First Swim

Oscar got to take his first swim! We went to the Coleman pool in West Seattle which is a salt water pool. Oscar was a little taken aback at first but then really enjoyed playing in the water.

Summer colds are icky

Oscar is just over six months old now and he is growing and developing at a record pace.  I can only imagine what is going on in his little brain when he learns to splash in the bathtub, tastes cinnamon for the first time (shhh, I didn't listen to the doctor about holding off on spices until the 8th month), holds himself up while sitting, puts a new squishy ball in his hand and then his mouth (thank you Grandma Connie), smells rosemary, or sees a new color that he has never seen.  New experiences happen by the second and by the minute for Oscar - everything is new!  When trying to put myself in his little shoes of rapid discovery, I picture traveling to a foreign country and discovering new smells and cultural norms and learning to walk where the streets are a bit more uneven.  All of Oscar’s days are probably like uneven streets.

Something new for Oscar this past month was catching a summer cold.  He had his first stuffed nose, first fever, and first cough.  While most of his new experiences are a delight, this was not.  My heart ached for him.  He probably had no idea why he couldn’t breathe as well, why his throat hurt or why he was so overcome by exhaustion.  I wanted to fix it, hold him, and tell him that everything was going to be okay. I did my best to make him comfortable, sucking snot out of his nose with a snot sucker, letting him sleep on me and just cuddling my little bug.  All the things that mom used to do for me when I wasn’t feeling well, sans the state of the art snot sucker.  (Evan and I have named this thing, the chupacabra.  BTW - it is awesome!)  I know that there will be many illnesses to come.  I can only hope that I can make him feel just a little bit better.  While I don’t like Oscar to be sick, I do like to have lots of snuggle time. He is extra snuggly when he isn’t feeling well, evidenced by these pictures.

Trip to Eugene

We took Oscar on his first train ride down to visit his Grandma Connie and Grandpa Rob.  Connie and Rob did not make it up for the birth and this was finally their first time to see their grandson.  

The trip started out pretty rough as Oscar was sick and had his first fever.  However, the next day he felt much better and enjoyed meeting his Grandma and Grandpa.  We only had one whole day but it was a great visit and Oscar got some awesome presents from his Grandma!

Feeling sick but putting on a brave, smiling face

Oscar and Grandma Connie

Going to the Saturday Market with Grandma

Oscar loves the train!

Hike-a-Thon: Teanaway Ridge

The whole family went out for a hike to support the WTA Hike-a-Thon.

Oscar in his Hike-a-Thon Onesie

We chose the Teanaway area because it is an area that Jessica and I love so much to visit.

Hiking up the trail

Oscar was "hiking" in his backpack carrier and he loved every minute of the experience.  This was our first time doing a serious hike with him and we realized that with an infant you really need to take a lot of breaks and not try and push yourself (or your child) too much.

Oscar enjoying his ride

So, we opted out of heading to higher elevation and ended up enjoying a great lunch looking out from the ridge.  All in a all a great day to be outside with the family.

Our lunchtime view