Orange you glad...

...that Russell can feed himself some things? Jason and I are :)

Russell doesn't have the best fine motor skills yet, but he does have some awesome chewing skills. (That sounds weird, but he can chew things that would choke some babies, even though he only has two teeth.)

Anyway, since his fine motor skills aren't great, but we want to teach him to eat independently, we've been giving him large, soft pieces of food he can pick up himself. Like bread.

And orange slices.





He is really good at eating them, although he does leave a bit of a disaster area...



...which he likes to play in when he's through eating.



Mess notwithstanding, we are happy he can eat a few things on his own, leaving less pureeing for Mommy to do!

Incidentally, if you can think of other large, soft foods for Russell, we're open to suggestion :)

10 months old!

Double digits! :)









I'm looking at these photos, and ohmygosh it's true - he really is looking like a little boy. It's only from the inside that you realize how fast they grow...

Anyway, Russell isn't doing new things so much as reacting in new ways lately; here are some things that make him Russell:

~When someone he doesn't recognize speaks to him (if I'm holding him), he gives a shy little smile and then ducks his head toward my shoulder.
~If you place him on a bed, he immediately starts laughing and kicking and rolling (this is because Jason always roughhouses with him on our bed).
~He loves to play "pass the baby:" he will reach out his arms to be held by me, then when I have him, he will reach back to Jason, and so on. It's like he loves us both so much that he can't decide :)
~He will eat absolutely anything you put in front of him (food or otherwise) - we have given him olives, asparagus, baked beans - the only food he dislikes now is potatoes. (Who doesn't like potatoes?!)
~He will only sleep in his crib or on long trips in his carseat - we are always home at nap time or there are embarrassing meltdowns.

We are ready for month 10 - hopefully it will bring some crawling with it (I know, you're saying I'll eat my words :)).

Pardon the Interruption...

Apparently my laptop has some sort of "bad" virus (said the computer guy Jason called). Blog posts may be few and far between until it's fixed because I am using the tower connected to our TV to type this - not the easiest thing.

In the meantime, a short post:

Russell and I went to visit my parents last week and had such a blast! I think he really misses them - yesterday I swear he said "Pops" :)



He also enjoyed playing my parents' piano - yay! Maybe he will follow in his Mommy's footsteps; he would be a fun duet partner:



...and then my camera battery about died; should have brought my charger. Fam, I'm waiting on your pictures of the cookout on Saturday!

Another great weekend!

We visited Jason's parents this weekend.

There was a plethora of yummy food:



There was plenty of lazy time on the couch:



There was so much fun with family:





...and there was not one picture of Russell (by me, anyway) - I'm not sure how that happened! Hope he won't be scarred for life - after all, it's not like we have hundreds of pictures of him already ;)

Easter Weekend

An egg hunt, a potluck, a church service, a lovely Easter supper - just a few of our family's fun events of this weekend!



On Saturday evening, we visited a friend's house for an Easter egg hunt/potluck hosted by our Sunday school class. Russell loved sitting outside, shaking the Easter eggs, and watching the "big kids" play. I made a recipe from Jason's mom, pineapple au gratin, and it was one dish that was completely gone at the end! I love it when people enjoy my cooking :) Thanks Kathy!





On Sunday morning, Russell got his very own Easter basket! He loves his new toys and books.



Then, after church and Russell's very long afternoon nap, we headed to my Grandmother's house for a wonderful Easter supper.

Along with the great food were cute decorations:





Here are Russell and Jason enjoying some quiet time in GM's living room:



More important, though, than eggs, sunshine, friends and family is the reason for this holiday: our Savior's death on the cross and resurrection as payment for our sins. We are so thankful for our God and our salvation and pray that you share this faith with us. He is risen - He is risen, indeed!

Good Friday

Earth's crammed with Heaven,
And every common bush afire with God;
but only he who sees takes off his shoes;
the rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.

~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

9 Month Dr's Visit

Our sweet boy is:

28 1/4 " long ~ 52nd percentile
44 1/2 cm head circumference ~ 28th percentile
18 lbs, 1.5 oz ~ 14th percentile

14th?! So little! The PA said to just feed him as much as he'll eat...which is less than normal right now because...

he also has a double ear infection :(

I just knew something was wrong - he has not been his normal self, taking so much longer to go to sleep at night and for naps. In fact, we took him to the doctor Sunday thinking he had an ear infection, and that PA (different one) told us he was fine. I don't think we'll be seeing her anymore!