meeting sue

over the weekend, my father-in-law took us to the science center so hendrix could see the dinosaur exhibit.  

the t-rex was named sue, and hendrix was fascinated with her.  on the way there as we talked about it, he was a little frightened and told us that he didn't want to see a t-rex, but instead wanted to see a long-neck because they are nicer.  

once we got there though, he was fascinated, and impressed by how large she was.  he talked our ears off about the bones, and the different kinds of dinosaurs, and was difficult to pull from the dino exhibit to move on to see other things. ;)

it was neat to see him enjoying this experience with his grandpa!

our dear friend from college, matt, came to visit us for the weekend, and he graciously enjoyed our family fun; which made for an even more memorable experience for hendrix ;)

there was a dig zone, and hendrix enjoyed excavating some bones of his own.  

he had the hang of it already, as we did something like this on a smaller scale at his dinosaur birthday party this past fall ;)

blaire was such a chill gal, hanging out in her stroller, snoozing tons, and watching hendrix's every move.  she is so flexible, making it very easy to take her on all-day outings; and giving us a chance to focus on the energetic one in the family!

check out my cool goggles, mom!

there were so many other learning zones in the science center, and hendrix loved each and every one of them, though his attention span was rather short so he enjoyed jumping from one thing to another all day long. 

hendrix even did a great job using the potty all day.  he had a little accident right as we got there as he needed to go after being in the car for the hour trip and we couldn't quite make it to the bathroom on time, but he is doing great with using public restrooms (as long as they don't have an automatic flush.......) and is proud to be a big boy!

it was a really fun family day, and i know we will be going back again soon!

big boy complex

Okay, so my 6-month-old thinks he's a big boy.  I know, it is awfully early to be develping a little 'attitude' but that is exactly what is happening.  He has huge opinions about what he wants and likes and what he does not, and he is very clear about expressing those things.  He has mastered the arched back, and now he also uses this very high pitch squeal/scream to let you know he is not pleased.  oh. my.

Now that he is getting very good at sitting by himself he wants to have no part in laying on the floor to play.  Apparently that is only for babies.  I am not exactly sure how he is going to get better at rolling, or learn to crawl for that matter, but sitting on his blanket with a few toys sure makes him happy. :)

He really loves eating and is a pretty good eater (the only things he has refused so far are peas and green beans), but he has recently decided that he only wants to eat when mom and dad are eating.  Thankfully, he doesn't seem to realize that he is eating different food than us yet....let's try to keep that a secret a little while longer!

He also loves to drink.  He mostly just gnaws on his own sippy cup; but he will throw a fit if you don't offer him a sip of whatever you are drinking.  This can be super messy and super time consuming.  Eating out has become very interesting.  Note the fit as daddy starts to take the cup away.....

He doesn't like to be cuddled and snuggled up to fall asleep anymore.  You might remember that he used to LOVE being swaddled, well now he prefers to fall asleep sitting in your lap, facing out, watching wheel of fortune with mommy and daddy.  We might be able to blame some of this on those breathing treatments that he has been putting up with for the last three weeks - that was when he first started enjoying this position.

Oh and he is starting to lose interest in his paci.  While it used to be very difficult to snap photos of him without it in his mouth, he now finds more enjoyment holding it and playing with it than actually sucking on it.  That is fine though, I like seeing his gummy smile more!

Slow down, big boy, you are growing fast enough as it is!

I'm one of the big kids now, right Mom?

Gabe showed Hendrix how to open his Valentine's Day present like a big boy.  It is really fun to see Hendrix getting the opportunity to interact with the older kids that I nanny for - they seem to really enjoy him, and he really takes everything in.  He likes to imitate them.  

The little monkey/zebra that we got him has been a huge hit.  He loves to squeeze it to death and chew on its ears!

We finally got some nice weather here this week and took advantage of the opportunities to spend a lot of time outside.  We tried out the stroller without having Hendrix in the carseat carrier and he seemed to enjoy being able to see what is going on around him.  It requires more bundling up that way; but seeing his little grin in the sunshine was worth it!  Gabe enjoyed being a big helper and pushed him around the neighborhood. 

The kids really enjoyed our first playdate at the park this year.  Hendrix even got to play on the playground a little bit too, and I took him down his first ride on the slide. 

Then I snuggled him back up with his blanket to watch them run around.  He seemed to enjoy that just about as much. ;)

Riley is a really big helper, and is thrilled that she can carry him around pretty easily now.  She even helps feed him and change his diapers.  He is a lucky kid to get so much adoring attention. ;)  

Gabe still isn't sure what he thinks of him most of the time.  He likes to talk about the "baby", but never uses his name.  He also like to tell me when he is crying, and when he has gone potty in his pants. lol

My three little couch potatoes! Yes, Hendrix enjoys watching a little bit of Word Girl and Curious George on PBS with the kids sometimes in the late afternoon.  I would never have turned the TV on for him if it wasn't for the bigger kids.....but I have found that he takes an interest in it.  I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not.  Don't worry we have very limited screen time!

He is really exploring the noises that he can make with lots of squeaking and belly laughs. What a big boy!

Hendrix is eating like a big boy

Hendrix started eating cereal and is now officially a big boy!

That first day that we tried it I really don't think he got it.  He seemed to like the taste of it okay, and even did some grunting in between bites if Daddy wasn't feeding it to him fast enough, but he had no idea what to do with his tongue.  It mostly just dribbled out of his mouth until Daddy realized that if he left the spoon in his mouth a little bit longer, then he could suck it off the spoon.  

He definitely is a messy eater.  He has had to bathe alot more frequently than usual because I don't like him going to bed with 'crusty' hair!

I love this adorable bib that his great aunt Phoebe made for him.....can you see his name being pulled by a dump truck?!?  So cute!

Just a few days into it, and he was already eating more like a pro.  Just a little practice can make a big difference.

Now to start on some veggies.....yum!