Memorable Moments from 2009

As Bryan and I look back at 2009, there is a lot to reflect on! I can't help but be filled with a lot of different emotions as I recall all the good and bad moments we've had. One thing I do know is that my relationship with Bryan is much stronger, our family is much closer and my desire to be more Christ-like is deeper!

I hope you enjoy this list of things that stick out in our minds of things that we will remember from 2009 (thanks KB for the idea!):

1. 1 positive pregnancy test
2. 2 weddings
3. 1 career change (me to SAHW/M)
4. 1 promotion (Bryan to Manager)
5. 8 sonograms
6. 2 hospital stays
7. 1 surgery
8. 1 bouncing baby boy
9. 5 different formulas
10. 1 new car
11. 1 vacation
12. 1 master bedroom remodel
13. 1 new baseball nursery
14. 3 baby showers
15. 1 dragon costume
16. 1 blog
17. lots of new friends
18. lots of old friends
19. a new appreciation for one another and for family
20. stonger relationship with God

Parker Meets Rachael

Our Christmas

Parker almost sat up in front of the Christmas tree. I had high hopes...Maybe next month!

This is our Christmas tree this year with a silver and brown color scheme. We went to some after Christmas sales to get some new ornaments for next year and I asked Bryan if we could do a hot pink color scheme....he said a quick NO...hehe!

Parker Meets.......

Alison...

Madeline...

Sarah...

Bill...

and Josh

Four Generations of Veselka Men

This is Jimmie, Papaw, Parker and Bryan. Bryan's Papaw is in his late 90s and was excited to meet Parker!

Veselka Christmas

Emily, Ryan and Parker in front of Mimi and Grandpa's Christmas tree. So cute and one of these days Parker will look at the camera and smile.

Aunt LaLa (that's what we named her for Parker...) and Parker playing with his new toys.

Bryan and Mimi about to give Parker a bath....in the sink!

I love this picture!!!

Bingham Christmas

Parker and Grandma....I had to darken the picture a little bit but I am not sure if it looks better or worse.

All the goods....mostly clothes but some toys too. I will make a seperate post with a picture of what Santa brought Parker.

Meagan and Hector....so cute but not in Christmas pjs. I guess that tradition slipped her mind!

Rachael and Parker on Christmas morning.

Bryan feeding Parker at 7am on Christmas morning.

Look What I Can Do

This is what happens when Parker doesn't want to sit in his chair anymore. He's a little upset! What you don't see is me doing the dishes and Bryan making a bath for Parker.....

My First Christmas

Before I go to bed, I wanted to share this picture of Parker on Christmas Day in his P shirt. I do have so many more pictures to share but I can't figure out how to organize them. Maybe some sleep will help!

Ummmm....

This is what we found this afternoon. Bryan promises me he is cleaning between the toes during bath time. I promised him that this outfit had been washed at least 3 times. Hmmmm......

More Snow Today

Well, it's the third time this month that we've had snow! You know we can't get enough pictures of the snow.
I was trying this time to get a picture with Parker while it was snowing. At least he wasn't crying but he didn't want to look at the camera. I love this picture though because of the way he is looking at me. It's kinda like he wants to say something.

We are enjoying some hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and trying to stay warm. I am glad that Bryan doesn't have to go into work tomorrow because it's suppose to be icy.

Christmas Eve

We always spend Christmas Eve with my family and this year was no exception. We dress in our Christmas pjs, eat and open our stocking stuffers (we do it a little different since we're all adults now). We ate tamales, 7-layer dip, mexican corn and Henry's rice. It was so yummy!

As adults, we buy each other stocking stuffers. Sometimes those are the best gifts! Since Parker is here, we'll have to change that up a little in the next couple years.

And then it was time to get to bed so that Santa could come!

Home Sweet Home

Our Christmas this year was spent back home in Angleton with our families. We had such a great time! I think since having Parker, family has taken on a whole different meaning for me. I haven't put my finger on why but the reasoning doesn't matter much!

I am in the process of uploading the 207 pictures that we took during Christmas to share (not all of course) but in the mean time, I wanted to share what we came home to last night. We still had snow on the ground (and still do). Tomorrow is suppose to bring more snow and even more on New Year's Eve. There is just something about snow that makes us giddy!

Today though brought a water main break. We were without water from 9:30am until 7pm. Let me tell you, that is no fun. However, we are thankful that the water is back on, Parker got a warm bath, his bottles are clean and now the house is finally quiet and still. Better get to bed because there is lots to do tomorrow. Stay warm!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas and let us strive to carry the spirit of this season into 2010!

Update

We took Parker back to the doctor today so that he could check his ears and chest. All clear! His congestion is still there but the cough is gone. His mood is still good and he's still smiling! And as a bonus, Bryan is all better too!

