Shane's World: A Tooth and green beans!!!!!

As usual, I am way behind on my blogging (it should get better now that Dan has gone back to work today and we are a little less busy). However, I have to start with the BIG news! Mr. Shane is getting a tooth. I discovered it on my birthday (the 27th). I can feel the sharp edge and see a little white, but nothing has poked through yet. I tried to take a picture, but it is a bottom tooth and every time I pry open his mouth, his tongue is in the way. He has not been grumpy at all and he does not seem bothered by the tooth. He is fascinated by it and has his fingers in his mouth constantly, but he is still sleeping like a champ! Did I mention how AMAZING my little man is???
In other huge news, we tried solid food, also on my birthday! Green beans! Shane actually seems to be tolerating them now, but that was not the case in the beginning! Here are the photos and a video from his first taste of green beans! The look on his face says it all!

Shane can also roll back over from his belly to his back now! He just did it this morning on his play mat!

What else have we been doing? Everything! We had a swim play date with Shane's friend Alex. That was a ton of fun! Shane loves having people his size around! It is the cutest! Here are some photos and a video.

We celebrated my birthday by having lunch at Papa Joe's, by going to Kiddieland for one last time (please tell me why they could not find a way to keep that place open), and by having our parents over. This was my best birthday ever because Shane is here and Dan and I finally have our family!
On my birthday, I received several gifts from Dan and Shane including my "W" cubs flag! I know Dan really loves me because he bought a Cubs flag to hang at our house. Maybe he knew that the Cubs may not win any more games this season when he purchased it! We celebrated at Papa Joe's with Kristine and Connor. Here are some pictures.

We had to wait until Saturday to go to Kiddieland because they are no longer open during the week. As a child, I LOVED Kiddieland. We went at least twice a summer and when I was around 9 my dad made me an offer I could not refuse. He gave me the choice between a birthday party like I had always had or the chance to take 5 or 6 friends to Kiddieland for the day. Of course I chose Kiddieland. That place was magical to me! Bringing my own child there was something that I had always wanted to do, but not something I would have done with an almost 6 month old. However, Kiddieland is closing. There is a family feud and they could not resolve it. Apparently one family member owns the land, and the other rents the land from him. They had an 80 year lease which is now up. They are not speaking and the land owner would not renew the lease. Therefore, the park is closing and the land will probably become a Costco! UGHHH! Anyway, we took Shane and the place has not changed since I was a kid. The roller coaster, the old fashioned cars, the boats - everything is the same - even the smells! We went with my parents and Kristine (who also used to go to Kiddieland) and Connor. Shane loved looking around at all of the sites and he was able to ride the Merry-Go-Round and the train. Here are pictures and video of him on the merry-go-round.

After the Merry-Go-Round, Dan tried to take Shane and Connor on some cars. They got seated and I took a few pictures. Then, all of a sudden, Dan was leaving the ride. Apparently, no adults are allowed and kids have to be able to sit up themselves. That left Connor alone and Dan and Shane off the ride. Connor did AWESOME by himself and was a champ on all of the rides after that!

We spent a lot of the day waiting, especially waiting for the lunch! The line was over an hour - no joke! Thankfully my dad and Dan waited in it and we all just hung out at a table singing "The Wheels on the Bus" over and over again! Shane really loves that song and Connor likes it, too!

After that, we took a family photo (my parents, me, and Shane) at Kiddieland and we took some pictures of my favorite rides and attractions (I will spare you most of those!)

Then we all took the train ride - notice how you can see everyone, but Dan, who took the picture, in the train shot! There is also a short video of Shane on the train. I did not remember how small the train was and how low it sat to the ground!

After the train ride, my parents left, but Dan had one more job to do - win Shane something from the Midway! He played the basketball game and won Shane an odd looking blue and green dog that he actually likes very much (you can't tell that from the photo, though.) After that, it was time to hit the road and say goodbye to Kiddieland forever. Gosh does that make me sad! I know it shouldn't, but it really does.

On Sunday my parents and Dan's parents and Jorie and Jason came over to celebrate my birthday. We had good food and a good time. Here is one of the only pictures of the day.

On Monday we met our awesome friend John at the Cheesecake Factory for a back to school/goodbye summer lunch. John showed us great pictures of his vacation to San Francisco! We are looking forward to seeing him and Garret soon! Here is a picture of John and Shane.

On Tuesday, Dan's last day of vacation, we were at the Lung Transplant doctors for Dan's quarterly check-up. Thankfully Dan's lungs are amazing - like him! The nurses all had a great time with Shane who flirted with them all! He even had big smiles for the doctor! While we were waiting for the doctor, Dan placed Shane on the table and had the sweetest chat with him! They really will miss being together all day now that Dan is at work. I got out the camera and snapped some adorable pictures! I know, what a weird place to take pictures! They really are sweet though!

After the appointment we picked up Dan's parents and headed to Smoque - a BBQ place that has been featured on The Food Network. Dan and I were there last year (it is right by my sister's condo), but Dan's dad really wanted to go. I hate BBQ food so I had a salad and macaroni and cheese. However, everyone loved their food and a good time was had by all. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. Next time...
When we got home, we had a little photo shoot since Shane was wearing his DePaul t-shirt and Dan was wearing his sweatshirt. Dan went to DePaul and we received a gift of the DePaul T-shirt from a friend a while back. In my delusional, sleep-deprived state (after Shane was born), I accidentally packed it away with the 9 month clothing. I discovered it the other day when I was washing the 9 month clothing and realized it was a 6 month shirt. Shane is still wearing his 6 month stuff, but is ready to transition to 9 month, so we figured we better get it on him quick! Here are the pictures!