beach!

Last week, we spent the week at the beach with my extended family and had a fabulous time.  Parker loves the water, sand, and cousins!  We celebrated Himal's first Father's Day and my birthday while on vacation.  It couldn't have been better!

Prior to our vacation, Himal and I saw Man of Steel.  We all wore our matching shirts that day.

Parker's first morning on the beach

He LOVES the water

 

He LOVES the sand

Happy 1st Father's Day!

peek-a-boo

Parker with my cousins' children.  So blessed to have so many playmates for our Little Man

Skee ball

Worn out from the excitement

No one got a rest from walking Parker around

Precious smooches for Auntie

 

Parker can take almost 10 steps at a time!!

double rainbow

Annual putt-putt night

I love my little beach bum

10 months

Parker is 10 months old!  He's turning into such a handsome little man, and he knows it.  We've caught him kissing his reflection several times.  Silly baby!

We couldn't get a picture of a toothy grin, but at least we got him to sit still.

He claps all the time and waves to everyone; such a friendly little guy!  In addition to splashing on command, he also kisses, high fives, and dances when asked.  He can balance in a standing position for a few seconds and then walk/stumble a few steps into our arms.  And he finishes with a clap when we praise him for a good job.  :-) 

Parker's dad loves Superman, and Parker knows to make Superman fly when we make a "whoosh" sound.  So smart!

This is what he does when we say, "WHOOSH!"

Unlike his mom and dad, Parker is a great eater.  We are pleased and hope he continues to be.

 Parker was busy at the pool, zoo, and a birthday party this week.

Lily was his date to the pool

Hello, Mr. Giraffe

I can't even begin to describe how much I love this sweet, adorable 10-month old!

Best pals

Happy Memorial Day

We had a great Memorial Day weekend.

 

The weather was beautiful, so Parker got to go to the pool for the first time.  He LOVED it!  He enjoyed walking around in the baby pool and floating in the big pool.

We've been busy lately.  We visited a strawberry patch where Parker devoured the delicious berries.

We've been swinging in the park

and playing in our baby pool.

We attended our neighborhood block party where Parker got a kick out of the balloons,

and we did a 5K with our friends.  Parker and Lily had a date at the festival afterwards.  Such cuties!

What a gentleman.  He wanted to share his leaf with Lily.

Last week, we had two sets of visitors.  First, Parker's aunt and uncle came and took him on many adventures while I stayed home and cleaned the house.  Parker ended up in the fountain (in his clothes!),

and he had a blast at the children's museum.  Auntie and Uncle are always fun. 

Later that week, my parents came to visit.  Within an hour or two of their arrival, they had worn him out shopping.

Now THAT'S tired!

Don't worry; Parker saved some good snuggles for my mom.  He's such a sweet, sweet baby.

Parker looks more like a toddler than a baby now.  He seems to like his new car seat.  It must be comfortable because he frequently snoozes in the car.

He's always learning new things and interacts with us more and more.  He's such a pleasant little fellow and gives the sweetest kisses.  Poor baby had a stomach issue this week, but he seems to be on the mend.  

He can now clap, wave, and splash on command.  He also understands the words Parker, dada, mama, cat, dog, eat, ball, and bubbles.   He recently started dancing -- sort of bobbing along -- particularly to the hot dog song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He can walk behind his dinosaur riding toy without our assistance, and he can pull up in his crib (but luckily, he doesn't do that often).

We hope you had a good holiday weekend.  I'll post again next week when Parker turns 10 months old.   (WHAT?!)

1st Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my sweet mom and all the other moms out there.

I had a great first Mother's Day.  It started with cake for breakfast in bed.  We went out to lunch and to the park.  And my favorite part of the day was snuggling with my sweetie for over an hour nap.  I love him so much!

9 months old

Parker is 9 months old.  He looks like such a little boy here!

He had his 9-month check-up today, and his stats are:
     Weight:  21 lbs, 12 oz (75th percentile)
     Height:  31 1/4 in (97th percentile)
My mom looked up my stats, and this is pretty much the size I was when I was twice his age (18 months).  Big baby!  He has officially outgrown his infant car seat.  We bought his big-boy seat a few weeks ago and plan to install it this week.  It's MAJOR with armrests and a cup holder. 

Parker had his first cold this week -- poor baby; he was congested for several days but seemed ok besides that.  I feel terrible because I gave it to him.  He's been in a great mood today, so I think he's finally over it.

The day after my last post where I lamented about his inability to get into a sitting position on his own, he learned to do just that!  Within 24 hours, he was a pro.  This skill has been one of the best ones so far.  It's great for him to be able to get back up when he falls over.  However, he can now sit up in his crib, so we have to lower the mattress so he doesn't pull up and fall out.

 

Parker started splashing so much in his tub that we finally moved his baby tub out of the kitchen sink into the real bathtub.  He seems to enjoy it in there. 

It's getting hard to get him to sit still for pictures.  These are some of his antics from earlier this week when I was trying to take a picture.  Silly baby.

At 9 months, Parker enjoys:
     Little People figurines and farm
     board books, particularly ones with textures or flaps
     balls
     blocks
     cars, trucks, trains
     baby "mp3 player"
     wood farm puzzle
     walking in his walker
     looking in the mirror
     splashing in the bath
     making loud noises with his voice and by banging toys
     eating
     peek-a-boo
     swinging upside down
     "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It," and "The Hokey Pokey." 
He's still a sweet snuggler when he takes the time to relax.

I knew that pregnancy would change my body, but I was not expecting the bizarre effect of all of my pants sagging down.  For months, my old pants have been falling down when I wear them, so I've bought some smaller pants.  They are falling off, too!  I bought an even smaller size over the weekend, wore them around the house with the tags on, and realized that I need to return them because they sag.  What gives??  An even smaller size won't zip.  I have no idea what's going on.  I know that I lost some of my booty when I had Parker, but this is just crazy.  Is this why some ladies resort to "mom jeans?"  I just can't....  Wish me luck as I try to find a brand that will stay up.

Until next time...

There are no sick days when you are a SAHM

Some days are full of smiles, giggles, and adventure, and I give myself a pat on the back for being a good mom.  Then, there are days like yesterday when our simple goal is to make it until Himal gets home from work.  I've had a bad cold for a couple of days and have learned that there's no such thing as a sick day for a stay-at-home mom, at least during the work week.  Himal was a great help over the weekend and brought me lunch yesterday, but while "dada" is at work, Parker doesn't care that I'm sick.  He still needs me to lift his heavy self up to the changing table, walk around the house holding his hands, and pull him in his wagon.

We made it through yesterday with a few smiles and I got a big kiss from Parker as I was putting him to bed, so we'll call it a successful day.  Luckily, I'm starting to feel better.

We've enjoyed the nice spring weather lately but had to brave the rain for the March of Dimes walk with our Stroller Strides team.  We got a kick out of our family's coordinated shirts for the event.

Time flies so quickly!  Parker is almost 9 months old.  Pretty soon, the little munchkin will be driving.  He's been practicing with daddy.

In addition to driving, P enjoys holding our hands and kicking a ball around the house.  I'm pretty sure soccer is in his future.  He still isn't crawling, so maybe he's going to skip that stage like I did.  He's been able to sit alone for a while but falls over frequently; I think he leans to grab things and loses his balance (as seen here while trying to grab Jules).

Then, he cries until we set him upright.  I will be happy when he can stay up or get back up on his own.    
Happy May!  I will post soon with the 9 month picture.