Happy 4th of July!

Well, we are back and even though we had a wonderful time with the fam, we are glad to be home! Tegan did relatively well despite all the excitement and even slept in his pack 'n play for the majority of the night 3 out of 4 nights. Last night was the only night that he ended up in bed with us before 5 or 6 a.m.Seems that Tegan may just be a pool lovin' baby! We had to ease him into the water each time since it was a bit chilly (evenf or us!) but once he was used to the temp. he loved for us to hold him under his armpits and pull him as he kicked his little feet like crazy! Pretty neat how he/babies already know what to do in the water (kicking that is).

Tegan also got to take his first ride on a boat... the Queen II specifically. We took a tour of East and West Lake Okoboji on this vessel and even though it was not the most exciting tour/boat ride, we made it back safely and Tegan seemed to ejoy the views and attention. :)

Wednesday brought the 4th of July and all it's festivities, only a few of which Mr. T actually was able to take part in (or at least be awake for) due to his age and 7:30p.m. bedtime. Thankfully T inherited his daddy's abilty to sleep through just about anything, so neither the band outside our room/building or the fireworks stirred him. I think it was actually the teething he's beginning to experience that woke him up shortly after we made it to bed (at a whopping 10:30 p.m.... i know, we're night owls! HA!).

Speaking of T's teething, we didn't know this is what he's experiencing until I took him to the pediatrician this afternoon after we got home. Last night, especially, Tegan had the roughest time sleeping, even when I brought him to bed with us around 11p.m. and held him most of the night. He fussed, whined, kicked and just plain couldn't get comfortable. Then, he screamed and cried for the last 30+ min of our drive home this afternoon. And not his normal, angry cry, but a more whiney, painful sounding cry. I felt so bad for my little baby. So, after Brendan and I both observing him pulling and batting at his left ear we decided I should call the doc and see if we could get in tonight or tomorrow to get his ear(s) checked out, thinking he had one or a double ear infection. Long story short, it's not an ear infection, but just teething. I was not aware that there is a nerve that runs from the jaw up to the ear area and when a baby is teething he/she will frequently pull or play with his/her ear(s). Thankfully we have health insurance!!!

Great-Uncle Tegan & Tegan

Armed with my new knowledge, Tegan and I stopped at Target on the way home to pick up some more infant Tylenol, teething rings and other teething accessories. I even bought these neat little net-like toys that you can put frozen or chilled fruit/veggies in for baby to chew on. It enables them to not only soothe their sore gums, but also enjoy fresh or frozen food! I now have sliced bananas in the freezer for T to enjoy tomorrow using this neat device. :)

OK, long enough post... Hope all are doing well and thanks for reading!

~jenn