Recent Happenings

I haven't posted in a while. We took a trip out of state to help Joe's aunt and uncle move and didn't have computer access. 
So here's what we have been doing...

Joe got a new chainsaw last week. While he was out cutting firewood Joseph and I were inside playing on the crunchy packing paper.

He got a new frozen teether. He loved it and it fit his little mouth perfectly. We are still waiting on the first tooth but tonight we noticed what appears to be a small bump on his gums!

 I packed his suitcase, and when I wasn't looking he would unpack it.

Into the car seat and away we go!

Our little chauffeur.

And back home! He used to love to eat the giraffe's tale, but he found the ear and now seems to prefer that.

Cool in the Pool

It is July and the heat is unbearable. It has been in the 100's the last couple of days. Daddy and Joseph stayed cool by playing in the pool.

Looks like Joseph is a natural swimmer. Be sure to watch for him in the 2016 Olympics.

What a great way to spend time together and cool off at the same time.

Playing with Rotini

Today we played with a pie pan full of rotini noodles. Joseph didn't hesitate in sticking his little hands right in.






He was so interested in picking them up. For awhile he would just pick them up and drop them to pick up more.








Good thing I put down a water proof blanket, no smashed noodles in the carpet!

But, of course no post would be complete without a picture of Joseph trying to eat something.

Ziploc Rattles

Today we explored sounds. We filled Ziploc bags with things we had around the house such as bells, plastic caps, change and buttons.

Filling the Ziploc bags with air made it easy for Joseph to shake and hear the different sounds each bag made.







He had fun shaking the bags but couldn't settle for just one and kept dropping one to grab another. Recently he has started to work on grasping items with fewer fingers and has been experimenting with controlling his wrists. This was a great activity to practice both.

Lazy Saturday Fun

This morning Joseph and I hung out in the yard. We haven't spent a lot of time out side since in the past I didn't feel that he would enjoy laying on the ground. Now that he has become more mobile and able to sit on his own I am excited to start exploring the great outdoors with him!

I think my favorite part was when he recognized that birds were chirping over head, and took an interest in trying to locate the sound. He is such a curious and thoughtful little guy.




He enjoyed looking at the dandelion. We practiced smelling without eating. I think he was a little surprised by the smell at first, but he seemed like he wanted to keep smelling it.

This flower we practiced using our sense of touch. This flower was great for that because it had a soft fuzzy stem and a rough center. He really liked to rub the center of the flower.

Who knew that using our senses and playing outside could be so fun?

Making Barriers Fun

One night as Joe was browsing Amazon he came across some chalkboard contact paper. We put it on an old coffee table that we had been using to keep Joseph out of the office area.

Joseph wasn't too interested in holding the chalk at first... but with a little prodding from Daddy he warmed up to it.

At first he thought we were trying to give him a yummy snack.







 But then his artistic abilities started to shine.

To be fair, Daddy did help out a little bit, in fact I think he had more fun than Joseph this time.

Keeping Cool

Lately the temperatures have been in the high 90's, so we have been doing what we can to keep cool. Since Joseph likes to drink the pool water I decided that we would have more fun filling a tub with hose water. 


Joseph has always enjoyed being in water, but isn't much for playing in it. As you can see he would rather eat the toys than splash in the water.



Today Joseph explored ice for the first time. I got the idea to dye the ice from Growing A Jeweled Rose. Joseph wasn't too sure about it at first, but once he figured out that he could put it in his mouth he started to enjoy it a little more.



Yum...

Fort of Fun

Today we decided to extend the life of our Fisher Price gym as well as get some more use out of our moving boxes. We took the idea from The Imagination Tree to poke holes in the top of the box and stick burp rags, toys, and socks through. We tried putting a blanket over the arch on the gym but Joseph wanted to stand up and got frustrated with it in his face. 

Luckily Daddy was there to save him from the evil blankie.