More Summer Fun!

Teddy is continuing to grow and change this summer. He is probably close to crawling now- he gets up on all fours and scoots and rolls all over the place, and he is able to stand if he is holding on to furniture or a person. He is also a focused little boy... once he decides to do something, he is set on doing it. He will try and try until he accomplishes what he wants (of course usually what he wants is to get one thing or another into his mouth). He does not give up though! For example, he decided he wanted to eat the string on his shorts: Surrounded by toys, but all he wanted was to eat his shorts string!

Teddy went to happy hour again at Shae's work. Here he poses with some of Shae's work friends: After happy hour, we were feeling brave and took Teddy out to eat. Teddy enjoyed some rice cereal:

As Teddy has become bigger and more mobile, he has outgrown his bath chair. I am so nervous with him in the big bath tub because he is so curious, he loves to explore, and he is so slippery! We got this inflatable duck for him to bathe in. Here Teddy practices giving his stuffed dog a bath:

Teddy really loves his daddy, and he especially loves to relax and nap with him. Here are my two favorite guys just hanging out: Last week we added blueberries to Teddy's menu. I decided to feed him naked in an attempt to minimize the mess and prevent staining. Look how nice and clean he is BEFORE eating: OH MY blueberries make a MESS! And I'm the "neater" feeder!!!

They were messy, but Teddy loved them!

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Teddy takes many naps (I wonder where he would get that from?) He's funny though- he loves to cover his face with his bear. Of course this means Shae and I obsessively check to make sure he is breathing!! Here are a few typical pictures of him napping:

Teddy's cousin Maggie turned 7 this week. She had a "Spa" birthday party at her house. Since I was enlisted to work as "staff" at the spa, Teddy came with me to their house. Teddy hung out with the girls for a little while before going out for pizza with Uncle Jamie and cousin Jack. The birthday girl poses in her fancy clothes: Above: The seven-year-olds cracked me up as they said "Here's to Maggie" as they clanked their Sprites together (note the personalized leopard koozies my sister made for each girl!)

Above: the "staff" had a short break as the party guests enjoyed cupcakes.

Above: Maggie shared some "dress up" clothes with Teddy!
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One of my close friends is getting married soon, and her bachelorette party consisted of an entire day up at the lake, followed by a dinner, and then a shower. This meant an whole day and evening for father son time! It was the longest I have ever been away from my little man, but I knew he was in excellent hands with his daddy!!! As a typical Jewish mother, I pumped for weeks ahead of time and ended up with an entire freezer full of stockpiled frozen milk (none of which they needed since there was enough in the refrigerator!!!) Teddy and Shae had a great day together. They spent the afternoon at a park by the river: and that night the family celebrated Maggie's birthday. Here's Shae on diaper duty at the Gibsons':

I'm sure that everything went well even though I wasn't there... I am sure it was calm, right...?Below Grandma Judy smiles with all of her grandchildren (Jack is hiding behind her):

Teddy and Violet:
Teddy and Maggie:
It has been SO hot here, we have continued to enjoy the pool as much as possible. Teddy seems to really like it as well, thank goodness!

Only thing better than swimming at the pool... is napping with Daddy at the pool!!

We hosted play group again this week and Teddy was awake for almost all of it! Here he is at the end though:

One thing that Shae and I are learning as new parents is that nothing stays the same. Every time we think we sort of have the hang of something, it changes and we feel clueless again. Another thing we are learning is that there are just as many clashing opinions on the "right" way to handle every single issue with a child as there are children. One example is the "simple" issue of sleep. Teddy was sleeping beautifully 9-10 hours a night, for about two months. However, a few months ago, he started waking up again every few hours. Was it because of his teething? Or all of our traveling? Who knows? But of course we have been reading all sorts of books and information in an attempt to once again enjoy a peaceful night of sleep. The only reason I am even writing this is to explain this next video. I had to laugh when I walked into the bedroom one evening to find this (make sure to turn up the volume to get the full effect):

The book is called, "Nighttime parenting- How to Get Your Baby and Child to Sleep." I don't think the "getting him to sleep" is the problem! Either that, or this book REALLY works!

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Of course, getting Teddy to nap has never been a challenge: