Joe at seven months!

 Well...because the website I usually use for video montages is closing down in a month, I am in the process of figuring out what to do for my monthly videos of Joe.  But in the meantime, I thought you'd enjoy seeing some recent photos of our baby taken last week! 

He is such a happy boy!  We get so many comments everywhere we go about how cute and smiley he is, or what a pleasant baby he is.  People ask me, "Is he always this sweet?"  Yes...pretty much! 

He continues to have lots of medical issues...almost all of them lingering problems from the RSV in January.  He's had several ear infections and at the last check, the fluid has never drained.  We are being sent to an audiologist at Dayton Children's Hospital to check his hearing, since at 6 months with lingering fluid, his hearing will start to be affected.  We will also be visiting the ENT doctor to talk about ear tubes. 

On top of this, he has new teeth!!!  A top front one and a bottom front one came in on Easter and a few days afterward...and the other two front teeth are about to burst forth at any moment.  Despite his new chompers, he isn't too keen on foods right now.  He wants nothing to do with rice cereal after having a stomach bug at the beginning of the month.  But we did have a bit of success with a little mesh device designed for babies to safely chew on and eat fresh foods without choking on pieces.  We put some watermelon in it and he LOVED it, so we may just forego the cereal for now. 

Joe weighs about 23 pounds and is in 18 month clothes.  Despite his big size, he is tremendously mobile already and is so frustrated that he can't keep up with his brothers!  He loves to sit upright, with some support, and play with big mega blocks or trucks.  He rolls from front to back and back to front to wiggle his way around the room and we find him in odd places sometimes! 

He absolutely loves his big brothers and without fail, Jack and George can make him laugh or distract him when he is getting fussy and make him happy!  He also loves being outdoors.  Even when he isn't feeling well, he seems to perk up the minute we take him outside...just like his brothers!

 His baby sounds are turning more and more into actual consonant sounds of varying pitches and tones - which delight all of us!  He likes to say "Baba" and "Dadada" a lot.  He loves to sit on my lap while I read books to the boys and often looks like he is listening to the story just as intently. 

He really is such a delight!  He is a special joy to our family and many others and we are beyond grateful for him.  Hopefully, we'll have some more photos/videos up soon...along with some other family photos from our portrait sitting.  (Family members...be looking in the mail for some of these pictures coming your way soon!)