James eats cereal

James' pediatrician recommended we start James on rice cereal. Until now, James has been exclusively breastfed. James has shown us some pretty obvious signs that he is ready for solids... he stares intently at us when we are eating, he reaches for our cups, spoons, forks, plates and bowls, and he has started to move his mouth like he's chewing whenever he sees us eating. Below are three videos of his first bites of food...

At first, James was not too sure


But then he got the hang of it


And after a few bites, he'd had enough

Pensacola in pictures

Great grandma and James

Mommy, James and great grandpa

Grandpa, James and great grandpa

Cute James


Mommy and Uncle Robert at the beach


James with some Gabriel and Huff boys

Mommy with Uncle Tom's toys

Prayers for James' great grandpa

James and I have been in Pensacola, Florida for almost 2 weeks now. My grandpa, James' great grandpa, was diagnosed with metastatic lung cancer shortly after our visit in August. Dave was unable to make another trip to Florida because of work, so James and I hitched a ride with my dad, James' grandpa, on his way down from Idaho. Great grandpa has been doing radiation for a couple weeks now and testing is still being done to determine if chemotherapy is an option. The radiation is helping with some of the pain that great grandpa was experiencing, but new issues arise each day. James has brought lots of smiles to great grandpa's face these past couple weeks. Even though James won't remember his time with his great grandpa, I am so happy that he is able to bring him a little joy while he's feeling so bad.

This picture is from our trip in August...

This picture is from our current trip...

My prayers are that great grandpa can have some relief from the pain he is experiencing, that he knows and feels the love that our family has for him, and most importantly, that he seeks the Lord for strength and knows His love every minute of every day.

4 month check-up

At the doctor today, we found out James weighs 13 pounds 12.5 ounces putting him in the 50th percentile, and he is 25.5 inches long putting him in the 75th percentile. He is long and lean! We talked to the doctor about several things including starting solids and getting James to sleep through the night. There should be several new things happening for James in the next couple months! We are so excited about James' development and we can't wait to see what comes next!

Giggle Monster

James is 4 months old!

Our sweet little boy is growing so fast (he has his 4 month check-up next week, so I'll post his stats then)! James brings us so much joy and we love him more and more each day. He is smiling all the time, and his little giggle is more easily provoked. When we do get him giggling, he almost always gets the hiccups! James can roll in all directions with little effort. On most nights, he is waking only 1 time to nurse. We are all much more rested! In the past 4 months he has acquired more nicknames than anyone I know. James is often referred to as: June Bug, Little Buddy, Monkey, Wiggle Worm, Stinky, Cutie Patootie, Sweet Pea and many more.

Our growing boy!

He won't stay on his back for long!

James was watching TV with daddy and wiggled himself into this position on daddy's lap. He stayed like this for quite a while!