Sunday, April 25, 2010

Allergies or Teething or Both?

Why, oh why, does this always happen right before a playdate at our house? Tomorrow is National Pretzel Day and Parker was going to host at pretzel playdate! We have TONS of different kinds of pretzels and even some new toys to share with our friends. However, Parker has had a runny nose for a couple days and this morning he started coughing and sneezing a lot. After his afternoon nap, we took him to Pediatrics After Hours and had him checked out. His ears are clear but his throat is yucky! The NP said that it's allergies and if he seems to be getting worse, we need to have our pedi check him. She said that since he's teething too, it doesn't help. So we've rescheduled the playdate so we can keep the other babies healthy, just in case.

The picture above isn't that great but I only had about a second to take it before Parker started fussing again. The outfit was given to us before Parker was born and is an 18 month pj set (go Astros go!). It seemed at the time that it would be FOREVER until Parker could wear it but not so much. He is not even 8 months old and is already wearing 12-18 month clothes! Since Parker is eating table foods now (only baby oatmeal and fruits for breakfast), he is growing and sleeping so much better. While at the dr today, he weighed almost 23lbs! Such a BIG BOY now.

Our First Swim Lesson

Parker and Daddy getting ready to test the water:
Grandma gave us some swim shorts for Easter but they are a little big right now. This, my friends, is called improvising:
First time in the COLD pool:
Circle time with all the other babies:
Getting more comfortable in the water and learning to kick while on the tummy:
Three more classes so more information and pictures to come!

Earth Day 2010

This past Thursday was Earth Day and while we spent the day celebrating, we did not try to save fuel! We are sorry Mother Earth! We met some Mommy/Baby friends at Central Market for lunch and playtime and then later that afternoon, we went to a playdate where we planted flowers. It was a fun, jam-packed day that ended with our little boy getting his first tooth (bottom right). That tooth has been playing hide-and-seek for months and has caused my little boy some extreme pain. We are glad it's here but the other bottom one is coming in too. Parker was not in the best of moods but he was a little trooper!

At CM letting me know his gums are hurting:
Mommies and Babies enjoying lunch at CM:
Planting flowers playdate at Melanie and Aiden's:
Parker planting his first flower, with my help:
And some playing with Brenden and Blake, while us Mommie ate some dinner:
Now, we just need to remember to water that flower so it will grow!

My First Photography Class

This past Tuesday was my first photography class. It was fun but very overwhelming! There was a lot of information and we even got a homework assignment. This "beginners" class only consist of 2 classes but there are other photography classes offered. We'll see how this one goes before committing to another. I am taking this class with my dear friend Cheryl and her wonderful Dad. Here are some sample pictures that I took during class, as we were experimenting with different settings:



And here is Cheryl and her Dad doing some test shots....I love this pic!

Will He Crawl or Walk First?

Nice form, my son:
Nice legs, my sweet husband:

Thursday, April 22, 2010

I Miss You Little Blog!

I knew one day this would happen.....one blog posting a week. I don't like that but what I do like is the time that I'm spending playing with Parker. Since he's awake more and I don't hold him anymore while he naps, I have little time to blog. However, today is different. It's Earth Day and we have TWO events planned but here I am blogging. Why you ask.....because yesterday I mowed our yard for the first time since September 2008 (the dr didn't think it was a good idea to mow while being pregnant) and I am slow moving! Parker is taking an extra long nap so I thought I'd take this time to post an update rather than doing the dishes.

Parker is getting stronger. He almost has the crawling thing down. He gets on his knees and has his arms ready but doesn't know what to do other than rock. It will not be long. Also, he wants to pull up and stand all the time! I didn't know that the standing part would come to soon after crawling. YIKES! This was last Saturday:
More later....Parker is now up from his morning nap!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Weekend Recap

So the weekend plans started out something like this: FRIDAY - date night in with steak for Bryan and a big salad for me and catching up on DVR'd shows and then SATURDAY - shopping for a new outdoor grill, Gymboree and then "Meet the Daddies" BBQ at the Goss' house and then SUNDAY - Dallas Zoo with some Gym Mommies.

But the weekend went something like this: FRIDAY - Bryan had to visit the doctor because of allergies, date night in with steak for both of us, potatoes and macaroni and cheese (Bryan was in love....I however, was NOT) and caught up on CSI and then SATURDAY - shopping for a new outdoor grill, NO Gymboree because Parker was napping late and the BBQ and then SUNDAY - no Zoo because it was raining but we all decided to go to brunch at Breadwinners BUT I had a flat tire so we spent the morning getting it fixed.

