Belated 8 Months

Isaiah turned 8 months on August 25th.  It just astounds us when we look at him and realize how much he's grown and changed over recent weeks!  Here are some updates:

- He got his second tooth around 7 1/2 months, so he now has his two central incisors on the bottom.  Let me tell you, they're sharp!  He still chews everything in sight, so I don't think it will be too long before another one pops through.  His little toothy grin is awfully cute, though I don't think we've managed to capture it on camera yet.
- He's now eating some fingerfoods (started just before turning 8 months).  He's mastered Puffs and Multigrain Cheerios, and we're working on fruits and veggies that are easy to pick up.  He likes banana, but I have to coat the pieces in Cheerio crumbs so they're not too slimey for him to pick up.  We tried avocado, but a lot of it ended up squished in his hands.  He had lima beans this week and did pretty well with them, though they clearly aren't his favorite.  At daycare, they have a table with multiple infant seats built within it, and when they sit Isaiah at the table while other kids are eating snacks, he's quick to grab for they're food.  As a result, Isaiah get 2-3 snacktimes a day at daycare!!!  At least its just Puffs and Cheerios :)
-We're working on learning to use a sippy cup.  He likes to chew on the spout rather than drink from it, and he really enjoys banging it on his highchair.
-Isaiah still isn't crawling, but I know it's just a matter of time.  He just seems to be very content sitting on the floor with a soft block in his hands (or his mouth, really).  I guess he's not much of an explorer, and I'm pretty okay with that.  He scoots on his behind to move small distances or to turn around.  He really dislikes being on his belly at all right now, so that also hinders learning to crawl.
-He has learned to clap and he loves when we play pat-a-cake.
-There isn't an 8month check-up, but I did have to take Isaiah to the doctor last week for an ear infection.  He weighed 20.9 lbs, a pretty big jump from his 6month weight of 16.5 lbs.  I think that's the largest increase in weight that he's had in a 2 month period, and you can tell he's filled out more just by looking at his cute cheeks.  He's grown out of a lot of the 9mo sized clothes and is wearing some 12mo items.

We visited family over Labor Day weekend.  Unfortunately, I failed to get my camera out at all on Sunday while at the family reunion on Mom's side, so I hope someone will send me pics from that (hint hint Jewel).  Here are some of the pictures I did take over the weekend:

Boys' Night

I'm behind on blogging, so the "Boys' Night" actually occurred August 16th. Chris invited good pals Justin and Kevin over to the house on a Monday night when the Braves were playing the Dodgers. I was still working the night shift at that point, so I left the "three men and a baby" after a dinner of pizza. I came home the next morning to find these pictures on my camera and couldn't help laughing out loud. While I'm sure the guys enjoyed the baseball game, from the pictures it seems they had a better time playing with Isaiah.

Isaiah clearly doesn't know what to think about the nude photoshoot happening here.

Bedtime bottle from Justin.

Kevin must have been hungry too.

Cute video recorded by Justin during bathtime:

Hallie Virginia Holcomb

It's a girl!! Melissa had her sweet baby girl at 4:55am on September 1--Hallie Virginia. She weighs 8lb 6oz and is 22 in long. We may have a future basketball star in our midst! We're thrilled to have a new niece (I can finally buy pink for someone!) and I know she and Isaiah will be great pals. We're going to visit in a few weeks and will post more pictures after we get back.

Here are some additional pics from Melissa and Jason's blog (Holcomb Happenings):

We think she looks like Daddy, don't you? 

Family

Here are some recent pictures, most of which are from our visit to Nashville to meet this beautiful baby:

Landon Chase Lecklider

Snuggling with Mommy

All 3 Cousins (and their Mommys) together for the first time--boy are we in for

some fun in the years ahead!!

Getting to know Landon and astounded at the changes that occur in 7 short months!

Uncle Chris (don't get any ideas, honey...we need more time!)

