6 Months Old

Liam is now 7 months old and I still haven't posted about what he was up to at 6 months. But my mind has been elsewhere for the last month, see posts below if you want to know what on. I want to remember what this little cutie was like at 6 months, so here it goes.

Where do I even start? Liam is such a joy. He smiles and laughs for anyone who gives him an ounce of attention. He adores his big sister. Anything she does is hilarious to him. It's easy to tell he just can't wait to be mobile and try to keep up with her. When he get's excited his arms start flapping like he is trying to take flight. It is adorable. Here is a breakdown of life as a 6 month old:

Milestones
At 6 months he could stand up supporting his own weight while holding onto furniture or a hand. When he was about 5 months old he started rolling over from back to front and sitting up on his own. As soon as he figured out how to roll onto his tummy he started sleeping better. Which brings up the next category.

Sleep
Apparently sleeping in the same room as your parents for the first 6 months of life is rough because now that he has his own room he is sleeping through the night like a champ. Lately he has been sleeping from about 9pm-9am waking up once around 7am for a quick feeding and goes back to sleep. Usually he takes 2 naps but some days he is so exhausted that he need's a 3rd nap in the evening.

Words
At about 4/5 months Liam started saying "mamamama". He say's it when he is tired or hungry. It pretty much melts my heart.

Eating
He is a nursing machine. I nurse him every 2-3 hours. He loves solid food too. His favorites right now are sweet potatoes and applesauce. We tried rice cereal but he gets a red rash wherever the cereal touches his face, so we moved onto oatmeal.

Toys
Anything he can get his hands on. If he is really into a toy and someone (aka Hannah) takes it away he screams bloody murder. Such a softy.

6 Month Stats
At Liam's Dr. appt we were seen by a different nurse than usual. I think this nurse was new because her aptitude for measuring was not the best. For instance she was asking me to assist in measuring his head and it kept slipping.....needless to say I don't entirely trust these stats. The important thing is that he is a big, healthy, and happy little babe.

Weight: 18 lbs 6 oz

Height: 27 inches

Head: 17 inches

These pictures were taken at 7 months. But what is a baby update without a picture of the baby??

His smile is infectious.

"What's with the flash people?"
A rare serious moment

Such a cutie

Update

Thank you friends for your sweet phone calls, messages, and comments. We can't thank you enough for all the love and support. Some of you have asked for updates, so here is what we know now. Jake had another appointment yesterday with his Urology Oncologist and we were given the lab results from the procedure. The tumor was cancerous, a T1 seminoma to be precise, but the good news is that we got it out before it had a chance to spread and there are no tumor markers in his blood work. That mean's he does not need chemotherapy or radiation at this point. He will need to have an MRI every few months for a couple of years to scan his body for any sign of a recurrence. We feel so lucky to have caught it early and relieved to know that no further treatment is necessary at this time. Thank you for your prayers, they have strengthened us and pulled us through this hardship. Life is a roller-coaster, and it looks like we are finally heading towards the upward climb....well if you don't count the craziness of the grueling 31 credits Jake has to take this semester. Good thing he is a-m-a-z-i-n-g.

Trials and Blessings

This post marks the end of my 6 week blogging hiatus. There has been a lot going on in the Pollard casa. Originally I wasn't going to post about this. But it would be like editing out the most important thing going on in our lives right now. Let me elaborate. The end of July was spent packing up our apartment and moving to Seattle. 3 week's ago we moved into our new home. 2 week's ago Jake had a Dr. appointment regarding a suspicious lump. 1 week ago Jake had surgery to remove a tumor. 2 week's from today Jake starts his second year of medical school while recovering from surgery and awaiting the official diagnosis of what the doctor suspects is testicular cancer. Life has been a whirlwind.

In a time of so much turmoil and stress I have never felt so blessed. Blessed to be so close to one of the best hospitals in the nation. Blessed to have an outpouring of prayers, love, and service from family, friends, and our new ward family. Blessed to have a husband with so much faith and strength whose biggest concern right now is not being able to pick up and hold his children for a few weeks. Blessed to have 2 amazing children that remind us everyday what true joy is. Blessed that testicular cancer has one of the highest cure rates of all cancers. Blessed to feel the burden lifted as we pray to our Heavenly Father. Blessed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and know that families can be together forever because of the atoning sacrifice of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Now Jake has more reason than ever to sport his Livestrong bracelet. Your accomplishments amaze me Jacob. Soon you can add *Beat Testicular Cancer* to the list. Love you!