Out and About

So Parker has twice now slept "thru the night"... I say that in quotes because every time I hear about sleeping through the night, the definition of night is completely different. I've heard the "average" six month old is waking 2-3 times at night, and capable of sleeping 6+ hours at a time. I don't think Parker is a great sleeper and he sometimes has a hard time even falling asleep. But twice now he has had only one wake up over night, and slept for 8 hours straight. Both times we had spent the entire day outdoors, so now I'm trying to continue that trend!

We spent the day at Old Orchard Mall today and he was such a good boy! Very cheerful and quite the little charmer, flirting with anyone that paid attention to him!

Summer Fun

As it is now early August and school is just around the corner, I figured I should get these pictures off of the camera before summer is over!

Boating with a baby tends to be a little bit difficult, but we have certainly managed a few times this summer! Believe it or not, this chunky baby is still pretty small for a life jacket! It just squishes up on his neck and face and we feel so bad for him! But it's the law and he does pretty well with it. He generally falls asleep as the boat is going fast - the motion and white noise apparently are perfect sleeping conditions. Never mind the waves and the bumpy ride!

We took two weeks of swim lessons mid-July. Unfortunately the time was right in the middle of his morning nap. That meant he was VERY tired during the lessons. The first week was in the mid 90's...the second week had a high of 70! Parker enjoys the water and we have learned some of the foundational skills to learning how to swim. He received a report card at the last lesson and received "needs to improve" in most areas. The learn to swim class is for 6-36 months and Parker had just turned 6 months old. Most of the skills are not developmentally appropriate for him - but there was still a slight cringe to view that negative report card! 

Watching Saturday morning cartoons...

Team spirit for the water fights at Lake Villa days.

Family Portraits

Since I was completing Parker's six month portraits, I figured it would be a great time to get some updated family portraits as well. We met my brother and sister in law at Grant Forest Preserve - I took some family portraits of them, and then Missy helped take the portraits of us. I think they turned out amazing! If only I can convince my husband to do them again in the fall!

And a few new cousin pictures!

Beach Day!

Our neighborhood has a very small park and beach just a few doors down from our house. It's nothing special, but the location is amazing! Parker and I enjoyed the beach this weekend, just the two of us. He loves splashing in the water, and bath time has become even more entertaining now that he can sit up in the tub. Starting swim lessons next week!

Check out my teeth!

We also met Missy and the kids at the beach this week. Mia was enjoying eating the sand - Parker looks disgusted with her!

4th of July

We began celebrating summer with fireworks in mid June with the show in Lake Villa. Parker stayed awake for the show, watched the sky (and the people) and even talked through some of the fireworks with a few baby "oo" and "ah"! We also celebrated at the Taste of Grayslake, where he fell asleep half way through the show. If he can sleep through the fireworks, I would imagine he can sleep through anything! On the 4th, we watched the Kenosha fireworks and Parker was more interested in the fountain behind us than the show in they sky. The final show was over Fox Lake on the 6th, and he slept through it all. The noise of the fireworks doesn't seem to startle him at all, but a loud sneeze or a surprise "hello" in the house can scare him to tears!

Summer with Mommy

Our second time swimming wasn't as successful as the first - Parker was tired and the water put him immediately to sleep!

We have an inflatable kiddie pool at home and it's almost as much fun as the bathtub! It has an inflatable bottom so its nice and cushioned as Parker practiced sitting up.

Dipped his face in the water!

Practicing sitting up! 5 months 3 weeks and very steady!

 Using a sippy cup - loves his sip of water!

 Such a great job posing for the camera

Lil Swimmer

Well first off, this morning I was so excited to be able to take a shower (and shave my legs!) while Parker played quietly on the bathroom floor. Just a few months ago I was afraid to take a shower while he slept - it's such a horrible feeling to turn off the water and hear him screaming from his crib. Someone is growing up way too fast!

I had already planned on attending the tot swim at the Grayslake pool this morning. It was forecasted to be quite humid today. Parker has Daddy's warm blooded body and gets so hot so quickly that I hesitate to keep him outside when it is so warm. But he loves to be outside and I figured a swim would be good for him. However, this morning I woke up with a teething, cranky baby - not sleeping, not eating, spitting up, whining - and a crazy storm rolling in. I am so happy I decided to try it anyway. Parker had a blast in the pool, floating, swimming and watching the other kids. He is such a social butterfly - we will definitely be going back often this summer. Guess its time to sign up for swim lessons!

Not so sure about this...

... warming up to the water ...

... splashing away!

Took a break to chew on the camera. 

Take 1...

Take 2...

Take 3!

Loving it!

This is how he spent much of the time in the water - floating on his belly, chewing on my shoulder.

I think someone enjoyed himself!