Hip hip hooray!

Guess who is feeling better??

7 months!

Parker is 7 months old!!

As always, he has had a very exciting month, full of growth, milestones, and adventures.  His accomplishments include:

• Getting even better at sitting up!  He sits up for a while now.  He's still not totally trustworthy to be on his own, so we like to sit him on soft places, like the middle of the bed. 
• Eating puffs.
• His little bottom teeth are so about to pop through!!  Poor little guy, you can tell he's in pain.
• He is very in-tune to things around him.  If the TV is on, he will sit up in his chair, arch his back, and turn his head to look at it. 
• Celebrating his first Easter!
• He gets the biggest kick out of his sisters.  And vice versa.  They will do something and he will crack up, and then they'll keep doing it over and over again to hear him laugh.
• First trip to Tennessee!
• He can hold his bottle, but he's usually pretty lazy and prefers not to.  Boys.
• He's wearing 9 month clothes, but I've washed his 12 month summer clothes to go ahead and start putting on him.  They're a little big... but not by a lot!
• He isn't crawling, but he somehow moves.  This boy will start out laying in one position, facing one direction, and then a few minutes later, he will be in a competely different place.
• Swinging for the first time.

10 Months!

10 months!!!  Parker is getting so close to one year!  Time, slow down!

He has had a very big month.  Accomplishments include:

• He is officially on the move!  Shortly after his 9 month b-day, he started crawling.  It's amazing how quickly that process is learned.  He went from rocking back and forth to taking a couple of crawls, to clumsily crawling, to crawling like a champ, all in a short time.  (and let me tell you- it is hard to babyproof and keep a 2 and a 4 year old's little toys off of the floor!)
• He has tried all kinds of new food, including different beans, ground beef, kiwi, avocado, spaghetti, pancakes, turkey, crackers, and more!
• He celebrated his first 4th of July!
• He pulls up and stands up on his own.
• He's just starting to walk around things, while holding on.
• It is virtually impossible to change this boy's diaper!  He moves every which way, turns his body the opposite direction, etc.  
• Finally got the hang of the sippy cup!
• One of his top teeth has popped through, and the other is about to.
• He's been doing this for a little while, but it's really become evident now- whenever he wants something (food, a person, etc), he opens and closes his hands over and over until he gets it.
• He will crawl over to the feet of someone he wants and puts his head down on their feet- like a little puppy!  (He does this when food is around, too!)
• He recognizes a lot of things- if I say "daddy" or "bottle", he'll turn to look at them.  If I ask for a kiss, he will lean into me. 
• This boy has to be going through a growth spurt... he is SO hungry all the time!!!!

Time to get that gate back out!

I like how he sleeps with his little bottom up in the air!

9 month stats!

Parker had his 9 month well check-up yesterday.  Here are his stats:

**At 9 months, 11 days.
Height: 29 1/4" (75th%)
Weight: 22 lbs, 9 oz (75th%)
Head Circumference: 47 cm (95th%)


Let's compare him to his sisters!

Sydney at 9 months, 2 days:
Height: 27 3/4"
Weight: 19 lbs, 10 oz.

Taylor at 9 months, 29 days:
Height: 29 1/2"
Weight: 24 lbs, 15 oz

9 months!

Parker is 9 months old!!

Accomplishments this month include:

