family vacation part 1 {family museum}

The first stop of our family vacation was at the family museum.  I was really excited to take Hendrix there, but i wasn't really sure that he was big enough to get much out of it. 

We enjoyed a little picnic out front before heading inside.  Hendrix gobbled up strawberries like it was his job!

I am really glad that I packed 3x more clothes than I actually thought I needed as he changed outfits several times everyday.  It was hot so he would get all sweaty, and he doesn't keep bibs on very well, so he also needs a shirt change after almost every meal.  :)  

Once we got inside he was ready to explore.  There were tons of "learning stations" set up and unlike most museums everything was meant to be experienced - climbed on and touched.  There were lots of children and the mood was loud and fun.  

He would get very distracted from what we were trying to show him by other cute kids.  He can scope out other people his size from about a mile away and he waves and giggles and reaches out to say hello.  I don't see other babies get as excited to see him as he is to see them.  It's funny.

Daddy took him to touch a cloud and walk through a tornado.  The science stuff was really cool for adults as well as kiddos.

This computerized play mat was so cool.  It had all these bright colors which were of course very attractive to the kids, but then the lily pads interacted as you sat or walked on it.  The butterflies, water ripples, and fish would all move around your movements.  It was really cool.

You can see this huge playhouse with kitchen, grocery store, laundry room, dining room and all the appropriate toys to play and learn about those spaces right behind Hendrix.  He loved cruising around and picking what he wanted to play with.

There was a special Clifford exhibit that included all sorts of locations from the shows and books and a life-size Clifford to climb on.  While Hendrix seemed somewhat interested in it, he seemed really intimidated too and wouldn't let us get close to it with him, even for a picture. :)

Lastly, we headed out to the courtyard for some water fun. 

This was by far Hendrix's favorite part.  His fascination for water has not faded, and it was a nice hot day so the water felt amazing.

We weren't prepared for the water feature so Hendrix didn't have a suit to wear and instead just got soaked and stripped down.  We took plenty of breaks to drink water in the shade.....see the sweat just dripping?

And every time we thought that he was about completely worn out and we should head out for naptime, he would gain a second wind and go back for more!  

His hair is getting so long and turns crazy wild when it's wet. ;)

The water tables were really perfect for his age as it was all about moving water around from various levels with fountains and buckets, and he enjoyed standing up to it to splash.  Daddy and Mommy had fun playing too.

My silly little water baby!

More to come about our vacation fun.....

first baseball game

Hendrix went to his first I Cubs baseball game yesterday.  Bud and I have gone to at least one game every summer since we have met, and it was a fun tradition to continue as a family. ;)

Hendrix really enjoys people watching and he was busy taking everything in.  He got really excited when the players were on the field as well.

Of course the snacks are always one of the best parts of the game....here he was enjoying some of him aunt Hannah's frozen lemonade...

...and here he is digging in my lemonade cup for some ice. 

It was a super gorgeous day for a game, and we had seats in the shade so the temperature was very pleasant.  

It was really fun to hang out with the newlywed couple - my brother and his wife!

Okay so Hendrix is a little antsy.  He likes to be on the go, so we spent some time climbing up and down the stairs....

crawling around....

...and making some new friends.  He is such a friendly little guy.  

 

At the end of the game, they let the kids go out on the field and run the bases, and daddy really wanted to let Hendrix have that experience.  Both of them were all smiles out there!

I think Hendrix likes baseball.

I know that daddy loves it! :)

learning to use a spoon

we let hendrix use his own spoon to eat his peach-applesauce at lunch today. 

he was very pleased that we allowed him this great step of independence.  he was actually better at it than i expected him to be, as he understand the basic idea of dipping it into the food and putting it into his mouth.  the coordination was just a little off yet.... 

it was quite. the. mess.  i don't imagine he could have gotten much in his mouth by assessing how much was on the floor and his clothes and high chair.

and at some point, for whatever reason, he got the spoon turned around and kept trying to eat the wrong end.  :)  

it was a valiant effort for a first try little pal, keep up the good work!

hendrix's ring bearer debut

so when my brother, jason and his bride, hannah asked hendrix to be the ring bearer in their wedding i was of course honored, thrilled, excited and just a teeny bit nervous.  i knew that he would be cute, of course, but i wasn't sure how much cooperation to expect from such a young fella.  :)  

i needn't have worried.  

he. did. awesome. 

he entertained himself very well during the down time at the rehearsal by finding a stick to play with. 

he practiced his walk down the aisle with his nana. 

he sweated a few bullets with his daddy, but remained smiley nonetheless.

his aunt hannah was the one that walked down the aisle with him.  she was the guest table gal, and that role gave her the freedom to help with him, and since he knows her well it seemed a good fit.  

being flexible to expect whatever he was capable of at the time, we decided to let him 'walk' holding onto her fingers as this is one of his favorite ways to get around!  his daddy was a groomsman so we knew that he would be able to look to him for encouragement as he started down the aisle.   

we planned to let him stay up there with daddy as long as he would cooperate (the backup plan would be to come and sit with me in the front row if needed).

hendrix helped decorate the park and reception hall in his jammies on the day of the ceremony.  he enjoyed lots of special moments with his various aunts and uncles throughout the day.  

he made a new friend in the hotel after he woke up from a nice long afternoon nap.

we opted to not go for a tux as it was an outdoor ceremony and we were not sure he would handle all the layers in the heat.  instead he had a tie and vest to match the big boys with just black dress pants and a white dress shirt.   he didn't seem to mind the outfit at all, and he even kept his coordinating 'camo' shoes on the entire ceremony!

he was ready to go!

he handled pictures like a pro, smiling and posing!  i am sure that it helped that daddy was there to hold him a lot, and don't forget to give me some credit for helping him to know what to expect when a camera is in his face!  lol

he walked down the aisle just like we planned, flashing everyone huge grins, and looking absolutely quite dapper.

then he stood up in front with his daddy for the entire ceremony and played with a couple books, sucked on his paci, and made a few appropriately timed squeals of delight. 

it was a beautiful wedding, and we were thrilled to be a very special part of it!  Congratulations to my brother and new sister-in-law!!

11 months already

another age milestone crossed and i really have no idea where the time is going.  way. too. quickly.

if i could sum up what he is up to this month in one word it would be standing.  he pulls himself up to everything and does lots of cruising.  he has ventured some steps more and more, though it is definitely not his go-to method of transportation yet. 

he has gotten more and more bold about only needing one hand to hold himself up and playing with the other.....and he has also recently started letting go completely and just standing to play.   he pulls himself up by my legs and is forever tripping me up when i am trying to get things done in the kitchen. lol

water remains one of his other favorite things! this was taken at the family museum when we were on vacation (which, by the way i plan to tell you all about with pictures as soon as i can get around to it.....)

he was a rockstar about travelling, and we stayed in two different bed and breakfasts along with a hotel on our trip.  he got really used to sleeping in his pack n' play, and this is the adorable face i see at the end of naptime.

he is super fascinated with animals.  he thinks that there are only two kinds though - kitties, or dogs.  anything with hair is a kitty, and everything else he just barks at.  this was interesting at the zoo. ;)

he is still a really good eater, though it is hard to tell these days as he is really thinning out.  i think some of that is because he is getting taller, but a lot of it is because he is on the go so much that he burns too many calories!  lol  

if i would let him eat a banana at every meal he would.  he recognizes them in the grocery store and hollers until i put some in the cart.  then he tries to crawl into the back of the cart to reach them.  i once gave him one to hold onto, but he ate right through the peel before we got to the checkout.  poor starving child.

he is getting so big, and gaining so much personality.  he is so much fun.

i am getting really excited about his upcoming birthday party! 

wordless wednesday {mommy and daddy baum}

these photos were taken by my brother, joel, when we were at the Amana Colonies on Sunday for his engagement photoshoot with his fiance, rachel.  

he offered to use my camera to catch a few shots of my hubby and i, which was really fun since i normally am the one behind the camera!