First Swimming Class!

Today was the day - first swimming class at the YMCA!!!  We had so much fun.  We didn't really know what to expect.  I mean cripes, he's only seven months old, but the teacher taught us lots of songs to sing while we moved him in the water and we blew bubbles and did simple exercises to teach him to love the water and how to move in it.  Adam was loving it!  

Here we are with the class.  Adam is the youngest, but he's also the most excited to be there, I think.  He was laughing during the silly songs and very enthusiastic about each thing we did.

Here we are singing the "reach and pull" song.  Adam is already very good at kicking his legs and moving his arms.

I don't know what my deal is in this picture, but whatever.  We're having fun, ok?!

Drying off with Daddy.  Adam was pretty ready for a nap after class was over.

I'll take some video in future weeks so you can see him in action!

My, how 7 months flies!

Seven months has flown by for the Swensons!  

Here's the boy...

One of my new favorite activities is sneaking into his room after his nap and listening to him talk to himself and the stars on the sides of his crib.  He babbles away and his little voice is so cute!

Surprised by the camera!

Fun Facts:

1. At his check-up this week he was 18 lbs. 8 oz. (64%) and he was 28 inches long (87%).  He's such a handsome boy!

2. His favorite activities include swimming, going for walks (and falling asleep on walks), meeting new friends, going to the park with friends, and playing on the floor with Mama and Daddy.  

3. I have started making his food in the food processor.  It's really easy, and it makes me feel really good to save tons of money and make food that I know is good for him.  He is liking food more and more, but we're still working on consistently chowing down a full meal. 

4. He has two teeth (the bottom two).

5. He crawls, but like most things, he has his own way of doing it.  He reaches forward and pulls himself all over the place.  He can also sit all by himself now.

We've been having tons of fun!

Splishin' and Splashin'

Yesterday, Adam and I had a great time in the front yard with our next door neighbors.  They had a little kids' pool set up and Adam loved splashing around, just like he does in the bath.

Sooooooo... last night we went to get Adam his own pool!  Of course we had to test it out today, it was a hit!  It's great since it lets us go outside even though it is so hot and humid.  We'll still be frequenting the big pool, but this is nice when we just want to go outside for some fun.

We wanted to return the favor and invite our friends next door to join us.  Here is Adam with his friends Ethan and Troy.  We have so enjoyed getting to know them, and it's wonderful for mama to have some company right next door.

It's been so fun to watch Adam in the water.  We're really glad he likes it.  We have our first parent/baby swimming class this Saturday at the YMCA!

Daddy's First Father's Day

Today was Phil's first Father's Day as a daddy.  Adam and I were happy to honor him today for all his hard work and love that he gives to us.  We had a great day with church in the morning, gifts, naps for everyone in the afternoon, and a nice dinner for Daddy after Adam went to bed.  

Adam was so excited to give Daddy his gifts.  We gave him Tiger Woods 2010 for Wii and a photo of Adam and Mama with a hand-decorated matte.  You can see our fingerprints in the lower corners in the shape of hearts.

Here is a more typical shot of Daddy and Adam.  This would make me puke, but it makes Adam squeal with delight!

Thank you, Phil, for being a wonderful husband and father.  I think we make a great team, and you can see the love Adam has for you every time he looks at you.  I can't wait to watch the bond between the two of you grow and grow.  Happy Father's Day!  

We love you, 

Adam and Mama 

Blue? Really??

Here it is - the last post from our wonderful trip to California!  Shannon and I had some fun girl time, which was much needed since I miss her terribly.  We went to get pedicures at Relaxation in El Segundo.  This place has the best massage chairs I have ever experienced!  

I am usually pretty conservative/boring with my color selection, and have never ventured outside of the pink/red family.  However, Shannon was putting on the pressure for me to branch out while on my vacation.  Here I am deliberating between my usual cranberryish color and a pretty blue.  At this point, blue nails seemed completely ridiculous to me.

Even after I had made my choice (blue), I was skeptical as the technician applied the polish.  Shannon, what have you talked me into?

It took me a day to warm up to the color, but now I actually like it.  Plus, every time I look at it, it makes me remember fun times in CA.  (My toes are on the right.)

After pedicures, we met Phil and Adam at Teresa's, one of our favorite spots for lunch.  I think Adam is totally eyeing my food in this picture.

Adam Meets his California Peeps

This post is dedicated to all of our friends out in California! We were so glad to see our friends that we miss so much! It was really special for us to introduce them to Adam and see him soaking up their attention and love. So, Adam wanted to give a shout out to all his new California friends. Here we go...

Adam gets lots of love from Shannon. And yes, as you can see, Sophie made the trip out to CA with us. She had a great time.

Dave is responsible for outfitting Adam in Adidas gear. Adam got a tiny little Adidas rugby ball from Dave and Megan while we were visiting.

Ooooo, Dave has a cool watch.

Adam and Becky.

Becky is expecting, so Adam will have a little playmate the next time we visit!

Adam and Billy. As you can see, Adam is rather interested in faces right now, and always wants to touch. Adam is just about to go to bed in this picture, but he had to say goodnight to Billy first!

Little Adam meets Big Adam! Big Adam wants to know when he can take Little Adam out to meet the ladies :)

Our former (wink wink, Kathy) neighbors Kathy and Marissa came over for a visit. They were some of the best neighbors we've ever had and we miss them a lot.

This is one of my favorites. Look how excited he is to meet Allison and Nickki!

Meeting the Wilsons, who will soon live a bit closer to us in Chicago!