• Let me start with... this boy is SO about to crawl.  He gets into position, he moves from sitting to the crawling position, he does 360s around on his belly and knees... he has taken two "crawls" with his knees, then stopped.  I'm awaiting with my video nearby- I think it's coming soon!
• Scooting backwards started this month.
• He can sit up from laying on his belly on his own.
• Going to North Carolina for the first time.
• He now sits up in his crib on his own!  We went ahead and lowered the crib all the way. 
• He has started to wave, but I'm not sure if he correlates the motion with the meaning yet.
• He completely feeds himself now, both bottle and things like puffs.  He grabs the bottle out of my hands and puts it in his mouth... apparently I am too slow.  He is also a little over the 3rd foods.  I think we need to start doing more "real" food for him.
• He doesn't clap yet, but when I clap, he will get really close to meeting his hands together.  He usually ends up hitting my hands with his. 
• He loves to stand.  It's hard now to put him on the floor to sit- he just wants to stand!
• We pulled out the old bouncer toy (the kind that hangs in the doorway) and he loves it!  Sydney never took to it, and we didn't pull it out for Taylor, but P-man loves it.
• He has started having separation anxiety!  He cries when I leave him at school, church, etc. :(  It's so sad.
• All the 9 month clothes are packed up... he is totally in 12 month clothes!
• First time in the backyard pool.
• He's not really digging the sippy cup yet, so I'm going to be working on that some this month with him.

8 Months!

Parker is 2/3 of his way to a year!!!  How is this happening so quickly??

I'm 8 months old today!

Parker has had a really exciting month!  Accomplishments include:

• He has basically mastered the whole "sitting up" thing!  He still rolls over sometimes, but it's usually because he's trying to reach out a grab a toy, and has to lean all the way forward or all the way to the side.  He also loves to rock back and forth- so sometimes he'll rock so hard he'll fall backwards. 
• He is getting into crawling position, but no crawling moves yet!  (though this boy can roll and flip and turn so he somehow gets where he needs to go)
• His two little bottom teeth have poked through! (and there's a lot of pain... and drool... there :( )
• He was sick one day this month- he threw up at school.  Thankfully, it was just the one time and he was all better that day!
• Eating some table food!  He has had some mashed-up peas, rice, mashed potatoes, and eggs. 
• Grabbing things- he seems to have really good hand-eye coordination.  He can spot something that's in reachable distance, but somewhat far, and he'll lunge for it and grap it perfectly. 
• He is all about his surroundings.  He'll turn his head to look at all different sights, sounds, etc.
• This may be a fluke, but I'll ask him- "Where's Sydney?" and he'll look at Sydney.  Then, I'll say, "Where's Taylor?" and he'll look at Taylor.  He's done this about 3 times. 
• He took his first trip to the mountain house in SC!
• He has started to grasp the concept of feeding himself!  He does better with the cheeto-like puff things than the little puffs.  Those, he usually just palms until they melt in his hands.  Yum.
• Had his first modeling photo shoot... totally more on that later!

Chilling with Melissa.

Cigar? Anyone?

Hangin' with my sis.

Feeding myself.

Yo yo yo.

First time in the lake! (It didn't last long... it was FREEEEZING!)

Drying off.

Parker and "Uncle Mashoo" at breakfast.

6 months!

Half a year?! Seriously?!  Can't believe my sweet Parker is 6 months old!

Parker is becoming his own little person more and more every day!  Accomplishments this month include:

Sitting up! He's still very wobbly, but can sit up for a good 30 seconds on his own if he gets a good balance going.

Moving to stage 2 baby foods. He is a champ at eating. He's not so fond of turkey (can't say I blame him) or carrots.

He is "talking" up a storm!

Parker got baptized!

He loves to stick his tongue out at everybody.

He had an ear infection this month, and he also had a little stomach bug. :(

We'll get his official 6 month check up stats in a few days, but in mid-March, he weighed in at 17 lbs, 10 oz.

He now likes to sleep on his belly. He'll usually start on his side, and end up on his belly.

He's rolling more from belly to back now. He doesn't seem to want to do it much, though. Back to belly is no problem.

Teething, teething, teething.  This boy is showing all the signs- lots of drool, fist in his mouth, crying out randomly at night.  Orajel seems to work so far.  I feel little bulges in his gums, but nothing poking through yet!

 This boy is absolutely entertained by his big sisters.  He gets going with his giggling/laughing and it makes the girls want to entertain more.  It's a funny cycle!