Lunchtime Swimming

Working at home is the biggest blessing. Even better, working at home across from Joel who also works at home is just beyond my wildest dream. We get to spend all day together and all day with our sweet baby Vander. Who could possibly ask for more? I want to enjoy every minute because lets face it, Joel won't work from home forever.
Yesterday Vander and I enjoyed a nice little swim in the backyard in his new Whale bath that Grandma Ronda gave us. It is SO hot outside, but the shade of the tail is perfect for Vander to sit under, and the water from the hose was nice and cool. It was like a giant bath outside and Vander loved every second.
Then, today it was Joel's turn, so Joel and Vander took another little swim in the backyard.
This is seriously the LIFE. I feel so blessed right now! :)

Odds and Ends

I don't have a particular post or update, but I do have a bunch of random photos from July that haven't been posted. Thought while I was at it I could post a few updates about Vander.

- He now holds his own bottle everytime he eats
- When we go in his room after he wakes up to get him, he is always on his tummy or in some other odd position
- He loves bath time and loves to hear the echo of his squeal in the tub
- He has learned that he can throw food he doesn't want onto the ground
- He is practically impossible to dress and change because he is kicking and spinning all over the changing table
- He still loves to scratch everything to hear the sound it makes and feel the texture
- He loves to stand up- but still has to be assisted
- If you hold his hands when he stands he does a pretty darn good job walking
- He sits up on the ground for 2 seconds then falls over and rolls all over the place
- He can scoot backwards, sideways and in circles, but still not forward
- He laughs or grins when you tell him "No no" (uh oh.. we're in for it...)
- He pretty much always smiles
- New favorite food- Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Puffs
- Favorite toys- Booger Sucker, Pens and Spoons- Why do we even BUY toys?

And here are some random photos over the past month....

 Here Van is rolling and flipping like he does daily.

 Playing on my old junk college laptop. A perfect toy for the kid who always wants to pound on mommy's keyboard.

 This little guy was wiggling so much more veggie got on his face then in his mouth

 Happy as a clam

 Joel and Van waiting for the fireworks to start on 4th of July

 Me and my sweetie

Still waiting for fireworks..... Playing with his other favorite toy.. his bottle :)

 Daddy and Vander just chillin

 Van holding his bottle like a big boy!

Family trip to Costco! My Costco card kept him very entertained

Family Payson Camping Trip

This past weekend we took our very first camping trip with Vander up to Payson. It was also the first trip (hopefully of many) with my sister Tarah and family and my Mom and Dad. It was definately a new experience camping with a 7 month old- but he was SO good the entire time, so I cannot complain. This was also my first time camping in my adult life at a campground (we usually go drive out into the mountains and find a good quiet spot) and it was definately a new experience.

The trip started with the camp ranger telling us to pick "whatever site we want" and to just let him know which one we picked. We found an amazing spot at the back of the site. We spent an hour setting everything up including- 2 tents, all chairs, tables, camping kitchen, pack and play, bedding and more- All while Vander sat very patiently watching us in his bumbo on the picnic table.... Went back to tell the ranger where we went and he says "oh, you can't go there, that spot is reserved". We then proceeded to take the entire camp down and scrambled to find a new site before the sun went down. Vander spent about 2 hours sitting like such a good boy in his bumbo just watching us set up.

Needless to say, we will be doing this again, and much more often!

Also, it is important to note- My camera died on day one after the first photo (forgot to charge it.....awesome...) So my loving sister Tarah took a few pictures and graciously shared them with me. Thank you Tarah for your assistance in documenting our trip!

 After the first night there. Vander- Happy as a clam. Joel- Exhausted from a practically sleepless night. Between keeping the dogs from barking and the baby sleeping... It was a rough first night.

 Vander was having a blast in the tent.

 Chillin on his blanket at the site. Happy as long as he had a few toys.

 Eatin' his first nilla waffer. MmMmmM

 Vander...... king of the forest

 After his 2nd night of luscious sleep. You can tell he slept very well cuz he has swollen Ingram sleepy eyes :)

 Joel and Maddux sword fighting with sticks

 The boys "talking spot"- very conveniently located near the sodas ;)

 Family hike through the forest behind camp

 Mom and Dad- Their first camping trip in about 20 years! YAY!

