Breakthrough

Parker has always been bad with bottles.  It makes it hard for me to be apart from him, and it makes outings challenging because I always need a place to nurse him.  Himal would love to be able to help with feedings but hasn't been able to successfully give him a bottle.  This past week, I went to a mom's night out for dinner and left Parker with Himal.  I got called home before the evening was over because Parker was screaming non-stop for 25 minutes and wouldn't take a bottle.  When I walked in, he had stopped screaming but was a sniveling little ball on Himal's chest.  He was so pitiful, it was amusing.
I decided that maybe it was time to introduce a sippy cup in place of a bottle and tried it last week with no success.  Well, check this out from today...

There are 3 amazing things in this picture: 1. Parker is drinking from a sippy cup, 2. Parker is holding his own cup, and 3. Himal is the one "feeding" him!  Now, Parker did not finish all of his milk and needed to nurse afterwards, but it was a major breakthrough that he downed an ounce on his own with no fussing.  This is eventually going to open up a whole new world of freedom!

On the subject of feeding, I'm waiting until Parker is 6 months old to introduce solid foods.  A lot of moms start solids from 4 months on and seem very excited about it, but I'm really not in a rush to start him.  I'm not sure why.  I've bought the gear and read up on how to introduce foods, but I'm not pumped about it yet.  I guess I'll know when we are ready and feel more excited then.

This baby is getting sweeter by the day!  He's such a happy little fellow.  Here's a video of him playing with a new toy from his aunt and uncle.  His laugh is truly the most amazing thing I've ever heard.  In addition to his sweet little giggle, he throws in a couple of his signature raptor sounds in the video.

Here are some pictures of his awesome smile:

 

I haven't posted chalkboard pics in a while, but we still do them monthly.  Now, he plays with the chalkboard, so it's more challenging to get a still shot.

Parker really wants to sit up and is getting stronger each day.  He'll be sitting in no time.  I've been trying to teach him the word "cat" for the past couple of weeks by saying it whenever one comes into the room.  He seems to recognize the word and looks around when I say it like he's looking for a kitty.
Himal was jealous that Parker and I had been to the zoo, so we all went as a family last weekend.  Parker likes the fish the most since they are easier to spot up close.  Here are my 2 favorite guys on safari:

We are going to put his baby tub into our regular tub tomorrow because he is splashing way too much to stay in the sink now.  Himal had to get out a large beach towel to mop up the kitchen after Parker's bath tonight, and my clothes were soaked.
I've been reading to Parker almost every day since he was a few weeks old, and he recently started helping me turn the pages of his board books.  Here is my adorable early reader.  Doesn't he look so engrossed in the story?!

Little P loves to touch our faces and take off daddy's glasses:

I love my little guy soooo much.  He is still quite the snuggler, and I wouldn't want it any other way!

Pure sweetness

What we've been up to in 2013

Parker gets more fun every day.  He's doing a lot of jumping in his Jumperoo (he realized within the last week that he can jump on his own), rolling around on the floor, and screeching like a raptor.  He's such a funny little guy.

What I thought was a tooth coming through seems to have disappeared, so I'm not sure what was going on there.  His bathroom habits have changed dramatically; instead of changing 6+ dirty diapers a day, I'm doing 0-2 really nasty ones.  Not sure which is worse.

Here is what we've been up to lately:
We visited the zoo:

Parker and the elephants

 We cheered Bama on to its second straight football national championship!

 Parker spends a lot of time and energy being cute:

He's a jumping fool!  I wish I could figure out how to upload videos of him jumping.

We had fun at Chuck-E-Cheese:

Parker had a date with his gal pal Lily:

Aren't they sweet holding hands?

Auntie M and Uncle Shane came to visit!!  YAY!

Parker helped Uncle Shane with his work

A stomach bug didn't stop Auntie M from playing hard

Auntie and Uncle are fun!!

They brought this awesome Bama tailgate chair.  A gift from Uncle's mom

We went on walks:

Walks in the park are EXHAUSTING.  Silly baby

Parker watched Wheel of Fortune.  He guessed the puzzle immediately.

And he had a professional photo shoot:

Handsome baby boy

He was mad until I started taking off his clothes.  Guess he was hot!

Parker's first Christmas

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season.  Our first Christmas with Parker was everything we hoped it would be.  It was so awesome to have him around for our family's annual traditions.

He was fantastic during our trip to see the extended family and was content with all of the strangers holding him.  He also enjoyed playing on the floor while everyone watched and played with him.

Shortly before the holidays, I stopped feeding Parker right before I went to bed, and to my surprise, he didn't miss a beat.  Now, he sleeps straight from about 8:30 until 7:45 or so.  Amazing!  Then, he eats, stays up for about an hour, and then sleeps again for another hour or two.  Since I am not a morning person, this is more than I could have hoped for.  This morning, the whole family slept in until 11:15.  What a great start to New Year's Day.

Parker is fond of putting his bib over his face and having someone lift it off in a peek-a-boo game.  So silly.  He's really into petting the cats now and can rip out a clump of fur.  Poor kitties, but they are good sports and come up to him for a pat.  If I place him just right, Parker can sort of balance in a sitting position for a few seconds, and he seems to be sprouting a bottom tooth!  He's growing so fast.  I just can't stand it!

