Movin' and Shakin'

Ian turned 6 months old this week. He is movin' and shakin' every day - well definitely shakin' and only movin' in a circle - not in a forward motion yet. This weekend was Ian's first 4th of July! He had a great weekend up north with all the family. Ian spent the 4th in his new backpack - thank you Grandma! He didn't go and see the fireworks - we'll wait another year or so before we attempt fireworks viewing. I don't even want to imagine the meltdown after jerking away from his deep sleep.

Ian is laughing all the time and is becoming very ticklish. He squirms, giggles and smiles while you tickle him all over. There are not quite a few thing that consistently make him laugh like running forwards and backwards, galloping, pushing him in his highchair and lifting him up in to the air.

Every day as I watch him play I see new skills he's developing and it blows my mind! I haven't gotten out all my TPBA development charts but I'm getting close. Still no teeth but he nawing on everything he can get his hands and mouth on. He's also beginning to sit up on his own but we haven't set him out in the open to try on his own but I think sometime soon he'll have it down enough that he can try it without the mom/dad-leg-training-wheels.

Overall, he's doing great. He's happy and health and that makes his Mom and Dad happy.

More Pictures

Ian embraces the "Up North" way of life

This weekend we made our first trip Up North to "The Hill" with Ian. He had no problem adopting the Up North mentality. Ian enjoyed his first time sitting in the big green chair but then he had to give it up so mom could enjoy it too. Ian seemed so excited to wake Aunt Caroline up bright and early Saturday morning.  He seemed happily surprised that she was already there and his face said "She's here so early in the morning, she usually doesn't come until the afternoon!" 

 

On Saturday Ian hung out with Grandma while Mom rode 20 miles with Aunt Caroline and Dad rode 42 miles (no one could top Grandpa riding 60 miles). After the ride in the morning we got lunch at our favorite restaurant and then strolled around town. Of course Ian couldn't miss out on his opportunity to swim in the heated pools so we took a trip down to the pools Saturday evening. Unfortunately there was a large soccer tournament going on in the area so there were LOTS of rowdy kids in the pool.  Ian was a trooper but hung on really tight to Mom.  

Sunday was Father's day and Ian was happy to be able to spend the morning with Grandpa Dobbins and then spend a little bit of time with Grandpa Verbeke in Lansing.  Ian showered Dad with lots of slobbery kisses and a few little things (with help from Mom).  Overall it was a great weekend! Ian's already been asking about when we can go back.  

5 months

This weekend marked Ian's 5 month birthday. As you can see from the picture Ian is quite the mover and shaker already. Just in the last week Ian's fine motor skills have improved greatly. This improved ability to manipulate toys has also lead to frustration (aka crying/screaming) when he can't do with it what he wants. He also showed today that if he's playing with something and you take it away he'll let you know he's upset. You can tell it won't be too long before he's finding a way to move around because you can see it in his eyes how badly he wants to go explore things. Ian has also been eating cereal almost the whole month, quite successfully, so we'll move on to a few vegetables and fruits this month. I'm trying to think of what else has been going on with Ian.... Oh, Ian (and I think Joe) has really been enjoying his time with Daddy. Since Dad is done with school, Mom is working more hours so Ian and Dad spend a good chunk of the day together. They sing, play, read and watch the Tigers all day long. :-)

Ian's First Swim

Ian had his first adventure into the water this evening. The water was chilly but Ian was a trooper. He didn't cry at all and even occasionally smiled. After a few minutes in the water he started kicking his feet some and he definitely didn't mind being in the water. I think next time we're in a warmer pool he'll be much more active. A trip up-north to the super heated pools is in order soon so he can have a chance to swim in really warm water - then I think we'll get smiles, kicking and splashing. Dad was pleasantly surprised how well Ian did in the water. Ian keeps proving to us more and more each day that he is pretty "go with the flow".

First of many...

Joe and I experience one of our first of many feelings that Ian is getting bigger. Ian is now sleeping in his big boy bed (crib) instead of his bassinet in our room so we packed up his bassinet and we also packed away all of his 0-3 month clothes. Other signs that Ian is getting bigger include preferring to sit-up in your lap and the constant smiles and occasional giggles.

Ian is also getting much better at holding toys and when he drops the toy he's playing with he starts to cry in frustration. Ian is also working on sitting up and he really likes pulling himself up to a standing position (pulling is mostly Mom but the standing is all Ian). Since Dad finished school Ian has been spending lots of time with Dad and they are an awesome twosome. Overall, Ian is doing great. Below are pictures from a few weeks ago that I forgot to post.

Thanks for my Star PJ's Aunt Caroline. Aren't I so cute!
First time swinging at Grandma and Grandpa Dobbins' house

Daddy Graduated!

We celebrated Joe's graduation from the University of Michigan with his Masters in Music Education this weekend. Ian was great during the ceremony.

This will be Ian in 20 plus years. :-)
Joe is the one walking across the stage.

4 months old

Ian is 4 months old! Lots has happened during the last month. Ian is all done with his harness. The transition to not wearing it while he is sleeping went fairly well. He practices being a ham every day. We're anxiously awaiting his first complete laughs. Currently he'll let out one giggle at a time so he just needs to string them together into a complete laugh. He had his 4 month check-up this week and he now weighs 14lbs 10oz. In addition to being a big ham he loves to "talk" and drool. He's such the drooler that it isn't uncommon for him to go through at least one shirt if not two in one day.