Weekend in Review

8 Months Old - On Saturday, Joshua turned 8 months.  For those of you who haven't seen him in months, he is getting so big (and heavy!).  There are times I sit back and wonder what happened to my little boy.  He is in that stage where he wants to get his hands on everything, and like any man, his favorite object is the remote!  I feel like he is really close to crawling, but at this point it seems like he is content with pushing himself backwards to get where he wants to go.  I like to start him on one side of the room, and see how long it takes him to make his way to the other side.  I may have mentioned this in earlier posts, but before this past month, I could have counted on one hand the amount of times Joshua rolled over.  He has started to tease us into thinking he is going to roll over, but at the last moment he chickens out.  It is funny to watch because he basically twists his entire lower body over, while maintaining his upper body in a push-up position (picture is below).  I do have to give him some props because he did roll over twice this weekend.  We also started Stage 3 solids this past week.  I introduced Joshua to some pasta stars and chunky vegetables, and he loved them.  It's fun to ease him closer to adult food as it seems like he wants so badly to eat what we are eating.  No new teeth to report.  The upper gums are looking pretty bumpy, but nothing is poking through just yet.  Other than that, he's growing physically and intellectually with each new day!

Mother's Day - I celebrated my first Mother's Day with Joshua in my arms : )  I can't tell you how awesome it is to be a mother to this constantly smiling face.  He brings so much laughter, love, and slobbery kisses to my life.  Praise God for the special gift of life whom He has entrusted to Andrew and I!  

Shout Out To Our Moms - We also want to take the time to say thank-you to our amazing moms!  Our moms are our best friends, and women whom we seek out for wisdom, advice, and unconditional love.  It's amazing how similar our moms are - they both love to shop, they are very crafty, they over-decorate when it comes to Christmas (we wouldn't want it any other way!), they like to entertain and are great cooks, and they love, love, love to spoil their grandson!!!  Thank you Mama Grundstrom and Mama Padilla for your love and guidance over the years : )

Crafty Hubby - Andrew....ummm...I mean "Joshua," made me a very special Mother's Day gift.  I included a picture of the gift below.  The "I love my mama manatee" part is a joke in our household.  From the day we brought Joshua home, I started singing a song called "Mama Manatee" to him.  One day, Andrew asked me where that song came from because he had never heard of it.  I Googled the lyrics, but nothing showed up from the search.  It appears I may have made this song up over the years, but it has now become a lullaby I proudly share with my son.  I think I should copyright the lyrics : )  Anyway, thank you Andrew and Joshua for my wonderful gift!

Child Dedication at Church - Our church had a special time of child dedication on Mother's Day, so we joined with other parents from the church and dedicated Joshua to the Lord.  What does that mean?  For believing Christian parents, a child dedication serves as an opportunity to make a commitment before God to entrust our child to Him, and to raise our child according to God's Word.  It is also a time of asking the church family to come alongside us by praying for us, and offering wisdom in how to parent our child in a godly manner.  Parenting can seem like such a huge responsibility sometimes (as it should), but it is comforting to know that the God of the universe is with us every step of the way, and even in our shortcomings as parents, He is faithful and sure!  We pray, and also ask you to pray, that Joshua would come to know the meaning of his name: "Jehovah Saves."