Summer Stuff: Arizona Science Center

I managed to pick up a culture pass for the AZ Science Center this past week and I was super excited at the chance to take Karianna and JD.  I love the Science Center! As a teenager, I used to volunteer there and I have loved it ever since.  I get in free with my status as a teacher, so with all the free admissions, we opted to pay the extra money for the planetarium.  All in all, we had a BLAST!  Well, 2 of us did.  JD kept telling me on the way home that he didn't like the Science Center because he got scared in the planetarium. I think the spinning sky and the roller coaster ride through the stars made him woozy and a bit scared, thus it "scarred" his entire perspective of the outing.  That didn't bug me too much. I know he enjoyed the other exhibits and probably even enjoyed the stars; he just isn't ready for Disneyland yet!  ;)  We took several pictures, which I'll post below with a few bylines.  I hope to be able to go again at some point, such a fun Saturday outing!

This was a new exhibit for me-and the kids loved it!

 The ever popular wheelchair race to see how exercise affects your pulse and heart rate.

 My favorite-the Dorrance Planetarium.  I LOVE this place, it is so amazing!  I am sad JD didn't feel the same, but Karianna loved it!

 The bed of nails.  A scary prospect that Karianna bravely took on.  JD refused to do it!

 Playing tug of war-JD had the harder side, pulling more of the weight.

 Climbing a wall....

 ....and pulling yourself up using a certain percentage of your body weight.

 This was a favorite. You just use your body motions to build momentum like a figure skater does. 

 My favorite room by far-weather and land formations.  Making clouds....

 .....checking out the globe....

 ....and my favorite machine, you get to make rocks and then change them with things like erosion, weather, and heat.  JD played this for a long time.

 We spent a long time at this exhibit making waterways and dams.

 Doesn't quite match up to the Hoover Dam though!

 It was right before we left when JD decided he wanted to try the bed of nails.  He got on it, chickened out, and got off.  He got on it again and started to chicken out, but got a burst of bravery and laid still as the nails rose. He did great, and I managed to snap a pic.  It looks like he is trying to protect the family jewels.  Totally should not have typed that and I'll have to delete it when I go to make my blog book so to not utterly alienate JD when he grows up.

For now, it's just funny.

Love my kids and fun times with them!

Summer Stuff: Underwater Photo Shoot!

A few years we took some amazing underwater photos that I just loved!  We tried to do it again this year, and the pics didn't turn out as good as I liked.  However, the kids enjoyed doing it much more than last time, so I'll post them anyway!

 

James: 7 Months

Jamos is 7 months old! 

And yes, I typed Jam-os, since that is what Sara calls him all the time, and I think it's cute-as is the brother! Here's a few things to report about James for this month:

• James is starting to sit! He prefers holding himself up with his hands but has started just balancing on his own, as in the picture below. He has zero desire to start crawling, but that's okay-its always exciting to be a babysitter! He seems pretty tickled about it himself!

• At 7 months, James weighs in at 14 pounds, 11 ounces. He is still just shy of 28 inches...I have zero idea what his head circumference is, but at his 6 month appointment is was in the 50%. I think James looks completely well-proportioned, even a bit chunky! Well, except for his thighs and his arms, but otherwise, he is growing amazingly well. His scar continues to look awesome-his ribcage still has a good depression in it so it gives his chest a concave look, however it doesn't affect him at all, it's just how his bones healed after surgery.

• In other development news, James is starting to push himself up on his arms, though he really doesn't have any desire yet to crawl. He could stand all day-stand or jump, that is. He is working on his pincer grasp with his little star crackers and loves to comb through this shag rug in our front room. He loves non-toys-anything that is not a toy. Oh, he'll still play with approved baby toys, but he is much happy if I give him an empty box, a basket, a piece of paper, an empty paper towel roll, or anything with a tag. He loves to explore those things and I love to watch his eyes while he does it!

• James is now eating food 2-3 times a day and loving it. He still nurses every 3 hours as well, though not at night. He eats around 8ish each night and then again at 5 in the morning. He, unfortunately, hasn't gotten the memo yet that he should be sleeping that whole time....He tends to fall asleep right after he eats but wakes up around 1/2 in the morning. Sometimes he lets me comfort him back to sleep with a binky and a retuck with his blankie. Most of the time though, at least in the last few weeks, that hasn't worked and I am sorry-I need sleep. Thus he goes in his car seat with his car seat canopy. He falls asleep right away in that thing. I think it works so great because it is perfectly dark under the canopy and he has a fan right on him. He needs him own room. It's that time-we just need to make a space for him, which will hopefully happen in the next month. Thankfully James naps pretty good-a good morning nap, a very consistent nap at 1pm (so I can teach), and sometimes a cat nap in the late afternoon/early evening. 
• James also loves his star crackers and biter biscuits. They have been a nice, occasional addition to his diet since it occupies him, teaches him, and calms him if I need him calmed. James still doesn't really care about drinking water/juice from a sippy.

• Although James doesn't have a tooth yet, he is so teething-he bites his lower lip all the time as a sort of teething ring, and it is the cutest thing he does right now! He talks a good amount as well-he very clearly has "mama" down and will say it when he is sad and crying. This morning in the cardiologist's office, I was dangling a binky in front of him so he could grab it and put it in his mouth. He did it multiple times but then struggled to get it in correctly. He gave a great big whine and said, "MAMA!" Like, help me, mom! It was adorable; I had to laugh at that cute little face!

• This really has nothing to do with 7-month development, but I laid James on the floor yesterday to watch me fold clothes. It was rather comical to see how quickly he managed to get himself under this blanket. Don't worry. I made sure he was breathing as I was holding the top of the blanket up the whole time he was wrestling with it! Silly guy! Other random things James enjoys doing:  swimming in the pool, playing in the exersaucer, pulling toys out of a toy bucket, sucking his toes, and trying to clap (this is very parent-directed, but he immediately opens his hands up so they are not in fists).

Happy 7 month birthday James!

Haircuts

The time has come.  I have let the boys grow their hair out far longer than is prudent for any male on the face of the planet.  Okay, that might be a touch overdramatic, but so it goes-they needed a haircut.  I don't necessarily enjoy giving the kids cuts, so I wanted this to be the only haircut before school starts.  No buzz cuts, but pretty darn close!  I took before and after shots just for fun-the boys are goofballs of course, but that goes without saying!

First Swing!

Another rite of passage for James-his first swing!  I have put James in a swing before, but he had to be stabalized with a blanket and his neck wasn't strong enough to sustain a true blue swing...didn't count.  Today's swing counted though-can't you tell?

James was a wiggler too-he kept getting real close to the front rim of the swing, and I found myself wondering why.  I found my answer when James-being James-began trying to EAT the swing.

 I think we found a new favorite hobby! 

 And just so you know, this is James property.  See if you can figure out why.