Checkin' out the Park

On Monday, James and I ran some errands (which is code for shopping for Father's Day at undisclosed stores in case Dad reads this blog before the big day) and then we stopped by this park. I think this is the 2nd summer it's been open and I've been wanting to stop and check it out since the renovations but hadn't yet gotten my lazy bum to make that right hand turn off the main road (I've actually been somewhat afraid that it doesn't have a parking lot or something and that they would yell at me for driving back there bc you can't see the parking lot from the street). Anyway, IT LOOKS LIKE SO MUCH FUN! I cannot wait until James is big enough to go on the barn play equipment (OK, you caught me, until I can go on there with him) and they have a spray area next to it for the hot summer days. The spray area only works from 12-6pm though -- Jimmy said I "should write my Congressman" to get it working earlier in the day bc I was thinking in the summer it should be available at 10am since it can get so hot and people could take their kiddos before nap time (and it would still be green bc it times out every 10 minutes or so and you have to re-start it so they wouldn't be wasting H2O). I don't think I need to go that far though and will just make sure we remember the times and take out towels with us when we go! There is a nice walking path that goes around a pond that has catch-and-release fishing and it also has an amphitheater which they use in the summer time to show movies outdoors for free.

SEE! HOW FUN DOES THIS LOOK!?!?!

James is still kickin' it (haha, literally) on his playmat nightly (I put him down there to hopefully kick himself tired before his bottle and bed). This week he has started to play with both hands equally at his midline (a motor milestone, good job James) and he has started to put everything he holds into his mouth (another milestone, they're going so quickly)! The giraffe's feet often get a nice bath during play time but James has started to play with the leaves that hang at the bottom too -- here he managed to get his whole foot through the ring -- maybe he wanted an anklet? He actually got the ring off the arch last night and was just kicking away still.We've had fun looking at the milestones he should be doing and checking them off the list -- this kid is a motor genius in our eyes as he has managed to check off almost all of his 3 month milestones and even a few from the 4- and 5-month lists :-) I love this stuff -- it totally fascinates me and was one of my favorite classes that I TA'ed for at U of I. I love how each kid develops at his/her own rate and then they pretty much all even out when they're older.

Checked off: he's a spit-bubble master, batting at objects, grasping objects with both hands at his midline, tracking objects as they move across his body, rolling from belly to back, holding head up during assisted sitting, holding weight on legs when assisted standing, talking back to me when I ask him a question (I swear he is about to bust out an "I love you Mommy" anytime now), knowing when mom and dad are in the room, smiling back and coo-ing, sucking the heck out of his hands (almost gets both of them in his mouth at the same time), moves feet/legs in a crawling motion and can actually move across the floor doing this (w/o use of his arms) -- I'm sure there are more that I'm missing.

Still working on: turning head towards loud noises (doesn't happen regularly), holding head up at 90 degrees when on belly (he hates tummy time, so hard to know if he can do this) and I'm sure there are more I'm missing.