AUSTRALIA, Part 1

Well, I am back from an absolutely wonderful trip to Australia where I got to spend some time with one of my best friends, Anita. I took Reuben over with me so that he could meet her and we had five days together, just catching up and hanging out, and doing a little bit of shopping. The time went by too quickly, as always, but I was grateful that we were able to get together and our babies got to meet each other (her daughter, Shekinah, is 11 months old so she and Reuben got a little bit of play time together - if that's what you can call it when they're that little.)
Reuben had a raging fever for two days before we left which made me a little concerned about taking him on an international plane trip but we prayed and the fever broke and was back to normal early on the morning that we left. He had a bit of a tummy bug while we were there, but was still really happy and was the epitome of the perfect child on the plane both there and back. I even had other passengers compliment his good behavior which made me really proud as a parent that my baby was so good. He smiled at everyone and was just an all-around cutie! I know I'm biased when it comes to how cute my child is but he really was a good boy - especially considering he had been fighting off some 'bug' for several days.
While we were there Reuben discovered his foot while in the bath one night - it was so cute watching him play with his toes. His little personality is constantly developing as well and he is even starting to exert his will and gives a little cry of protest if he wants something that is out of reach or if I take something away from him that he wants. He is quite ticklish and just laughs and laughs if you get a ticklish spot on his tummy, back, or sides. He also looks for me as a reference point whenever someone he doesn't know very well is holding him. If I go out of sight, he can get quite upset very quickly so I guess the stranger anxiety is kicking in a bit. I must admit, though, that after all the hard work I've put in, it is nice to be rewarded with the knowledge that I'm the one he prefers!
I will add some more posts with some photos from the trip but for now, I just wanted to update everyone on the trip in general as I haven't written anything in awhile now. Stay tuned for more installments...

Has It Been 5 Months Already?????

Wow! How time has flown! Hard to believe that 5 months ago today, I was in labor and that in a few hours, Reuben Joseph entered the world. What a joy the journey has been so far - I couldn't have imagined how much this little guy would change, challenge, and completely consume our hearts with love! He is such a blessing and hardly a day goes by that I don't genuinely thank God for truly giving us the desires of our hearts. He has actually just woken up so I may not get to write a lot but I did want to update you on what he's been doing over the past few days.
He has already 'sprouted' his second tooth! Two in 10 days - pretty impressive if you ask me, and not a grizzle about any of it! In fact, the way we discovered the second one was coming through was as we were showing someone his first tooth. Nathan said, 'Wow, I think his second tooth is coming through as well' and sure enough, you could see the edges just breaking the surface. I guess this means I have to look for a toothbrush now???? :)
He also had his first 'sleep' in his cot last night (we thought the bassinet may be getting a little cold for him at night, even though he still fit in it and probably could've stayed there another month.) He actually ended up waking a couple of times and I'm not sure why - possibly he's just getting used to the new 'big baby' bed. He looks so tiny lying in his cot which reminds me that he is still quite little.
He also had his first taste of 'solids' yesterday (i.e. baby rice) which if you ask me, tastes pretty bland but supposedly it's tasty to babies. He didn't quite have the concept of what he was supposed to do but he did manage to swallow a couple of mouthfuls before he decided he'd had enough. I will try again today and fingers crossed, we will have more success. I'm pretty sure he's ready for more than just milk now as he often seems hungry even after he's had a full feed. I'm quite excited about giving him new foods to try and am debating whether to go with pumpkin or apples first... hmmmmm.
I will add more maybe tomorrow but Reuben is having a bit of a protest now because he has been awake and I'm not getting him up yet. Here are a couple of photos.