6 months and loving my first food: AVOCADO!

I can't believe 6 months has passed so quickly, yet in the midst of a recent HORRIBLE week of sleep, it seems so long!!  Isn't it crazy how they both can co-exist?

We go Tuesday for Jackson's 6 month well-child check!  I am anxious to get all his stats, but mostly his length!  This boy is already busting out of the 9 month outfits.  I need to cut out holes for his feet! Ha!!

Tonight we enjoyed a 3 mile walk with Jackson!   We lost Sophie the Giraffe during out walk and didn't realize she was missing until we were packing up!  We had to retrace all of our steps which was a LOT!  However, no worries, I found her on one of the last trails we walked.  Thank heavens b/c Sophie is part of this family!! Ha!!  She has probably been the favorite toy of both kids and cousin Hannah!  Looking for a good baby shower gift, give the gift of Sophie the Giraffe!!

Once we got home, we decided to take the plunge and give Jackson his first food!!  I wanted so badly to exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months with baby #2 and I MADE IT!!  Woot Woot!!  Such a big accomplishment for myself, considering my many struggles with Sophia! I always skip cereal (if you would like to know my reasons, don't hesitate to contact me or leave a blog comment!), so we started with avocado!  This boy could stand to have a little more fat in his thighs and tummy!  Plus avocado is very easy to digest and loaded with healthy fats and protein!!  I mixed it with a little breast milk and Jackson went to town!!  He LOVED it!!  He actually started fussing for more!!  It is amazing the difference in how well a 6 month old can handle a spoon vs a 4 1/2 month old (when we started with Sophia!)  This KID loves to eat.  By the way he handled the spoon and the food, you would have thought he had been eating for the past month!!  I see why they recommend you try to wait till 6 months for food!  I am excited to start making his food again and explore many options!  I love feeding my babies real food!!   Check out the video!!

YUM!!!  

I quickly learned how to lick my lips!! Ha!

One final, but VERY important special event today was Jackson's baby dedication at church!  This was a very special time for our family!  My parents, Nate's parents, Sarah, Brandon, and Hannah all were there to witness this act before the Lord!!  My father-in-law reminded me of this awesome verse in 1 Samuel 1:27-28.
²⁷ For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him.²⁸So I have also dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there. 
Oh this is a perfect description of our hearts!!  Let us remember these all the days of our life!  How we pray that our children will grow strong in the Lord and serve them all the days of their lives as well!!

Papa and Jax were twins today!  (This was totally not planned!)

Grandpa Long, Sophia, Jax, and Grandma Long

Love my "little man" outfit from our friend Erin!

Yes, this was the best picture of all three grandkids out of 10 that were taken!  Oh what did parents do in the days of film? Waste tons of money on horrible pictures .... that's what!

Enjoy this beautiful week of weather that is ahead and join me in THANKFULNESS for the goodness of our GOD!