The Molter Family: Joshua's 7 Month Update

Joshua is now 7 months old! As I began to think about what I wanted to write, I originally thought that not much was new this month. But as I made out a list, I found it to be quite the opposite. Tim and I are daily amazed at the Lord's handiwork, how He knows exactly what He is doing and we certainly do not! Yet by His grace, God is faithful to provide us with all the wisdom and knowledge we need, to be just what He has created us to be, and just what Joshua needs.

At Joshua's most recent doctor's appointment he was 28 inches long (97th percentile again!) and weighed 17 pounds 7 ounces (50th percentile). I told the doctor that Josh is sleeping about 8 hours at night. The doctor said that was good but he thought Josh should be sleeping 10-12 hours, so he asked me to start feeding him even more so he will sleep longer without waking up to feed! Can you imagine? So far Josh is still just sleeping 8-9 hours, but he appreciates eating more! :-D

Speaking of eating, Josh has now tried many different fruits and vegetables and we will soon begin combining them. So far bananas and butternut squash seem to be his favorites and he certainly does not like peaches. More for me! Josh still only has the two bottom teeth but his poor little nose has been running like a faucet again so we are thinking maybe the top ones are on their way soon.

Joshua has been in his new car seat now for a few weeks. It is more cushion-y than his infant seat and he falls asleep in it quite readily. Joshua has outgrown his infant bathtub that we used in the kitchen sink and is now taking bathes in the tub with a bath mat so he doesn't slip.

Josh is not crawling yet although he has gotten very good at log rolling and scooting himself around. There is a small number of babies that never crawl, just go straight to walking. And as strong as his legs are, Josh just might be one of those babies! Because Josh has gotten more "mobile" recently, we got out his playpen, filled it with toys and let him play around. It's so nice to have because he is still free to move around more than in the activity center yet he is still contained enough that I am able to place him in it while getting things done around the house.

Besides all the physical changes, Joshua has had many advances in his social skills as well. He "talks" and "sings" using several different syllables and pitches. With his recent discovery of his hands, Josh is beginning to wave "bye-bye" and play pat-a-cake. Joshua is also at the age when separation anxiety is setting in so Tim and I are having to re-evaluate how that is going to work with how often we are at church. Currently, I am just spending a lot of time in the nursery with him. This too shall pass. It's so nice to be needed.

Things are going well for Tim and I. Tim has healed from his Shingles. There is still some pain from time to time both nothing like it was. And Tim was recently rewarded for his diligence in working unto the Lord: his supervisor called him earlier and informed him that he will be getting a pay raise! Thank you Lord! He is so faithful to provide for our needs. Guess what the first thing was that Tim said? "Now we can afford to have another baby!" I just gave him "the look" and laughed. Not yet anyway.

I am continuing to enjoy my ladies Bible study group and am slowly learning to be more of a "Mary" and less of a "Martha". That's hard for this task-oriented woman to do, but the Lord is so gracious. And I am slowly seeing the stress leave in areas of my life as I learn to let go and give it to the Lord. How freeing!

Here are some updated pictures from the last month