Five Months!

Parker, you are five months old today! I can't believe it. Here is what's happening in your life lately:

• You are in a size Three diaper, and we've also been putting you in some size Four's lately.
• You are still wearing size Six Months for most of your clothes, but you are now starting to wear Nine Months sizes, too. We shopped at Gymboree and Baby Gap for you today and bought the Six to Twelve Months sizes!
• Your favorite toy, by far, is Sophie the Giraffe! You are IN LOVE with her. You love to chew on her feet and ears. You don't even have teeth coming in yet--I can't wait to see how much you love her then.
• You wore shoes for the first time today, and they were adorable! It makes me want to buy more....
• We gave you rice cereal for the first time yesterday, and you loved it! I read beforehand about how it takes a few tries with some babies. Not you! We mixed it with breast milk and you went to town. I'm excited to have you try all kinds of new foods.
• You have been sitting in your high chair when we eat meals, even though you don't eat with us yet. You seem to really enjoy being at the same level as us and being able to watch us while we eat.
• Just a few days after the last post, we started letting you "cry it out" at bedtime each night. This is called the Ferber method, and it seems to have worked pretty well. Our bedtime routine now consists of me feeding you in the rocker and then laying you down in your crib while you're either still awake or sleeping, giving you your "lovey" and a kiss, and then leaving the room. Most nights, you do not cry! Every now and then you'll fuss a little bit, but that is okay.
• Over the last few days, you've been into blowing bubbles. You will sit in the Babysitter and purse your lips together with this very intense look on your face and blow bubbles! It is SO cute. You also stick your tongue out a little bit as part of the process. You're just trying to talk to us!
• ...speaking of the Babysitter...this is definitely one of the best baby purchases we made. It's a bouncy seat that has no music, lights, vibration or anything else like that. Just the seat, which can be at three different levels. You bounce yourself by kicking your legs. You love sitting in it, and it seems that that's where you're most comfortable.
• You sat through the whole church service last week and all but about 10 minutes this week. I could hardly believe it. I just let you suck on my (sanitized) hands, and you were happy!

You're the absolute best thing that has ever happened to us..can't wait to see what happens in the next month!
PS--I AM going to start blogging more for real! :)

Loveys!

Four Months Old!

Parker, you are now four months old (as of June 25th, of course :)! Mommy is a little late doing this post, but that's okay. Here is what's going on this month:

• You are wearing a size Three diaper and size Six Months clothes. You are also starting to wear some Nine Months clothes. You are SUCH a big boy!
• You still really, really love to suck on your hands. You also really love to suck on Sophie, your giraffe, or your burp cloth, or really anything else you can find to shove in your mouth.
• On June 15th, you rolled over from your stomach to your back for the first time on the floor! You rolled over once before that on the couch, but we have decided not to count that as real rolling, only "assisted rolling." Since you started rolling, we can't stop you! You lay on your playmat and just roll all over. Usually when you roll over, you spit up and end up with your face and arms covered in it. You bunch up your legs and look like you want to start crawling...Mommy is not ready for that!
• You like to reach for and grab things. You'll lay on your play mat and reach for all the dangling toys. If we lay toys on the floor next to you, you'll roll over to try to get to them.
  
• You started "for real" laughing in the same week as the rolling over. It is SO sweet and cute, and it just melts our hearts to hear it! You laugh the most at your niece and nephew doing silly dances and voices, and you also like to laugh at your Daddy when he gets sugar from your neck.
• We stopped swaddling you on June 16th. For the first few nights, we had you sleep in a "sleep sack" (wearable blanket), but since our AC is messed up, we've been having you sleep in nothing but a diaper since then. You have still been sleeping all night, but we have had a harder time getting you to go to sleep and stay that way. We usually try to put you to bed around 8-ish, but you often wake up about an hour later and take a little bit to go back to bed. As of tonight, we are starting to utilize the Ferber method to have you fall asleep on your own. We'll see how it goes--it involves a lot of crying :(
• You are SO SWEET when you wake up in the morning. Usually, we hear you waking up and come in to see you. You always get the biggest, sweetest smile on your face. Daddy and I absolutely love to see this. It's a great start to the day!
• You sit up very well with assistance now. You will sit on our lap facing away from us, and you really seem to enjoy it! It makes you look like such a "big boy." It's nice that you can hold your own head up most of the time now.
• We have been going in the pool at least once per week, and I think you are starting to enjoy it! The first couple of times, you weren't so sure, but lately you've been a little more calm and have started to splash and kick a little. We are going to make sure that you like the water!

