Redman Family: July 2014

Fouth of July festivities! It was such a busy weekend that we paid for it with major meltdowns on Sunday! Note to self-stick to sleep schedules as much as possible!! On Friday, Parker, Kasey & I went to Antioch's parade. Parker figured out the candy situation very quickly!! He loved picking up the candy & putting it in the bag (even if didn't really care to eat any of it!). He took a short nap then we had a party at my mom's house, which he slept for nearly an hour when we got there. After dinner & some socializing, we packed up for the fireworks at the Navy base. Another amazing show, which our toddler somehow managed to sleep through the entire thing!! We had some fireworks at home & Parker sort of enjoyed them. He asked for "dada boom boom" (which always includes pushing his hand out in front) and sometimes "boom crackle crackle". But he is very scared of the loud noises & watches them all on my lap ... and then asks for more!

On Saturday we went to the Renaissance Fair. Parker managed to find a way to play "kitchen" even with Renaissance era toys!

Parker has quite the set of lovies we take in & out of the crib lately. He has his pillow, his superman stuffed pillow, his superman blankie & crotchet blanket, super teddy, pink Easter bunny, night light turtle, the large teddy & large superman, & the little people batman!

He has added a few words to his vocabulary, including car & truck. He asked me for "the ball" & has quite the repertoire of animal noises-cat, dog, pig, duck, chicken, bird, woodpecker, rooster, bear, seal....there might be a few more! He loves to pick out his animal books and read them over & over!

We met Jeremy for lunch one afternoon in Lake Geneva, as he was working on a job nearby. Always fun to visit the town we got married in! Trying to keep everyone busy & active, we also went to the Wauconda rodeo. It was warm & Parker had a difficult time sitting still in the stands. He enjoyed walking along the fence watching the animals and collecting rocks! There was a small petting zoo so he could get up close to some farm animals.

Flying a kite with Dada

We have easily transitioned into our summer schedule. Parker has been sleeping from 9pm-7:00/7:30 most mornings. One morning we slept in til 9am! It was heavenly! We also take 2 1/2-3 hour naps each afternoon. It's amazing what I can get done around the house with a 3 hour nap! We have swim lessons on Wednesdays and music class on Thursdays. The rest of the week is busy with play dates, swimming at nana's, playing at the park, bike rides, etc.

Loves his sandbox!

Had to be up close to his train set! Note the water on the
floor - apparently planned on staying for awhile!

Enjoying the view in his forward facing carseat

Parker had a friend come over for the day. He is usually good about sharing at the sitter's or nana's house, but I wasn't sure how he would do sharing his own toys all day long. He did such a great job for most of the day! He would bring something to Jack, and when Jack accepted it, Parker would look at me with the biggest, cheesiest smile & then give me a high five! It's like he was saying, look mom, I did a good job! Then at nap time, Jack was snuggled up on the sofa with his blankie, which was a hand made crocheted blanket. Parker took off into his room & came back a few minutes later with his blanket-not his superman blankie that he brings with him to the sitter, but the crocheted blanket that keeps him warm at night. I have never seen him take that blanket out of the crib, but he apparently wanted to be just like Jack! Parker then snuggled up in his chair with his blanket. ... And then the boys woke up from their naps & clearly were all finished with the play date. Neither wanted to share or play with each or other! There was even some hitting, but ended with Parker giggling so apparently they weren't that upset at each other!

It is definitely evident that Parker watches everything we do. When I have a mixed drink (or iced coffee-I swear I don't drink that often!), I use the straw to stir up the ice...anytime Parker has a cup with ice, he uses the straw to mix it up! We did teach him to "cheers" with his glass so I guess it's only fitting!! He also watches me use a nasal spray when I'm getting ready in the morning...and so anything that has a pointy end, Parker pretends it's nasal spray! So things like nail polish & the empty caulk tube, he pretends to sniff it & so it looks like he's huffing! Can only imagine what the sitter thinks when he does that when he is with her! He is also trying to smack the mosquitos off of us...or he is just using that as an excuse to come up and start hitting! He literally came up to me (inside) and smacked me on the side of the head, arm and shoulder...then ran off to continue playing!

Parker got his third hair cut and did a great job sitting nicely (Thanks to Becca at Kid Snips). He had to sit on my lap but not a tear out of him, which is so much better than the last hair cut! He looks like such a different kid with his short, stylish hair. But those curls are still there and starting to show up again now that the hair cut is a few weeks grown out.

He continues to love to play with his kitchen set and pretend food. Lately he loves to "cut cut" & grabs at the steak knives & kitchen scissors! He has some cut apart food that we play with and I bought a play doh set with scissors so he have some child safe scissors to practice with. He loves his play doh and will sit on the floor and try to make shapes with the cookie cutters.

His language sure has expanded in these few weeks since I have been home. You really have to keep it in context, but frequently can understand what he is trying to say. "Par-pa" for Parker, hi-ee & by-ee along with a wave. Has also said bubbles, and called the cat by her name, Charlie. These words were all on his own, not repeating after me. On the back porch, he paused and then said "hear that", as he could hear music being played loudly down the street. He tries so hard to mimic my words and answer my questions. He loves singing Wheels on the Bus and will tell me what verse to do next (beep the horn or "shh" like the mamas). He also enjoys pointing out his body parts (where are your eyes? where is your belly?). He has learned to plug his nose and once when I was changing him, I glance at his face to see he is holding his nose close! He is even starting to make animal sounds and has enjoyed two trips to the zoo this month. We have a few animal books that we read over and over and over again. But it's cute to see him identify the animal on the next page by the sound it makes (cheep cheep for the chicks and snorting for the piggies).