Fun in the Sun

This weekend we took our first family trip to the city. We went Saturday, and it turned out to be a great day for an adventure. It started out slightly hotter than I would've liked, but then the clouds rolled in and we were blessed with a slight breeze. We started our day at the Lincoln Park Zoo. Jess was a little disappointed in the selection of animals on display. I am willing to compromise the weak animal show for the scenic background. I love our Chicago! Oden didn't really pay attention to any of the animals. He was just happy to be outside moving around. After a mini picnic and a while walking around, we decided to walk to the beach. It is the same route my dad and deb used to take me and my sisters on when we were little. After our hike over Lake Shore Dr., we finally hit the sand. I was not at all prepared for the beach. I had envisioned Oden just dipping his feet in the sand and being done. But, we decided to go down to the water and let him play. HOLY MESS! You don't realize that sand gets everywhere! The mess was worth Oden's pure enjoyment in this new place. He loved the sand and the water. We held his hands and let him trounce through the wet sand and water. Then, we set out the picnic blanket and let him play in the sand. It was adorable how he tried so hard to keep the sand in his little hand. He would look at him hand as if to say, "Hey! Where did it go?" He repeated this for a long time. Then Jess rinsed him off in the lake. I did my best to clean the sand out of Oden and our stuff. That was awesome since I didn't bring one towel. After that we hiked back to the car, exhausted from hauling strollers and a baby all day, and drove Home Sweet Home. It was a great day with my boys. :)

Looking for some animals

"Super baby! He's the superest baby!" - Jess always says that.

Our mini picnic in the flower garden.

I'm thirsty, can I just have one sip?!

Loving the water

Cutest beach baby ever!

Showing him how to play with sand.

Family sandy toes!

Camping at Woodhaven

Oden took his first camping trip this weekend. My mom owns land in a camping community called Woodhaven. It's more like cheater camping because she has an awesome trailer. The amenities include a microwave, stove, beds, TV, etc. The water was broken though so we did have to walk to the public restrooms when needed. We went up on Thursday night with Sarah, Michael, and Marshall. My mom came there Friday night after work. Oden was definitely out of his element at first. He seemed a little "stir crazy", but then we went for lots of walks, and played at lots of parks. He loves baby swings. It was nice to get away, even if it was only for a couple days.

This is Oden all bundled up on our first morning walk to the bathrooms.

It was like 45 degrees! Freezing! Loving the swing :)
Checking out the swaying trees.

DUCKIES and HORSES

Here are some super cute pictures of Oden with all of his bath duckies. Some are from baby showers, and/or just random gifts, but most are from Grandpa Joe. He was recently staying at a hotel where they would give him a new one everyday. I guess I don't really have to tell you that he stayed there for quite a few days. Probably not fun for him, but it turned out great for Oden!!

It's a duck eat duck world!

No peep shows for you!!

I'm very serious about these ducks!

These last two pictures are of Oden on a very old rocking horse. My mom and dad made it for my cousin Joey when he was a baby. Which makes it about 26 years old. You can't see it but it says "Joey" on the back. My plan is to repaint it (not to change it, just to freshen it up), and add Oden's name somewhere. This way one day he could give it to someone in his family. I wanted to let him play on it now though, because I was told he couldn't fit on it much longer. He didn't love it. I think he's a little scared of the rocking motion by himself. I will just have to give it another go soon!

7 month pictures and random news

We have teeth people! Oden cut his two bottom teeth this past week. There are two little slits where and one little tooth is barely popping through the top of one. We're so excited! You can see him hurt himself sometimes when he is chewing on his hands. He pulls his hand out of his mouth with a quickness and makes the hurty face.

Oden also started clapping on Sunday. All we have to do is show him how, and he puts his hands together like he's known how to clap forever. It's so cute. He loves to show off too! His first performance was in front of an audience. Perhaps he's a natural born performer? Only time will tell....

Other then that, he has started eating weird baby foods. Yesterday he had Macaroni and cheese dinner, and the day before was Chicken and Broccoli. WOW, that stuff smells gross! He absolutely loves it! At this point, I think he'll eat just about anything.

Tonight Oden and I attended our first Chuck E. Cheese party. He was an angel of course, and was so amazed by all of the new sights. He still loves to watch everything so attentively.

Here are some of his 7 months pictures. He is getting so strong. Everyone says he should be crawling anytime now. I hope so!

Baby Hercules!

Mommy's cutie
Baby Monkey
Waking up from a nap
MOM! Can't I get a second to wake up!