Our "Great Champion" is 6 months old!

Anlon turned 6 months last Wednesday. Sometimes I feel like I was just in the hospital holding his tiny newborn body in my arms. Other times I feel like he's been with us forever and I can hardly remember what life was like before he came. The first 4 months, though wonderful, were exhausting. Now that we're all sleeping better (still waking up but only twice each night - believe it or not that's significant progress!), I can appreciate even more his many charming qualities that make him uniquely Anlon.



Anlon has recently decided that he LOVES his crib, and has so much fun playing in it (when he should be sleeping :) Sometimes he's so tired and melts into my arms as I rock him before putting him down for a nap. But as I watch him in our monitor, I see him smiling, cooing ("hoo, hoo" is his favorite expression right now) and playing with his hands. He also loves to lay on his back and pull both legs up and down, making a loud 'thumping' noise as he hits his legs on his crib mattress. He's really strong and I've been amazed at how loud this is! He eventually falls asleep for his nap, but sometimes it can take 30-40 minutes of him playing before he decides he's ready! He loves his elephant blankie and often sleeps on top of it - and sometimes we find it on top of him :)

He also loves to scratch the sheets with his little nails and often this is the first sound he makes when he wakes up from a nap. He's so funny!

Anlon has a fascination with his hands - and with ours. Many times when I'm nursing him, he'll take a break to stare at my hands. He loves to clasp his hand in mine and watch as I open and close my hand around his. He looks up at me and smiles, and then looks back at our hands together. I love to kiss his little hands and he loves this too. He also loves to suck his fingers, so much so that lately he's been trying to suck his fingers while he nurses! Some of my most treasured moments have been while I'm nursing him. We share something so special during this time. I've found myself getting sad at the thought of him weaning one day - thankfully we're not close to that point yet.

One week before his 6 month birthday, Anlon tried rice cereal for the first time - and loved it! Of course, more ended up on his face than in his tummy this first time. But it was so much fun to see how much he enjoyed it!

He also tried butternut squash a few days ago and really enjoyed it. We're going to have it a few more times before moving on to the next veggie - probably carrots. He's been teething for several months now, but has no teeth yet. I love his gummy grin but I bet it will be even cuter with little teeth!

Anlon is an absolute joy. He's happy most of the time - he really only cries now when he's overtired or wakes up too early from a nap and has trouble going back to sleep. In fact, he recently had a cold and once he got used to the bulb suction I used to clear his nostrils, he actually liked it and even smiled after I was done! He's fascinated by his big sister Sebo (our cat), ceiling fans and the outdoors. He also loves to stand while we hold him and clearly feels this is a great accomplishment by the excitement he shows! He's rolling from his back to belly and belly to back with ease, but so far this is his only means of transport - no crawling yet. And I must admit I don't mind this :) He can't quite sit up by himself without support, but I think he's close to mastering this skill.

Vipul and I really want to instill in Anlon a love of reading, so we read to him a lot. It's been neat to see how he especially likes certain ones -Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, I Love You Through and Through, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? and The Nativity Story.  

Anlon also loves music and we usually have Christian or classical music playing. He really enjoys it when we sing to him (I think he enjoys Vipul's voice more than mine). Vipul often sings "Holy is the Lord" and "Canaan Bound" to him as he rocks him in the evenings.

Anlon's name is Irish and means "Great Champion". We searched for many months to find a unique name that we loved with a special meaning. One of our prayers is that Anlon will be a Great Champion for Jesus. I'm so excited to see what his next 6 months bring!

"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children are a reward from Him."

Psalm 127:3