D Family Christmas

Hanging with great-granddaddy

The center of attention.

My close cousins and our babies

Playing with Mr. Big

Sleigh ride with cousins!

The center of our universe

Family of 3!

Hanging stockings on Christmas Eve

Annual tradition - my mom reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

Christmas morning!

Parker and his Santa presents

The fam

Sitting up like a big boy!

Petting patient Gidget

We put together his high chair on New Year's Day

Have a Merry Christmas!

We are loving Parker's first Christmas season and can't stop taking pictures.  Can you blame us?  We have such a cute model!

 

 

Parker and his gal pal Lily

 

We had a busy weekend.  Parker met Santa, and then we went to a Christmas party and a 1st birthday party.  Our little P is so social! 

On the developmental front, Parker reaches out and tries to grab what he wants and recognizes that he shares his house with cats.  He often stares, smiles, and coos at them, and when they walk close, he sometimes holds out his hand to pet them.  It's very sweet.  He also gets distracted while nursing now.  He'll stop and look up at me and smile.  And sometimes he reaches out to touch my mouth or nose.  It melts my heart.

We are about to really get into the thick of the Christmas holiday in our household, so I want to wish you a merry Christmas now in case I don't get a chance to post beforehand.  Have a wonderful holiday!!

Our Christmas card picture.  We could not get Parker to smile at all during our photo session.

The best gift

A year ago today, we found out that we were expecting a baby.  After years of trying, it was the best Christmas gift that we could have hoped for.

I had been getting tired early for about a week and had a suspicion that I was pregnant, but it wasn't unusual for me to think I was having pregnancy symptoms only to find out that I wasn't.  I had some early pregnancy tests on hand, and  I took the test in the morning after Himal was at work.  He wasn't aware of my suspicions or that I was taking a test.  After getting many negative results in the past, I was amazed as the + sign showed up almost immediately.

For a second, I considered going by Himal's work at lunch to tell him, but I decided to wait until he got home.  I went to work, and afterwards, I bought a father-to-be card and wrapped it up in a box as a Christmas gift.  I also took another pregnancy test just to double-check; it was still positive.  When Himal got home, I gave him the gift and told him that it was going to be the best present ever.  Once he opened it and read the card and processed what it meant, he agreed and was ecstatic.  I think we went out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate.  The whole day was amazing and surreal.

This year, we are so blessed to have Parker, and he is by far the best gift ever.  He is such a sweet, adorable, fun, and precious baby boy!

Big baby!

Parker had his 4-month check-up on Monday, and he weighed in at 17 lbs, 8 oz (92nd percentile) and was 25.5 inches long (80th percentile).  What a big boy!  Who needs sculpting class when you carry around a 17.5 pound baby all the time?!

In other news, Parker has learned to make loud, obnoxious, and hilarious sounds like a raptor.  Pretty funny unless you're sleeping or in a public place.

Here's the silly, big boy propped up in my bed this morning.  I love this baby!

Thanksgiving, visitors, and 4 months

Happy December!  I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.  We visited Himal's mom for the holiday and had a nice time.  We were worried about the day-long car ride because Parker often cries in the car, but he was perfect.  I sat in the back like usual, and his basket of toys, a pacifier (which he doesn't usually take), and several stops helped keep Parker happy.  Here he is stretching out at a rest stop.

Parker finally got to wear the first thing I bought for him when I found out I was expecting - Thanksgiving gobble PJs.  He was cozy in them and slept like a champ during our trip.

While visiting Himal's mom, Parker went in the ocean for the first time!  He was shocked at first because it was chilly.

He also got on a swing for the first time and enjoyed it even though he looks a little grumpy in this picture.

On our way home, we visited my good friend from grade school.  Her son was really sweet to Parker.  Aren't they cute?

After Thanksgiving, my sister and brother-in-law came to visit us.  We all cheered for Bama as they took home the SEC Championship.  Parker loves being a champion!

Auntie M had a blast playing with my adorable kiddo.

We are getting excited about the Christmas holiday!  There are so many firsts to celebrate with Parker: his first stocking, first visit with Santa, first family Christmas card, first Christmas morning...  It's a dream come true!  We tried to take him to church for the first time for a Christmas concert, but he was not having any of that.  I spent most of the time in the stairwell and lobby with him until we decided it just wasn't going to work and left.  Here we were before it started when we thought we were in for a nice evening of carols.

Parker turned 4 months last Monday.  His hair is getting darker and a little bit fuller, and his eyes have settled on being brown.  He goes for his 4 month checkup and shots this coming Monday, and we can't wait to see how much he weighs and how long he is.  Somehow, my tiny, skinny newborn has grown into a big baby!

We love him more every day, and it's so amazing to watch him learn new things.  He loves blowing bubbles, and he rotates his body like the hands of a clock now.  He's started doing little sit-ups, and he can roll from his back almost all the way to his tummy.  We are going to have to baby-proof soon.

Parker is growing into such a fun baby.  Here he is being silly while playing with me today: