Beating the Heat & Independence Day

We've been having some pretty hot summer weather here lately.  And while I'm used to the dry heat, I'm not a fan of the humidity we've been experiencing.  Needless to say, we've spent a lot more time at home (rather than lugging two kids around in the hot sun), and have been looking for ways to keep cool and have fun.  Enter Ella's birthday gift--a flower sprinkler head--that she loves splashing in.  Gavin is just happy to be outside and look at the trees.

Hanging out in the shade, G was all smiles. 

Ella loved filling her buckets with water and trying to splash anyone who got close to her.

Learning to enjoy tummy time more.

If you position him just right, Gavin can sit up on his own for a few seconds.  I'm definitely excited for him to hit this new milestone.

Sometimes, it's just better to have a picnic indoors.

Adam had two days off for the Fourth of July, so we definitely enjoyed the long weekend, just taking it easy at home.  We've had some busy weekends, so we were more than happy to just relax a bit.  On Thursday we had our families over for a casual BBQ.  The rest of the weekend was spent playing in the sprinklers, splashing in the pool, and watching a movie and eating popcorn.

Friday night we had an early dinner followed by a temporary power outage so we decided to make s'mores in our backyard.  It was a perfect summer evening, and Ella got to eat her first s'more (minus the chocolate).  She loved the marshmallow gooeyness and loved doing the hokey pokey as a result of the sugar high.

Gavin also got his first taste of "solids" over the weekend.  He's been expressing a lot of interest in our food, and grabs at anything he can while we eat at the table.  So I decided to give him some multi-grain cereal mixed with breast milk.  He took a few bites and was intrigued by the spoon.  But our biggest challenge was his constant attempts to grab the spoon causing cereal to spill everywhere.  He's had a few more feedings, but he's also been fussier than usual these past few days, so I might put off pursuing solids for a little while longer.

Ella got to watch the Winnie the Pooh movie and Gavin snuck a peak in while I was trying to get a photo of the two of them.

Doing Time

Finally!  After three solid months of absolutely hating tummy time, Ella is finally learning to spend some time on her stomach.  She's always had good head control and strong neck muscles, so the pediatrician wasn't too concerned if she wasn't putting in her time, but I really wanted her to have the opportunity to explore the world from a different perspective.  I didn't want to push it too much because she seemed so uncomfortable every time we put her on her stomach.  The worse was when she'd throw up.  So we never forced her, but one afternoon I thought we'd give it a go again.  I anticipated her to just cry 15 seconds in, but she lasted at least 5 minutes (which is huge)!  Since then (about a week and a half ago) she's been enjoying some time just looking at herself in the mirror, smiling at the pugs and looking out the window.  Speaking of pugs, she's finally started to notice them and now is fascinated by their little furry bodies.  She has already kicked Mia in the face and grabbed Remy's fur.  She'll smile while she looks at them.  It's really sweet, but I think the dogs are starting to brace themselves for what's to come!