Uncle (and new Daddy) Chase--Isaiah was obsessed with his beard

Uncle J--Jared always has a very calming effect on Isaiah (that will come in handy for the 6 kids Jared says he wants someday :)

Isaiah and Cuz'n Jude playing around--Isaiah was very interested in Jude, and Jude was very interested in the toy. That's okay, Jude made up for it the next day at the hospital (I'll try to post a cute video from that later)

We got to meet up with Laura Lee while in Nashville--she hadn't seen Isaiah since he was Landon's age. Our visit was too short but great nonetheless.

Isaiah dressed up for church last week. This was one of Jared's outfits as a baby (complete with matching hat below that Chris would never dream of letting Isaiah wear in public). For 20 years old, still looks pretty good, huh?

Can you tell Isaiah loves the camera these days? He's such a cheese!

A few recent updates on my baby boy:

-The day after I posted at 7 months that his favorite syllabyl was "bah", he learned "dadadada" and a few days later, he added "mamamama". We just eat it up and like to believe that he knows exactly what he's saying

-Isaiah moved up to "Nursery II" at his daycare on August 9...it makes me a bit nervous with him being with older, more mobile babies, but I know this had to happen at some point.

That's all for now, more pictures soon...

Landon Chase Lecklider

It's a boy!! My sister had her sweet baby boy, Landon Chase Lecklider, at 9:54am (or thereabouts) today. He weighs 8lb8oz and is 20 3/4 inches long. We are so very excited for this little guy's arrival. Three boys in 7 months in the Littrell family...I can't even begin to imagine the mess our three little boy cousins are going to get into in the coming years, but I know they'll have a lot of fun doing it. We're going to Nashville this weekend to meet Landon for the first time. I'll post pics when we get back.

7 Months

My baby is 7 months old today! Wow! What a sweet, precious, fun boy he is!! Here are some updates...
- His first tooth broke through today (I felt it while he was chewing on my chin)
- He's sitting up pretty well on his own, though he has a tough time rebalancing if he gets off kilter, so I can't leave him on his own yet
- He loves playing on his tummy, and he's scooting a little (primitive crawl) to get to toys, though most of the time to get something, he'll roll to it
- He's babbling a lot, and his favorite syllabyl is "bah"
- He's eating a good variety of foods, including rice cereal, vegetables, fruits, and meat/veg/fruit mixtures
- He's outgrown his bouncer seat--after seeing him pull himself up on the toybar and then try to get out the side (almost toppling over), I decided we better retire it
- He wakes up happy in the morning now. He'll often lay in bed and coo a while (10 minutes or so) before letting us know he wants to be fed (aka fussing)
- I had to move the jumperoo up the next height, and he's just loving bouncing around in it. His legs are getting awfully strong from all of that exercise

Grandmom has been in town this past week for a visit, and she and Isaiah have had lots of QT. It was nice for Isaiah to have so much one-on-one time during the week, and she helped out a lot around the house so we could have more quality time with him in the evenings. We'll miss you, Gmom!

6 months & Anniversary in Hot Springs

On June 25, Isaiah turned 6 months old and our marriage turned 5 years old. We celebrated by going to Hot Springs, Arkansas for the weekend (also the last weekend before starting my internship). We had a nice time but quickly realized that vacations are so very different with young ones along--flexibility is definitely the key, it seems. Here are a few pictures from the trip...

Checking out the Fordyce Bath-house below...part of the national park...

On a riverboat ride on Lake Hamilton--beautiful!

Updates on Isaiah in recent weeks--he loves his feet, no teeth yet but one is about to pop through on the bottom, he loves all food except green peas and he shows a lot of interest in our food/drinks, he is often very vocal (especially in quiet places--restaurants, etc), really good hand-eye coordination, he loves, loves, LOVES Frankie, he naps better during the day when at home but not so much at daycare, and he's sleeping through the night like a champ. At his 6 month appointment, he weighed 16lb 8 oz (50th%), his length was 27in (75th%), and his head circumference was 50-75th%.

Isaiah has been sick the past couple of days, and it's been really challenging with me now working full-time with very little flexibility. It's breaking my heart to see him so little each day, and I'm torn with feelings of guilt, missing him, worry, etc. This is one major adjustment. We know we'll get through it with God's help, but we definitely would appreciate your prayers as we transition.