James: Nine Months Old

I don't have too much to report on James as we mark his completion of his ninth month of life. After making a failed attempt earlier in the week to snap some quick photos of James, he was a bit more compliant today and with the help of his big siblings we even got some smiles out of him! 

James loves playing in the bathroom. He's a sneaky little dude and somehow always manages to get in there when I'm not looking. He enjoys all the usual entertainment that can be found there; splashing in the toilet, knocking shampoo bottles off the edge of the bathtub to hear their loud bang, playing with the toilet plunger, and of course, unrolling and eating the toilet paper.

He's been sleeping through the night more consistently! I'd say 3 out of 4 nights he sleeps until about 6am.

James can motor around the house with his walker now and Delilah and William are his biggest fans. Dee loves to shadow him closely and reroute him if he gets caught on toys or bumps into anything. 

James likes to spit and make all sorts of fun noises with his mouth. 

Emptying kitchen cupboards, chewing on whatever can be found in the recycling bin, and pulling out the bathtub drain plug are all fun pass-times for James. Every now and again he tries to play with his older siblings but all too often gets relocated after knocking over whatever they were working on. 

James had a cold for the majority of the past month (normal for this time of year) and gets all sorts of bumps from falling all over the place as he's trying to walk. 

At the moment we're calling him:

James, Jamesy, Jamesy-wamesy, Buggy, Bugs, Bubs, Bubba, Bubski

I keep hearing over and over again from people that, "he looks just like a Vanspronsen," or, "He's definitely Will's son!" or (and this might be my favourite), "I see a lot of Ted in him." 

Well, I'm glad James is his father's son and it's fun to see the Vanspronsen gene coming out so strongly in him. 

And those dimples under his eyes are just adorable, aren't they? 

He typically eats oatmeal for breakfast. He prefers it on a preloaded spoon and he feeds himself. It's a messy process, but it works for us. 

For lunch he likes buttered toast or scrambled eggs. Sometimes both. And banana! 

At dinner he'll usually have whatever we're eating. Pasta is by far his favourite followed by cooked carrots. 

For snacks James loves frozen blueberries, cheese, and crackers. 

Delilah even gave him his first taste of snow when we had our first real dump of the season. 

James had his first sleep over when he stayed with Grandma and Grandpa while Will and I went away for our anniversary.

Well, Sweet James, I can't believe it's been a whole nine months since you've been born. You are such a miracle to us and we love you so much. I hope and pray that in your next month of life you'll be able to keep up your restored health as you continue learning and growing. We are amazed watching you develop and are just so infatuated by YOU!

(I'm not sure what they're all looking at, maybe birds over the skylight?)

These three are pretty special and it is such a blessing that God has given them to us to have as part of our family!

This song comes to mind often (sometimes as an outpouring of love, sometimes as a reminder to myself) as I guide and teach our children at home: 

God is so good,

God is so good,

God is so good,

He's so good to me!

He cares for me,

He cares for me,

He cares for me, 

He's so good to me!

God answers prayers,

God answers prayers,

God answers prayers,

He's so good to me!

I praise His name,

I praise His name,

I praise His name,

He's so good to me!