Parker now weighs 15lbs (even).

Check Out Our New Sauna

If you look closely through the fog you'll see Bryan giving Parker a bath in the bathtub (first time for that). With Parker's cold, we were trying to have him in the humidity to help break up his congestion. It seems to have helped (both Bryan and Parker) some so I guess we'll keep doing this for the next couple of days and see how it goes.

Nurse Carey

I asked for a purse for Christmas but I got 2 sick boys! Bryan is in bed and Parker and I just got back from the doctor. He has a head cold. Lungs and ears are clear...YAY! He was running a low-grade fever of 100.3 but the doctor said not to worry unless it gets to 101 or higher. If Parker starts refusing food then we are to call the doctor.

Weight: 14.3lbs
Height: 24.5"

So while you are wrapping presents, I will be sucking snot (Parker's) and making soup (for Bryan). All things aside, we are thankful because this could be much worse! We are praying for a fast recovery and looking forward to seeing our families in a couple days!

Oh and I forgot to mention, my sister came for a visit and ended up having to have all 4 of her wisdom teeth pulled (poor girl!!!) yesterday. So prayers for her too as she recovers.

Visit with Dr. Eastman

Parker's eyes are still goopy so we decided to call the doctor yesterday. At the two week visit, Dr. Eastman told us to massage his eyes several times a day and it should get better. His eyes are just getting worse. Sometimes he wakes up and he can't open his eyes so the nurse told us to come in. We went in today and Parker has an eye infection. Not that big of a deal and the doctor gave us some antibiotic eye drops and said it should clear up soon. The good news is that his nose, ears and throat looked fine.

Parker is up to 14lbs (with clothes on and sleeping nevertheless) and Dr. Eastman was so happy that the soy formula is working out. I was concerned that Parker is eating too much because we are up to 8oz 4-5 times per day. He eats every 4-5 hours during the day and goes longer at night. Dr. Eastman feels that Parker is digesting the formula better so it's leaving his system faster which makes him want to eat more often. That makes sense! Dr. Eastman feels that it's ok to feed him as Parker demands. We will soon be starting cereal so this will help out.

We are again so thankful that the soy formula is working out. It is so funny how when I mention switching to soy formula to my mom friends, they tell me this was the only formula that worked for their baby(ies). Why didn't I try this earlier???

First Playdate

Today we attended our first playdate with the Hip Mommy & Me group that I joined. Usually the playdates are themed and this one was a Christmas sock exchange and was for babies 0-6 months old. Parker and I had such a fun time and we met some great moms and cute babies. It was really nice to connect with moms that have babies around Parker's age. All are stay at home moms and most are first time moms. Parker played while some of the others tried to crawl. This is a picture of the pair of socks Parker got....I hope they aren't too girly. Bryan says their fine and I think they are super cute!

Our next playdate is on Thursday and it will be really fun.....we are both suppose to wear our Christmas pajamas and take a Baby's First Christmas ornament. Hope to take some pictures at the actual playdate.

3 Months Old

Today our boy is 3 months old. My how Parker is growing! It's so much fun to see the new things he is doing. As I am writing this, Parker is sitting in his Exersaucer spinning the wheel that is shown in this picture:


Some of the new things that Parker is doing are:
-smiling
-cooing
-gaining better neck control
-sleeping 6-7 hours at night
-kicking his legs and moving his arms non-stop
-following objects and people

While we've had some low times in the past couple months, we realize this: it happens to everyone at some point and things really do get better each day. We are truly thankful for supportive friends and family and the Almighty One for never leaving us during our dark days!

As for Parker, he is less gassy on the ProSobee (soy) but still fussy. I think this will subside in the coming weeks. I told my mother-in-law this past weekend that I can handle the fussing because we've come so far from the hours of crying that we endured during October.

We are very excited about spending Christmas with our families and introducing Parker to some friends back home. The next few months will be full of new milestones for all of us. We hope you will stick around and enjoy them with us.

I will leave you with a list of things that you might not know about our little boy:
-He sleeps like his Daddy, hands folded on his chest
-He doesn't like when the car stops
-He has a freckle on his left leg
-He is vocal like his Momma
-He has unruly hair
-His eyes are blue
-His baby toe curls under his 4th toe, like his Daddy's
-His fingernails grow really fast and are very sharp (calling Uncle Henry....)
-And, he has parents that love him to pieces

Mimi & Grandpa come for a visit

Mimi and Grandpa came for a visit this weekend and helped with baths and feedings.  We went to one of my favorite restaurants, Genghis Grill and did some running around.  Mimi gave Parker his first Christmas oufit that will be showcased eventually.  Parker demonstrated his well-formed vocal chords for them and after some recommendations from some of Carey's girlfriends, we've decided to try him on Enfamil Prosobee soy formula to see if it helps with his gas.  So far so good but we'll keep you informed.  Overall we had a really good visit.

