Haddon: 8 Months!

8 Months OLD!  Ugh, 8 months truly does sound so old to me.   Haddon continues to be the absolute best! He makes me want to have a bunch more babies just like him. Ha :)  He is so sweet and smiley and lovable.

This month we have been working on eating a wider variety of foods and he is now eating oatmeal, applesauce, carrots, sweet potatoes, avocado, peas, peaches, green beans and mixed veggies.  He actually eats anything I give him.  I do have some suspicions that applesauce is not favorite due to the sour face he makes, but he still eats it with no problems.  Haddon really only protests if I am not feeding him fast enough :)

We are still on a (mostly) 4 hour schedule with 3 solid food feedings a day.  Haddon usually wakes up around 7am at which time I feed him and he goes back to sleep until 9 when we have breakfast, lunch at 12:30 or so, dinner at 5 and another feeding at 8 before bed.  He naps from about 11-1230 and 2-5 in the afternoon.  He sometimes wakes up early from that afternoon nap, but most days he is totally cool with hanging out in his crib until 5, which totally amazes me!  He has also figured out how to push the button on the music player in his crib to turn it on, so I am pretty sure that helps :)

We have also been working on Haddon's sitting skills this month.  He still falls over (and smiles about it I might add) quite frequently but he is getting much better.  I have been working hard with him on this still because I am anxiously awaiting the day that he can sit up in the grocery cart!  I have a feeling it's going to be a life changer for the both of us!

I have strong suspicions that Haddon is going to have a very laid back personality.  It just amazes me how much things do not seem to bother him. It shocks me that he does not seem to mind when he falls over or his big sissy "hugs" him or occasionally lays on top of him.  I am so excited for him to grow into his sweet personality and participate in more and more adventures with Amaia and I.

Amaia, Daddy & the Zoo: A Love Story

I have mentioned here before that Amaia is totally head over heels in love with zoo this summer.  She craves it and asks me if we can go all the time!  Conveniently, Adam also loves going to the zoo.  I don't think he is quite as crazy about it as Amaia, but he loves her and he loves his lemurs so it's a win, win situation.  Personally, I cannot say that I love the zoo, but I certainly don't mind it and I certainly do like doing things that my family loves.  Thus, we have spent many Sunday mornings at the zoo this summer.

Amaia is at the point now that she walks around as if she owns the place.  She knows our usual route and what animals are coming up next.  Her favorites have changed over the course of the summer, but I believe we have firmly settled on sea lions now.  She could stay down there all day and watch them.

She also loves "driving the car"

And climbing the in the "tunnel"

And generally acting like all the animals throughout the zoo :)  

Okoboji!

Last week my parents graciously took us on a mini-vacation to Lake Okoboji.  Sleeping with two kiddos in a hotel room is always....interesting :)  But all in all it was a truly wonderful trip!  

First off, I would just like to say that every time we visit a smaller town in Iowa I am always so impressed!  We stayed in Spencer because all the places in Okoboji were booked and it was such a lovely town!  They had an awesome fro-yo shop, awesome coffee shop and a nice shopping street and that is really all you need right?! That is all I need to have a wonderful vacation.

On our first day we rented a boat and Amaia had the time of her life.  She had already been asking me to ride on a boat a couple of weeks before our trip...little did she know it was already in the plans!  As you can see here, she had the time of her life.  She even got to "drive" the boat for a little bit, with daddy very close by of course.

Our boat ride was a lot of fun but it was a chilly day.  Haddon was my lil' trooper.  He barely protested one bit about the chill in the air or in the life jacket that was quite snug around his cheeks.  He is such a wonderful guy.

Here is at the beginning of our trip.

And here he is towards the end of the trip...starting to get a bit annoyed perhaps?? :)

The weather was so much nicer on our second day.  It was perfect out! Amaia greatly enjoyed the sand and water and destroying the sand castles her grandparents were trying to teach her to build :)

She is such a beauty.

The other thing that we did a lot of on our trip was eat!  Ha. Going out to eat has the potential to be a bit stressful with the kiddos, but that were both superb restaurant-goers.  Amaia learned the ropes and began immediately asked the waiter "I need chocolate milk please" first thing :)

It was a wonderful first trip with my family of 4!  It just reinforced my sentiment that these three and simply the greatest!