One thing that disappoints me is that we never got a picture of him playing with the Tomlinsons, who we were staying with. Next time! Thanks, friends, for some great visits during our trip. We wish there weren't so many miles between us!

The Young Man and the Sea

Our trip, of course, included Adam's first time at the ocean.  We were so excited to show him.  He seemed to like it until we actually went close to the water.  I think he would have been much more content to just play in the sand (or eat the sand), but we couldn't leave without his feet touching the Pacific!  We also discovered that going to the beach is a lot different with a baby.  We quickly learned that next time we'll have to be better equipped with a bigger blanket, umbrella, and other things that would have made it a bit easier.  Oh well, it was still great to be by the ocean again and show Adam what it's all about.

He was loving it while we were back on the blanket.

He was still pretty cool with it from this distance.  

Mama shows him the waves and the birds and boats floating in the water.

The big moment!  Adam's feet touch the Pacific Ocean for the first time!

As you can see from the video, he's not the biggest fan of the cold water.  The noise of the waves may have been a bit much, too.  Oh well, he's a first-timer.

Back at Redwood

One of the first things we did in California was attend the graduation at Redwood, the school I taught at.  It was so fun to see many of my former students and their families.  They have a special place in my heart.  The program was great and I had a lot of fun walking around and looking at the different things they had done throughout the year.  It reminded me how I miss teaching.   

Here is a picture of me with some of my students (and, of course, Adam - they were so excited to meet him!)

Everyone had lots of love for Adam!  He ate it up, as always.

Thank you, Redwood, for a very warm welcome!  Our family thinks of you often!

California Fun

We had such a great time on our first family vacation to California. It was so good to see our friends and visit some of our favorite places. We enjoyed such a warm welcome and are so thankful to our friends for letting us crash at their home, use their baby equipment, and making time to visit. Now we are back to missing them and looking forward to the next visit! Here are some highlights...

Adam got some quality time with Shannon while Phil and I enjoyed a date night by the beach. This photo is a little grainy as it was taken with a webcam, but I still love it. It is so fun to see Adam play and laugh with people that have been such a huge part of our lives. Thank you, Shannon, for giving Phil and me a night out!

We really miss all the unique restaurants in LA, and we tried to hit as many of our favorites as possible. Here we are for brunch at Good Stuff on our first day. Yes, it was "good stuff."

Our friends, Chris and Anna, were so gracious in letting us stay with them and even have people over while they were out of town for a couple of days. We had some friends over to hang out and order pizza from our favorite El Segundo pizza place. We were missing Chris and Anna, though :(

Our friends John and Lauren were there with their new little daughter, Kara. It was so good to meet her - she is precious! Phil and Kara having a little chat.

Lauren, Kara, and me. It's funny, I can't believe Adam was ever that small!

This was fun. The green and black ladies...even Kara matches!

Some of the guys came back for some poker action later that night. These guys are crazy! L to R are Billy, David, Dave, and Phil.

It made our hearts very happy to visit our old church on Sunday for worship. We miss Journey of Faith and the people in it. It was great to feel God moving in that place again. Adam went to the nursery and loved it. Here we are waiting for worship to begin. L to R: Jen, Dave, me, Megan, Phil

We had lunch on the pier in Manhattan Beach. It was a beautiful day. Of course, Adam was trying to grab everything in sight. Much too busy to smile for the camera!

Mama sure was having a great time, though!

Stay tuned for even more CA fun!

Adam's First Vacation

Adam's been working really hard on things like sitting up, eating, and sleeping, so we thought he deserved a little vaca to California.  This, of course, implied that he would have his first plane ride!  

Daddy and Adam board his first plane.  He was a little freaked out about the whole thing and cried for about the first hour before passing out for the remainder of the flight.  The return flight went much better and he slept for the first half and then played and tried to make as many friends as possible for the rest of the time.

Very happy to arrive at LAX!  Adam is still skeptical about this whole situation and is not sure he likes "vacation."  Don't worry, buddy, it gets better!

We had a great trip!  More California posts to come...

Before There Was Adam...

Sure - before there was Adam we slept a lot more and could decide, just like that, to go out to a nice quiet dinner... 

but we didn't have any of this...

or anyone who could melt our hearts like this...

or make us giggle like this...

Would we trade?  Never.

Photos done brilliantly as always by Susie

Catchlight Photography

The Strawberry Festival

Summer is Festival Season in Ohio! They have festivals honoring poultry, popcorn, pretty much anything you can imagine. This weekend was the Strawberry Festival in Troy, Ohio. We had no idea what to expect, but thought we'd give it a try. Honestly, we were expecting some little small town fair with a block's worth of booths or something. Instead we found THIS...

I'm pretty sure everyone in Ohio was at this festival! The picture doesn't even really capture the atmosphere. There were booths as far as you could see with food, crafts, and games, and there were events going on all over the place. There was even a baby pageant, but I think Phil would have killed me if we entered Adam. Plus, we didn't want to stand around for so long just to find out what we already know: that Adam is the cutest baby in Ohio.

"Come ON, Mom and Dad. I can't believe you're making me do this."

The happy strawberry family!

Adam had plenty to look at as we walked around, and eventually fell asleep, so Phil and I had a great time leisurely walking around to many of the booths. We sat in the shade and had the best BBQ pork sandwich I have ever had, along with chocolate covered strawberries and some really yummy strawberry juice. We also got some kettle corn for the ride home - yum.

Here's Phil's catch of the day! He picked this out at one of the booths. This guy hand carves these wooden critters (he has all sorts: fish, raccoons, moose, giraffes...). Very cool and unique.

And of course we couldn't leave without a shirt to commemorate Adam's first festival!