Parker Meets Santa

Big day around our house....Now it started off with bad hair (Parker's, not mine) and a scratch on the face with his newly clipped nails but ended good! Bryan met us at a mall near his work to take pictures with Santa. No crying but Santa assured us that between years 1 and 3, he will!

And then we picked an Angel off The Salvation Army's Angel Tree. Our Angel this year is Christopher and he is only 2 months old. We will find him a really nice warm coat and some toys that will make him smile. Please pray for Christopher. We don't know who he is or what his situation is but I know Christopher is a sweet baby just like my boy is!!!

The afternoon is ending with a long nap for Parker while I finish decorating before company comes this weekend. Everyone stay warm!

Morning Tummy Time & Update

Parker's neck is getting stronger and stronger everyday. And while he's been rolling over for a while, it's more deliberate. His 3 month mark is next week and this Momma has high hopes that he will be able to SIT in front of the tree by Christmas!

Parker is staying awake more and playing. He is also talking a lot! I really think he is feeling better and we've gone 2 weeks with no episodes. He has a bath every night and bedtime around 8:30pm. I think this constitutes a routine....but we know this too will change. We are still feeding him 6.5oz, 4-5 times per day with the Simply Thick added. The only medication he is on regularly is the Prevacid.

I thank God everyday for a little boy that is feeling better (and for a husband that goes to work everyday to support us while I stay at home)!!!

It's Snowing!!!

Bryan got up for work around 7am while Parker and I were fast asleep. Then Bryan goes into the kitchen and calls my name. I flew out of the bed because I knew why he was calling my name. IT WAS SNOWING!!!. The weather people said it wouldn't snow but they were wrong! So the first picture you will see is Bryan and Parker and you will notice that Parker is not happy. Like I mentioned, he WAS asleep but I couldn't pass up a photo or two (don't judge me!!!).

This is our mailbox and you can see that the snow is coming down but just not sticking to the roads (that means that Bryan had to go to work).

Since selling the jet ski Old Blue has been parked in the garage. However, she had to be parked outside last night because Christmas boxes are in her spot. I love this picture because I take a picture like this every year but now Parker can be apart of the picture. So cute of Bryan and Parker. And I did manage to put a hat on Parker......he doesn't have a coat yet!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Parker is, along with his serious game face!

He's a Drooling Machine!!!

We can't get many pictures these days without drool or bubbles! Guess we'll have to get out the bibs. I can't imagine the drool once he starts teething!

Another good weekend and we are prayful that it will continue!!!

Parker's First Christmas Ornament

The day after Thanksgiving we went out and bought Parker his first Christmas ornament from Hallmark. As you can see, he is excited. :-)

Thanksgiving Surprise

Since our plans changed and we stayed in Plano and Laurie and Henry went to the Cowboys game, they came by and visited us and Uncle Henry clipped Parker's nails again while Aunt Laurie fed him.(Thanks Henry!)

Happy Thanksgiving

Don't let this picture fool you.....our plans for Thanksgiving changed, we ate Thanksgiving lunch at 11:30 am in our pjs, Black Friday ads are scattered all over the living room, and while we ate Thanksgiving lunch, Parker slept in his swing. However, we've had a great day in our own way!!! We have so much to be thankful for: our families, loyal friends and a God that is merciful!

We hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Test Results

I called and talked to Dr. Baker's nurse (and I hope the Thanksgiving break will help her attitude!!!) and she said the test was normal that we did on Friday. We are to call back in 2 weeks and let Dr. Baker know how Parker is doing. If the symptoms are no better, we will need to do an EGD. Here is some information on this test: http://www.giforkids.com/?a=Procedures&b=Upper%20Endoscopy%20(EGD%20or%20esophagogastroduodenoscopy)

We are no longer giving Parker Tylenol and so far, he is doing fine. We did buy some Hyland's tablets. During crying fits, these tablets help to calm him down. We are still giving him Prevacid, Gripe Water and (of course) Mylicon.

We are hopeful and prayful that our "good days" continue and our little boy will continue to feel better. I know he has been feeling better for the past 4 days because he is smiling!

Comparison Picture

This bathtime picture is from 9/24/09:
And this one is from 11/19/09:

To me, he doesn't look like the same baby!

Daddy Can Always Make Him Smile

When Bryan gets home, he and Parker will sit and "talk". Bryan can always get Parker to smile. I finally got it on camera!

No news from the doctor yet....