'merica!

We celebrated Joshua's first 4th of July with all kinds of activities.  The festivities began on the 2nd with fireworks at Uncle Bob's friend, Phil's house.  Although Andy and I enjoyed them, Joshua was not a big fan. They were very bright and loud which made him squint and jump with each boom.  After going into the garage, he was a bit more calm but still clung to me with every muscle in his little hands and legs.  On the 4th, we headed to Kirkland for the parade, but Mom and Dad had an "oops" and we showed up and hour and a half before the parade began.  We went into the Kirkland Family Restaurant to get some breakfast and keep cool before the parade started.  The parade began and I was amazed at the number of fire trucks that were there!  As I sat with my hands over Joshua's ears, I was in awe at the long line of honking, squealing, siren blowing trucks.  It was very hot and sticky that day but Joshua did pretty well and kept cool by sucking on ice and the bottom of water bottles.  After the parade we went home to cool off and rest before the rest of the day's activities.  However, once Josh got a bath he was content playing with his toys until Andy's parents and Bob came over for a BBQ.  They left after dessert and then Josh felt it was a good time for a nap.  We were nervous about how he would react to the fireworks, but felt he'd be OK since we were going to our friend Joanna's aunt and uncles house.  He did very well!  We had great seats and didn't have to lie on the football field.  Plus we had the house right there in case Josh started to get fussy.  There were no breakdowns and the fireworks were amazing!

6 Months

Andy and I were anticipating Joshua's 6th month appointment.  We were excited to hear his new "stats" and see what kind of progress he's made.  As of his appointment on July 16th, he weighs 17lb 11oz and is 25 inches long.  After asking the doctor my list of questions, we found out Josh has silent reflux.  It's similar to regular acid reflux but generally comes without the spitting up and isn't as severe.  Dr. Geddes said that unless it is really bad, he'd rather not put him on medication.  This reflux causes Joshua to arch back and stiffen his body while eating, but I can usually get him to calm down fairly easily.  Overall Joshua is making progress as he should be and the doctor said everything looks good.

Joshua's play habits have progressed from his playmat to sitting up and playing with different toys.  One of his favorite things to play with is the remote.  Even though I bought him a toy remote, he still prefers the one that Mommy and Daddy use.  For a while we would pull a battery out of one so that he could play with it without changing the TV settings.  Then Andy had the idea to get out an old remote for a TV that isn't in use right now.  Josh still wants to play with the other one that Mommy and Daddy use.  He enjoys "reading" his books, and playing with his stacking rings, rattles, and tambourine.

Along with playing with new toys, Joshua is eating some new foods.  He's tried almost all of the stage 1 foods.  I've even used our Baby Bullet to make some homemade baby food.  As expected, Josh prefers fruit over vegetables, but he still eats them without much complaint.  Like Great Grandma Hart, Joshua LOVES watermelon.  We have a mesh bag type thing that you can put fruits and veggies in, then it has a ring for Joshua to hold on to.  He loves when I put watermelon in there and complains when he's sucked in dry and I don't put more in quick enough.

Joshua eating watermelon.