Teddy LOVES visitors!!!

Teddy is becoming more and more interested in the world around him every day. And he seems to really love being around other people. He especially enjoys having people come over to visit; he smiles, laughs, babbles, and shows off all of his new talents!!! Two college ladies came to visit Teddy this week between their Summer and Fall classes. (He is pretty popular with the ladies!) My cousin Jamie took a break from LSU and visited us. We had a great time swimming, hanging out, and even clogging with her. Jamie is great with children- all of the little cousins adore her!Of course, when Teddy has visitors, he has to make sure he smells good. He seems to like his new bath, and we are grateful we got it. He is a very slippery and wiggly little boy! My friend Aghigh took a break from Temple University and came to visit too. We were SO excited to visit with her. Teddy had a great time playing with her as well.
On Sunday, my parents came over so they could also visit with Aghigh, her mom Pouran, and her boyfriend Henry. It was wonderful to see everyone! Above: Teddy meets Mrs. Khavar
above: Teddy playing with silly Ms. Aghigh
Teddy also showed off one of his newest talents- standing holding on to something. He LOVES doing this, he smiles and screams he is so excited!

He will also stand holding onto your hands as you can see below. Do you like my lovely new accessories on my wrist and elbow? I can thank tendinitis and "tennis elbow"... no I have never played tennis in my life. I think it should actually be called "Teddy-itis" and "Teddy Elbow" since pushing him in the stroller (ok so maybe I do go on excessively long walks every day with him) and picking him up led to the injuries! He's SO worth it though!! And I certainly can't claim to have been injury-free before he entered my life- Hah! Good thing Teddy loves this carrier as well. I may have to start using it on our walks in the mornings so I can take a break from pushing the stroller. (Let's hope I don't throw out my back in the process! Those cheeks and thighs are NOT light!)

above: Shae and his mini-me!

Having all these visitors will work up a boy's appetite. Here he is getting fed by his favorite man (notice Teddy's new hairstyle-we like to call this his "handsome" look):

Shae is an awesome Daddy and he does so much for us. Not only does he work hard every day, but he also helps out tons when he is home. In his very limited free time, he has been growing all sorts of treats in his garden. Here he is with his latest crop! YUMMY! Lastly- I have posted videos of Teddy "jumping" in his jumper before, but he has finally actually gotten the hang of it:

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:

The Shirt Says it All!

Teddy's new favorite shirt:

We got it at the outlet mall over the weekend. Shae needed new running shoes, and Teddy ended up with a new fall/winter wardrobe!!! The sales were excellent and I had a gift card I hadn't used yet, so we did really well!

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Teddy is no longer sporting the vampire look. His two middle top teeth are growing in nicely (although they look huge compared to his bottom two!)

This next picture not only shows off his teeth, but also his best feature- his cheeks!

Teddy played along when I recently dressed him up for some pictures. Do you think we are confusing him though?

Maybe he can be a Braves AND a Cubs fan?

Just in the past few weeks, Teddy has become VERY interested in our cat Kashewa. He gets SO excited whenever she enters the room, he bounces up and down and squeals. He reaches out to touch her any time she comes close to him, and he laughs and babbles whenever she is near. It is so adorable!! Kashewa is safe for now, since Teddy can only scoot a little bit. But I fear for the days in the near future when he can go after her! Teddy got to visit with his great Aunt Judy and cousins Jamie and Joanne when they were here this week. We were so happy we had a chance to spend some time with them! Teddy's appetite continues to grow and expand and he has enjoyed adding oatmeal and pears to his menu. Shae and I were laughing though about our different "feeding styles." You can probably imagine that Shae is a lot more relaxed with allowing Teddy to make a mess than I am. I am sure Teddy much prefers to be fed by his Daddy, although I bet more food actually makes it into his mouth when I am feeding him :) Here are a few shots of Teddy after being fed by Shae: Oatmeal face!Grubby fingers!

Here is Teddy after I fed him pears this morning:

Notice how clean his fingers are!! It is probably a good thing that he is exposed to both of our personalities!!

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Teddy met a major milestone this week. This week was the FIRST time Teddy has made it through the entire playgroup with out sleeping at all!!!!! (we go to playgroup twice a month in our neighborhood). Yay Teddy!! If you are wondering what happened to keep him awake.... her name is Phoebe, and I think Teddy is smitten. This was her first time at playgroup and Teddy could not stop smiling and babbling to her! It was too funny!!! He was so excited he couldn't even sleep! But don't' worry, he caught up on his zzz's. Here he is the minute we got home from playgroup:

We went to my parents' house for dinner when my cousins and aunt were in town. Teddy's cousins all enjoy holding him and playing with him. Here little Maggie rocks him. I think it's hilarious because he looks so big and she looks so little holding him!!!!! Pretty soon she won't be able to hold him!



Last but not least, the latest picture of Teddy and his Daddy napping together:
Life is good!!