• You absolutely love your bath! We have been giving you a bath every other night (for the most part), and it's amazing how much it calms you down. You can be fussy, and as soon as I take your clothes and diaper off, you know what's coming! When we put you in the bath, you always take a deep breath, and it's almost like you're saying, "ahhhh, nothing like relaxing after a tough day." haha! You are starting to splash and kick around in there, too.We are loving every minute with you and always look forward to each new day. You are our everything!
  

A Good Night's Sleep

Pretty much everyone that knows us knows that we swaddle Parker when he goes to sleep every night. I believe that this the primary reason for the amazingness that is him sleeping all night! In the evenings, we have a pretty good routine going. Parker gets a bath every other night. After his bath (or from the start on non-bath nights), we take him into his room and lay him on the floor with either nothing or nothing but a diaper on.

"talking"

He lays there pretty happy, watching the fan and the light. We talk to him, read to him, and just play with him until he starts to get fussy. Once this happens, we wrap him up nice and tight in his swaddle blanket, turn on the Sleep Sheep, shut the curtains, and turn off the big light. I feed him while walking around his room, and when he falls asleep or finishes eating and is really sleepy, we lay him in his crib. We give him his paci sometimes and other times do not. He sleeps from around 830 until around 630 or 7 the next day. It is so wonderful! He is usually so sweet when we go into his room to get him out of his crib in the mornings. He blinks his eyes when he's waking up and smiles, and it's so cute. He often is half-out of his swaddle blanket and looks like he's wearing a toga.

"Good Morning!"

We hope this wonderful sleep pattern continues for a loooooong time.........

Splish Splash

This past weekend, Parker went in the pool for the very first time! We went to Omi's pool on Sunday and took him in. He was not so sure about it but also didn't seem to mind it too much. Since they use a solar cover, the temperature was about 85 degrees, so it wasn't too cold anyway. I enjoyed taking him in the water, but it will be much easier when he can hold his head up on his own. I think he'll have more fun that way, too!

Our little rice paddy worker
Right as we got in
Trying to put the hand in the mouth
Love
Relaxing after the big event
Happy boy!
Toy time in the Pack n' Play afterwards

We are definitely looking forward to many more pool sessions in the near future!

Three Months!

Parker, you are three months old today! Here is what is going on with you lately:

• You are still wearing size Two diapers. They go up to 18 pounds, and you're not quite there yet!
• You are now wearing mostly Six Months clothes. You are such a LONG child! The Three Months clothes are all pretty much too small length-wise now. You are growing so fast...
  
• At your last doctor's appointment last week, you weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces. You'll be into the next size diaper soon enough! :)
• You LOVE to stick your hands in your mouth! Sometimes we will try to stick your paci in there, and you would rather have your whole fist in there instead. You usually suck on your knuckles instead of your thumb or fingers. It is so sweet!
• You rolled over for the very first time today! You rolled from your back to your stomach on the couch. We were able to get it on video, which was lucky.
• You coo and squeal when we talk to you. You usually do it right before you start to get upset, but sometimes you do it just for fun. You make the absolute sweetest sounds, and your bottom lip always curves down to the left. We love to hear you talk!
• You love to go on walks with us. We can put you in the Baby Bjorn or your carseat, and you just look around at the trees and the sky and are mesmerized. It usually calms you down really well.
• You have been going to daycare twice per week for the last couple of weeks, and starting yesterday, you are going four days per week because Mommy is back to work. Two days will be with your Honey, and the other two will be with Miss Donna. I have been getting good reports from both of them--they both always comment on how hungry you get!
  
