter,
You are 9 months old now. Your daddy and I are so glad that you live with us and that we get to be a part of all of your days. You are usually very easy going. You love people and like to be where the action is. You smile easily and your little laugh is so adorable!
Lately, your favorite thing has been to "raaaawwwrrr." You like to see how high you can get your voice and then see how low you can get your voice. Then you like the sound of making your breath really loud-- like you are "roar"ing under your breath. You say "dadada" all the time and sometimes you throw in a "ba" or a "ma" or a "na." You have 6 little teeth: you just cut the sixth one a few nights ago.

You have started eating Cheerios and it is so cute to watch you figure out how to get something from your hand to your mouth. You are very patient. You have had a few tastes of bread and even some mashed potatoes this month. You LOVE your sippy cup and get so excited when it is offered to you. For breakfast, you usually have a mixed cereal with a fruit mixed in, like pears or applesauce. For dinner, you usually eat a veggie or two and sometimes you have a meat. Your favorite is still carrots. You still eat breast milk five times a day, but that is beginning to change. Today your babysitter gave you a bottle and that went really well.

You sleep like a champ: usually about 11 hours at night and then another 2-3 during the day. Your schedule is very consistent!

You really love to play. Gone are the days where I could just set you on a blanket and then we would stare at each other. No, these days you are on the move. You love your "bounce bounce" (the door jumparoo thingy), your truck that plays music, your glow worm, and board books. You love your Baylor Bear (sic 'em) and your mirror. And basically anything else you can get your little hands on!

I love being your mom! You are such a sweet baby and you give hugs a lot. You love to cuddle and that always makes my heart melt! You have the most handsome blue eyes and I love when they light up. You are the sweetest baby I could ever imagine.

Today I took you to the doctor and this is what she told me:
You weigh: 19 lbs and 14 oz
You are: 28 1/2 inches tall

You are growing up! :) I love every inch of you!!!
Love, Your Mom!

sugar

For Hunter's 9 month birthday, we all went to Starbucks. Our Starbucks visits are much less frequent these days and we so enjoyed the yummy treats!

Hunter tried whipped cream for the very first time. This was his very first taste of sugar... so cute. It is unclear if he liked it or not.

mobile

Oh the changes! He is growing and learning more every minute! Check out this video of him manipulating his little body to get to the baseball!

In Christ Alone

This is my prayer for the day. It is a modern day hymn written by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend.

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

wake up!

Just went in to get Hunter up from a nap. I could hear him making noises and talking so I decided to sneak up on him with my camera. Here is the video:



Here are a few pics of him waking up the past few days:



Here is a picture of how I found him sleeping a few mornings ago. He knows how to get comfy!

no more meds!

Hunter went to the urologist today at St. Louis Children's Hospital. What a great facility. The staff are all so friendly and the atmosphere is actually quite cheery. Hunter's doctor was great-- very relaxed and informative. We decided together that since Hunter's reflux appears to be minor and in no way damaging or hurting his kidneys, we are going to take him off of his medicine! YAY! We have really struggled over the thought of giving our son a prescription drug everyday for years. He has already been on it close to 5 months at this point and that feels so extreme. The doctor assured us that taking Hunter off the meds will not hurt him in anyway. If Hunter gets another Urinary Tract Infection, we will have to re-evaluate at that point what our options are. The doc suggested we have another ultrasound in the summer of 2011 to check Hunter's kidneys, if there are no issues before that.

We feel so encouraged by the visit and so thankful that Hunter's reflux appears to be minor. No more grape meds every night!

In other Hunter news, He really loves his bath time. I got these adorable pictures the other night during bath time...

Instant Gratification

Our culture has an obsession with Instant Gratification: email gets delivered in a second, microwaves make dinner in no time, drive thrus can hand us the perfect soy chai no water latte in minutes, and Google provides the answer to literally ANY question in .0279 seconds.

I'd like to say that I am "above" that thinking and can take the time to do whatever needs to be done with a great attitude and patience knowing that the process is good for me and all that.

But it is not true.

I spent several hours on Friday cutting and placing my material to make curtains for Hunter's room. Then I started sewing. I thought since my great friend Courtney was nice enough to let me borrow her sewing machine this project would be done in no time. I mean, how hard could it be to sew together a few pieces of material?

Let me tell you, it's HARD. I ran out of time on Friday and had to try again on Tuesday. I went to Courtney's house right before Hunter's nap so that he could sleep as I put together the curtains. As soon as I would start to get the hang of it the thread would run out. Then I would re-thread the machine and start again-- forgetting to put the "foot" down and immediately my needle would lose its threading. Then the bobbin would run out. Not to mention how many times I would get off track or sew it wrong... I was anything but patient and I almost gave up so many times.

Four hours later, I completed the project. Don't look too close, the seams are not beautiful, but I am pretty proud of myself. I made 4 panels, 2 for each window. Check them out:

I guess I can say perseverance is good. But I told Courtney I am going to think long and hard before I decide to sew again. And then when I decide I should, I gave her complete permission to ask me to think about it more.