Whoops. I knew the time would come where I would neglect to post about Johnny’s new month on or close to the 20th. Sorry, kiddo.

Johnny is 8 months +1 week + a day.

He’s growing and changing lots! The kid is crawling now. Oh, man.

Two weeks ago in the church nursery, he observed Michael crawl his way around the room. Michael was also born in December 2008, though I think a few weeks before J.

Johnny watched with interest.

At home, I encouraged him to be propped up on his hands and knees. He didn’t quite like it, and toppled forward a lot.

He got to the point where he was just on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth, but he didn’t know how to move.

I tried to help him move a leg, then a hand, then a leg, etc. I tried to entice him with remotes, cell phones, crinkly bags, and other things babies don’t need.

The following week at church, he must have seen more of Michael’s movements. Cuz then he really started to get the idea of crawling down.

He now can crawl all the way down the hall (and beyond) if he wants! Wow!

He hasn’t figured out how to put himself in a seated position. He sits well if you put him like that, but if he goes from crawling to rolling or whatever, he doesn’t know how to get his feet in front of him.

He’s still toothless. What’s up with that? I’ve been convinced that he’s teething for several months now. I don’t know what to blame certain fussy episodes on now.

He’s eating more and more types of food, and can now do soft foods that aren’t pureed. I’d better hurry up and finish the purees we do have so they won’t go to waste! Tonight, he had some cooked carrots (first time) that I had smooshed but not pureed. He yelled every time I gave him some. Maybe he’s not a fan. He still ate them.

He also had steamed rice and didn’t yell after those bites.

Yesterday at Renee’s house, he had some black olives and refried beans.

He doesn’t eat huge quantities of solids yet though. I don’t force him to eat more, since when he’s done eating it’s obvious.

He only seems to nurse maybe four times per day now, with several nursing sessions during the night. He’ll only really nurse if we’re both lying down, preferably in a darkish room. If I try to nurse while sitting in a chair or something, he’ll just nurse for a minute or two but is too distracted to complete the feeding. I know he’s hungry, but he’s just too busy. Kind of challenging. It isn’t always convenient to just go lie down somewhere!

I taught Johnny to yell into a plastic cup to hear how the sounds are different. He loves plastic cups and usually puts them to his mouth to “drink” out of one. I held one to my mouth and yelled, and then held it to his mouth. Silence. I repeated it a few times, and then he caught on. Now, he likes to yell in cups! Lol!

He’s quite good at drinking from a straw. If I’m out and have water with a straw, I hold the straw high enough so he can’t jab it in his mouth. He sips. Loves it.

I don’t know if Johnny is shy or if he’s just … I dunno. Quiet? Any time we’re in a new place around new people, he just gets so quiet and watches others. When we’re out, he sometimes smiles for strangers but it’s rare. He often just stares or looks away. I don’t know if he’s overwhelmed or if it’s just a developmental thing he has to reach or what.

Sleep…yeah. I don’t want to talk about it.

Next month, we’ll attend a baby sign language class at the library. Should be fun! We’re also going to a big kid’s consignment sale. I hope to pick up some of his next sizes of clothes and some toys.

I believe the most important thing a parent can do for a child is to bring him to the Lord and to know Jesus. It’s a huge responsibility, and parents shouldn’t take it lightly.

This upbringing certainly starts at home and should be a regular part of home life — and an active church membership can enhance the entire family’s relationship with God.

Though we had tried to find a church home in Pittsburgh, we just couldn’t seem to find one that clicked. Ya know? Some actually seemed like social clubs instead of churches.

Then Johnny was born. We knew we had to kick our search into high-gear soon enough. It was a challenge getting up and out the door, and we didn’t go to church as a family until Easter this year.

We moved to a different part of the city, and I was hopeful that we’d find something for us here. I think we have!

We are seeking an active church with young families. One that emphasizes teaching the Bible. Sounds simple enough, but plenty of churches we’ve visited only mention a Bible verse here or there in sermons and don’t exactly teach or spend much time in the Word.

Talking with some friends and doing some internet research (and lots of prayer!) we visited a Baptist church. Sometimes the Baptist denomination has a bad rap. I’m not sure why.

Anyway, during the sermon, the first thing the minister said was, “Turn to your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel.” I had never been to a church where members actually used the Bible during the sermon. Isn’t that something? And I loved this.

He read a chapter and then gave a sermon on it. It was fabulous.

The only trouble? About 20 people were in attendance. For their one service. They were nice and all, but we wanted a larger church that had children Johnny’s age.

We went to another and it, too, was Bible-focused and friendly. Liked it, but still just a handful of kids and no other babies.

We went to a third church, and we weren’t sure if we’d like it because the web site was really dynamic and emphasized different activities, but we couldn’t find a statement of faith or anything affirming it was more than a social club. We visited anyway, just to see.

We weren’t disappointed. The church is much larger (about 1,000 in attendance for its three Sunday services) and definitely has a strong children’s program. It seems that young children are encouraged to be in the nursery or other kid activities during the service. Children from grades 1-5 stay for the first part of service during the music time and leave during the sermon.

Younger kids are grouped by age and are led in age-appropriate activities.

Johnny is in the youngest batch of kiddos and when he’s maybe a year or so old, he should be ready to move on to the 1s and 2s. There’s more structure and usually a Bible lesson in those classes. It just continues on up!

In the nursery, the staff emphasize play and exploration.

I stayed there the whole time today so I could observe him and the caregivers. He had missed his morning nap, but he was still a mostly happy boy. It was so great to see him among others his age! There were five babies during this portion of the day.

The staff was attentive and loving and everything I’d hope for in a nursery setting. As long as Johnny doesn’t seem to mind, I think I’ll leave him in the nursery next Sunday. I’m comforted in that they have pagers and can alert parents if necessary.

This is a completely new denomination for us, but we do like it. If you’re curious — as a child and young adult, I had only attended United Methodist churches. Shane had been to a variety of denominations with various family and friends, including Pentecost, Holiness, and a hodgepodge of others. He never really “joined” a church and he wasn’t set on any particular denomination.

We visited some United Methodist churches around here, but just didn’t feel like it was the right place for us.

We then attended some non-denominational ones and a Presbyterian church. Still no match.

We then went to a Baptist church, the one I mentioned earlier with about 20 congregants.

Shane filled out the attendance pad and included our address, and when we arrived home today, someone had beat us to our door and there was a gift bag containing info about the church. What a surprise! It contained a summary of the church’s beliefs and more info about the programming. I’ll have to suggest they post it to their web site.

Anyway, we’ll be going back to this church and if things continue to go well, we’ll meet with one of the pastors to learn about membership.