4th of July

It seems like we've barely been home in the past week, from a weekend away with Nathan's family to going up to my parents' house for the 4th of July, there's been a lot of traveling for us! And yes, the kittens did not take it very well. We didn't think they could get any needier. We were wrong.

Our cheerful guy has been enjoying newfound mobility and dexterity. He can grab at toys now and I think it's on purpose. He can also scoot backwards a few inches when he's on his tummy. Does that count as crawling? What does it count as exactly? I'm not quite sure how he does it, I think he kind of pushes back with his arms and wriggles around.

 

All items already find their way into his mouth. This is just a "taste" of what is to come, I'm sure.

4th of July at Grandma and Grandpa Redferns'

We went up to Camano Island on the night of the 3rd, which was fortunate since there was a parade of visitors over the course of the 4th. It seems that the key to popularity was having a child, I never knew! However, having a child is also the key to having no time to go out and see people. It's quite the conundrum. 

We discovered that Bradley loves being read to while on his tummy, it makes tummy time much more fun for all involved. Here he is reading his favorite book with his grandpa. Thank you to Auntie Anna for picking out this book while we were in Poulsbo. It's a hit!

Gerald McBoing Boing! There are many sound effects.

Look at our brilliant child, he's obviously reading along.

And once again, here is the sleepy child during naptime. I cooed at him and pinched his cheeks. It's how I soothe him back to sleep.

My philosophy is, sure he could have a better nap if I didn't do these things. But it would be far less fun for all involved. And obviously having smiley baby pictures trumps nap time every time.

 

I've never been more sleepy! Thank you, mommy!

 Grandma got a chance to read to Bradley as well. We all love reading to Bradley, there's going to be no shortage of books in his future!

This is Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton. It's an adorable book.

He is so fun to read to.

Family came to visit and Bradley was a little overwhelmed by all the new faces he needed to check out. When there are too many people around he'll look at everyone except for the person holding him. Poor Aunt Nancy discovered this the hard way.

Fortunately, as soon as he was passed to his Great Grandma he gave Aunt Nancy the attention she deserved!

Grandpa read Gerald McBoing Boing for Bradley ... and a crowd of relatives. I should have taken a picture of the circle of chairs with adults watching Bradley get read to. It was pretty funny.

Fireworks

We now shoot off a small number of fireworks every year thanks to Nathan. He spends about $30-$40 on a variety of small items and we go shoot them all off with the Peterson family. Bradley was very excited about seeing his first fireworks.

I was a little more nervous about the fireworks and baby combo and took some steps to ensure his safety. There's no overprotective parenting going on here. 

The sunglasses didn't last, but the noise canceling headphones did. They were completely worth using, even the little fireworks can be very loud!

Baby Presents

And here Bradley is showing off his two new favorite toys thanks to my college friend, Beth. Yes, he's holding these toys up completely by himself. While looking at the camera. You can't train them to be this good, what a kid!

New Friends

He is also good at making new friends, on our morning walk today we discovered a dog happily wandering around in the middle of the street and brought her home to her owners. And what a nice couple! Fran is 88 and her husband is 90. Fran gave us five beautiful hand knit baby hats and held Bradley while she and I had a nice chat. She's an absolute dear and Bradley fussed until I let her hold him and then fussed again when I put him back in his baby carrier to go home. Such a polite little boy. Here are some pictures of Bradley modeling the hats, aren't they amazing?

This is our favorite, but they're all wonderful hats

I'm just sad that summer has finally come to Seattle, I may have to wait a while before using these. And we are definitely going back to spend more time with our new friends, what a sweet couple!

I have to say, I'm pretty amazed at how generous everyone has been when it comes to gifts for our baby. Friends that I haven't seen in far too long have sent gifts, there were all the meals we received when we first came home from the hospital, and of course I appreciate family making long trips out to meet our little man. I can't even begin to thank everyone. Bradley brings so much joy to our lives and it's wonderful to have others share that joy with us.