 Joel and Vander at the fish hatchery

Vander loved looking at the massive amounts of fish.

7 Months of pure joy!

I just realized that I never did a 7 month post for Vander!
I have been absolutely horrible at taking pictures lately so this is going to be a boring post with no pictures. I will post some updated pictures soon and make an effort to take some!
In the meantime, this is what Vander is up to these days.....
-Can barely scoot...Usually in circles but sometimes forwards
-Loves to move from sitting to stomach to back to stomach- He's a wiggle worm!
-Favorite toys are his squirting bath toys
-Has found his voice and loves to scream and jabber. Not because he's mad, just because he has discovered he can
-Waves his hand all the time, but I don't think he quite understands what it means
-Said his first word this past week. Of course... "DA-DA" much to my dismay ;)
-LOVES Mum-Mum Rice snacks and inhales them and all other food sooo fast. He eats as fast as his Daddy and Mommy :)
-He just started on finger foods this past month and it getting quite good at getting little things to eat in his mouth
-Favorite solid foods to date are Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash
-He's obsessed with his binky
-He loves to pet the doggies and laughs when they lick his face
-He loves to grip my hair and then pull on it
-He sits up on the bench at church and just plays with his toys
-He LOVES water and loves it even more when it is given to him through a straw
-He's a GOOD boy. Very very rarely whines or crys. Almost always has a smile on his face. The sweetest little boy in the world with the happiest spirit.

Most recent measurements as of 6/8/2011.....

Height- 28 inches   - 85 pecentile
Weight- 19 lbs       - 70 percentile
Head- 17.25 inch   - 45 percentile

New Favorite Hobby?

I think this morning Vander found his new favorite hobby and I found very good way to keep Vander entertained while I'm working :) Who knows... maybe this will lead to some very beautiful piano playing in our home some day. ;)

And heck... why not toss a few pictures on here from the past few weeks while I'm at it!

 He loves to TRY to feed himself. I give him his own spoon and let him make an attempt at getting some of the food in his mouth. It usually just makes a huge mess. But he sure does try hard!

This is his favorite way to be carried around by Joel right now. Screw the shoulders, he likes to sit on daddys left shoulder only.

Memorial Day and Bathtime

This week is a week full of firsts! We had a great memorial day this year at my parents house. We played in the pool with Vander and got to experience his very first swim! The water was quite cold and he didn't even make a peep! What a trooper! He actually was mainly focused on the antennas on his bumble bee floaty and didn't pay much attention to anything else.

Then he went on a "Golfball hunt" which is basically a Craig Grandbaby right of passage with Bop Bop (my dad). Basically each time a grandbaby gets big enough to sit on my dads shoulders without wobbling TOO much he takes them out to the golf course behind their house and they search for stray golfballs together. Every time one of my nieces or nephews got big enough for their big golfball search I always thought how excited I would be for when my own baby would get to do it. And YAY, here it is!!! Vander would only hold onto the golfballs for a very short period before he dropped them on the ground. He'll learn soon enough :)

 His first dunk.... we were waiting for a scream when he hit the cold water (He loves HOT water just like his mama)

 He swam with Joel practically the entire time because I'm a wuss and the water was cold!

 Ready for their big hunt to begin!

 Vander was a little confused when they were literally crawling down INTO a bush to get a ball

 His very first golfball- Of course... STRAIGHT to the mouth- Nice and clean too!

 He looked so cute and tiny out on Bop Bops shoulders

Holding one of the balls they found. Only seconds before he dropped it :)

THEN... Tonight, Vander finally graduated from his little infant/baby bath to his mom and dads nice BIG tub. He LOVED it and was just jibber jabbering the entire time.

 Look at that chunky little monkey! Measured him today and he weighed in at a whoppin 20 lbs!!! Thats the 85 percentile baby! :) This boy loves his food!

 He loves his squirter bath toys! He played with one single animal the entire time. Very easily entertained :)

 The Blue Whale is his very favorite

 My favorite part of his bathtime is his adorable little cellulite bubble butt

6 Month Pics!

I just got Vander's 6 month photos from Aubry! They turned out so cute! You can practically see into his soul :) He was teething during the shoot and was MUCH less smiley than usual, but it was nice to get some soft gentle pictures of him for once.