It's hot...how do you cool off?

It is so hot here this week!  The outdoor temperatures have reached high 80s / 90s and we are all just wilting.  I realized on Monday that I own NO shorts that aren't maternity shorts so I have been flouncing around in my hippy skirts.  It wasn't until yesterday, as my little dude is sweating badly, that I was finally willing to shut all the windows and kick on the central air.  oooohhh ... how did we live without this sin before now?  Brian hates the heat, especially at night while trying to sleep.  He's been hiding out in the basement where it is cooler whenever he gets the chance.  Tam has been weathering the heat really well, I think.  He has been sweating, and drooling, like a maniac!  But, he still has lots of grins and...perhaps some little teeth soon?  

Anyways, we needed a quick way to cool our little dude down.  First, into the clean sink he went with about hip-deep cool water.  He, of course, loved it.  I gave him a spoon, teething ring, cup, and burbee cloth.  He was in heaven splashing the water with one hand and chewing on the spoon with the other.  Yeah!

The next day, we tried a rubber-maid tub in the yard... I filled it with about 1inch of water from the hose and threw in the cup, spoon, and rattle.  He again was quite content and cooled off well.  

But I forgot to snag my camera :-)  

How is every else trying to stay cool?

Family resemblance

The top shot is of me at 6months. I too had lots of hair, though it didn't stick straight up off of my head. And, hey, I'm in overalls too!


The bottom photo is of my grandmother at 11month (I think)?

And then there is Tam at 6.5months.

Our faces look so similar at this age!

So True :-)

Tam's first outing to a playground - 7months old!

It's warm; the sun is shining; and we are looking for a new adventure for Tam... So off we go to a nearby playground!

The park is right next to my school, but still about 1.5miles from the house, a little too far to walk there and back again. It is a nice, small park with lots of grass and a great little playground. After kiddos afternoon nap and bottle, we all grabbed our hats and headed out the door into the sunshine.

The play equipment had several pieces of various sizes, plus swings. We let Tam try just about everything with our help. He has finally mastered sitting up with out support and so really enjoyed just sitting and watching the other kids around him. There were about 5-6 other children all around the ages of 1-6 playing too. One of the 3 year olds was really friendly and often came over to try to talk to us and to Tam. Tam, of course, just squealed and grinned, but who knows, that might mean "Howdy, Partner!" in baby-talk. There was also a puppy on a leash, which captured Tam's attention too. Nice doggie :-)

We would let Tam sit on one of the levels with one of us, and then the other would go higher or lower to give him different perspectives on the world. Giggles all around.

We let him try the really short slide on his back and he wasn't too sure about that. Not really a frown, but definitely a "I'm confused" look on his face. We then took him down the larger slide sitting up with one of us and he liked that better!

Then, we tried the swings. They had a baby reclined swing and the bucket swings with lashes to hold him in. He again wasn't too sure if he liked it or not... He did like going forward and having the wind in his hair but didn't like going backward as much.

There was also a merry-go-round that I was excited to try with Tam. Unfortunately, it was off its axis due to too many wood chips piled under it. I guess that means it was a merry-go-stop.

We also saw that they had little kiddo cages! These were two "pods" connected by an enclosed plank. The pods really did look like little cages :-) It was the perfect size for Tam to sit and stand in to look out at the world at our eye level. He really liked this spot!

All and all, it was a great little outing for us and we had some quality family time together. I know that goober won't remember this stuff yet, but I also know that we're grateful for starting to make these awesome memories together already.

This weekend's excursions

This weekend was great out here.  The sun was shining and it was decently warm.  We spent quite a bit of time outside enjoying  it ;-)

On Friday, all three of us headed out to the research center where I'm working on Oak DNA this summer.  This was the PCCI's 5 year anniversary of providing undergraduate research opportunities, so there was a big shin-dig happening on Friday with food, demonstrations, and nature walks along the trails.  We got there in time to eat lunch and rub elbows with some of the donors (read rich folk).  I almost felt awkward in our tie-dye and hauling a 6.5 month old, but the other people at our table were really 

interested in my research and Tam was making lots of great faces for entertainment.  We gave him fresh strawberry to try from our short-cake dessert.  Oh-wee!  He made this face that screamed "Dear Lord, what did you just feed me and is it really food?"  After his second bite, he puckered up his face at the tartness and refused anymore of the strawberry goodness.  Too cute and more strawberries for me.  

After lunch, we three did one of my favorite hikes around 

the property which took us through prairie, maple-beech forest, and a bog.  Tam was un-impressed with the nature and fell asleep in the carrier within the first 15minutes.  Good thing I had slathered him up with sunscreen down his face and neck.  Check out his crazy-sprawled sleep position.

Once back at the center, we stayed for a birds of prey demonstration.  It was great and we had front row seats for Tam

 to watch all the birds.  The lead guy talked a mile a minute and had great mix of facts and jokes geared for all ages.  Tam sat pretty still through most of the demo and had great big eyes anytime the volunteers brought a bird over close to us to see.  He was all grins :-)  We'll make a little scientist out of him yet!

Have I mentioned lately how BIG Tam has gotten since birth?  We had his 6 month check a couple of weeks ago and he is already 18lbs and 27.75inches long, which means he's long and lean.  I checked back into my baby book and I was the same length at

 this age, but a few ounces heavier in weight.  As well as growing, we can definitely tell his little brain is working in overtime too.  He is often watching everything around him with this look of fascination.  He's still babbling with lots of squeals, laughs, babababa and mamamama sounds.  He's sitting up fairly well...for about 1minute or so before toppling over. He loves standing up with our support (and jumping!).  No teeth yet but my 1st wasn't until 11months!  Such a happy boy :-)  

He makes Brian and me smile so much and...oh...so much love!

WTF with the background?

Hmmm...If you are here today (Monday) and notice the funky Background, try to ignore it. I traced the problem back to the webpage designer and it seems that photobucket has a glitch and she is in contact with them to fix it.  If still problematic later this week, I'll have to fine a new designer.  Eh, ok, I think I'm ready for another change :-)