• We can now get you to take naps in your swing if we swaddle your arms. You will sleep for about two hours this way! Miss Donna taught us this and we LOVE her for it! :) This gives Mommy a chance to get things done around the house.
  
• You still pretty much hate tummy time. You're getting a little better at it, but you would much rather lay on your back and kick around. We are working on it, though!

You are changing and growing every day, and we love you SO much! Thanks for being such a sweet little boy :)

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, today was my first Mother's Day, and it was wonderful! Ry and I woke up this morning and loved with Parker for a little bit while we got ready for church. Ry gave me my presents, which were a large set of pots an pans and a kit to make Parker's handprints with. The pots and pans are going back to the store because the ones we have are just not old enough to get rid of yet! He bought them because I really needed a new skillet. We just don't need the rest! It was the thought that counted, though :) I can't wait to do Parker's handprints!

I took Ry to church and then went to my parents' house to have breakfast. Omi also came this morning, so my dad was the chef for our Mother's Day morning celebration. After breakfast, Parker and I headed to church to meet our "other" family for continued Mother's Day love. We went to Olive Garden for lunch, and it was soooooo good! Parker was a very good boy at lunch and spent a lot of the time smiling and cooing.

We had a pretty relaxing afternoon. Bryan and Lacy stopped by for a bit to visit with us (or just Parker, haha). Ryan cleaned the bathrooms, and I made macaroni salad for our cookout at Omis. Parker actually sat in his bouncy seat for almost a whole 30 minutes while I washed dishes and cleaned up the den! He doesn't usually do this for that long (at our house at least :), so I was happy and hopeful that maybe it will continue this week.

Tomorrow I am taking Parker to "daycare" for the first time. It is with my best friend, Amy's, mother-in-law, Donna, who watches three other little ones, too. Although I fully trust her and know she will take great care of him, I am not looking forward to dropping him off. It's just different from taking him to my wonderful mother-in-law's house, since she is what we know and are used to. I know he will be fine, but it's just another first that I guess I have to get over. I'm still conflicted about what to do about work. I know I want to work for Onlineformals but am still so unsure about USIS. It's definitely a tough decision that I am having a really hard time making.

On the Mother's Day topic, I have to give a shout out to my Mom. Mom, you are the absolute best mother I could ever ask for. By being such a caring and giving mother, you have taught me how to be the best mom I can to my son (and future children). Throughout my whole life, you have supported me and been more than just a mom--you've been my friend! I can't wait to watch you for years to come as the amazing grandmother that you have become to Parker. Thank you again for everything you have done for me throughout my entire life. You are the BEST! :)

Now it is time for bed...I am soooo tired! Here are some pictures that Ryan took on my first Mother's Day with Parker. I love them!




I bet you all thought you had lost me for another month on the blogging. I sure fooled you!

Lazy-ish Sunday

Today we woke up early (about 630) to get ready for church. Ryan has to be at the early service by about 815, so we ride together and I drop him off. Parker and I then go to my parents' house for breakfast and some socialization. It's our new Sunday tradition, and I love it! I'm pretty sure my parents do, too :)

Parker slept all the way through church for the first time today, and let me tell you, my arm was killing me at the end of the service! It was nice to attend the whole service again, though. After church, we went to lunch at Applebee's. When we first got there, Parker was not a happy camper. I changed his diaper and fed him in the bathroom stall standing up! That was a first..pretty interesting.

After lunch, we came home and pretty much spent the whole afternoon loving on Parker. We were thinking about taking a walk, but it was a little hot for that with the bambino. He had a lot of gas this afternoon, which made him a little "fussy." PS--I need to come up with a new word because that one is a little overused, I think. We were able to calm him down, though, by laying him on the floor to play. He finally ended up falling asleep right before we gave him his bath....

Daddy love

Don't you just love that leg??

We gave him a bath, which he loved, and then headed over to Omi and Opa's for our weekly dinner. It was wonderful, of course. Parker was a very happy baby and he entertained everyone all night! What did we ever do before we had him?

We're both very tired now, so it's time for bed. Nighty night!