While the weekend didn't go exactly as we planned, it was still nice! As always, I have some pictures to share. Now, I know that my indoor pictures are not good at all but I am taking a class, starting this week, for SLR camera owners. I hope to learn a lot!

(Miss E and Parker playing @ the BBQ)
(Pete, Ninette and Chi chatting @ the BBQ)

(Parker & Me enjoying the BBQ...which ended up being a pizza party because of the weather)

(Katy & Blake)

(And I had to share this one....first of all, Parker has started smiling at the camera and then, if you look closely, you will see the low tire warning.....it was low alright....FLAT!)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Just a Swingin'.......

......and enjoying the nice weather!

Oh Ducky!

We had some friends over today to play and one of the Moms mentioned she bought her little boy a duck to sit in while inside the tub. I had to check it out because we are out of the infant tub and have been looking for something to put the boy in. So here is Mr. Ducky:

And the hat is to keep the water and soap out of the eyes and ears.....or to make the boy look silly!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Mobile Pictures

Believe it or not we do go places without our camera and there is always a picture that needs to be taken.....so we have a few cute mobile pictures.

This one is while my Mom was visiting and we were out shopping for some new office furniture:

And then this one is of Grandpa and Parker on the day we were leaving Angleton (Easter weekend):

Our Easter

As you may know, Parker did not feel well on Easter. The morning started out good with Sunrise Service at my Mom's Church and then an Easter celebration with the Bingham's. By lunch, Parker had a fever. We had lunch with my family and an egg hunt and then we went to the Veselka's in the afternoon for dinner and another egg hunt. We skipped the egg toss and bunny hop that I was looking forward to but maybe next year. Parker did a lot of sleeping, not much eating and we held him a lot....poor baby!

Bryan reading the story of Easter to Parker:
About the best we can do:
Bryan hunting eggs for Parker:
Emily, Parker & Ryan....I took 14 pictures just to get this one:
We did not take many pictures on Easter because of Parker.....that makes me sad! But, our boy is feeling much better now! I just knew that it was going to be his ears but the dr says it's just allergies. I guess we'll have to deal with that for a while. We had a great trip to Angleton, a wonderful visit with family and we're glad to be back home!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

We Have a Seven Month Old....

....that is: getting louder, smiling and laughing more, trying to crawl, starting to turn pages in his books, liking spagetti, trying to pull up on things and getting teeth.

We love him more and more everyday!!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

EASTER WEEKEND IN ANGLETON: El Toro

One of my favorite places to eat while I'm home is El Toro. We had to, of course, introduce Parker to El Toro. To make this deal sweeter, my sister (in red below) just started working there....YAY! The food was as good as it's ever been and it was nice to have lunch with my Mom. And I think Parker liked it too...or at least he loves their ice cream cones (without the ice cream).




EASTER WEEKEND IN ANGLETON: Meeting Work Friends

On Thursday, we went to my Mom's work to meet all of the sweet people that gave her a Grandma Baby Shower the day Parker was born. I was so excited to finally meet them and for them to meet Parker. Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures because of the nature of my Mom's business (and because it was month/quarter end).

Later that afternoon, we took Parker to Helen's work to meet her co-workers. Here are some pictures from that day:





EASTER WEEKEND IN ANGLETON: A Couple Random Pictures

Mimi and Parker playing while Daddy gets a bath ready....
Parker's first time in a regular bathtub....
Sweet Emily feeding Parker....she is going to be a good Mommy one day.....

EASTER WEEKEND IN ANGLETON: Bryan's Birthday Party

My wonderful husband turned 29 on Good Friday. His parents threw a small party for him with his favorite Chinese food and Costco cake (he's so simple, huh?). His Aunt Linda, Uncle Steve, Cousin Katie/Blake, my Mom and sister, and his Sister and family, all joined us. We had a wonderful time! It was also the first time for Aunt Linda and her family to meet Parker. I guess after I finish planning the boy's first birthday party, I will need to start planning Bryan's 30th birthday party!




Picnic with Parker

Parker and I planned to go out to Arbor Hill Nature Preserve for a picnic with our Gymboree friends today. It may not look like a picnic from these pictures but I promise it started out as one! We enjoyed our picnic for about 30 minutes and then it started to rain. We took cover and decided to have our picnic under a pavilion. However, the weather started getting worse and the severe weather alarms sounded. See below....we had to take cover in the restrooms. And us Mommies can't leave our strollers unattended so some had to go in the men's restroom and some were able to fit into the women's.

(Neon, Parker, Noah, Jessica, Cruz, Avery & Rachel)

(Abra, Gabrielle, Michelle, Austin, Cheryl & Luke)

(Parker & Avery chatting....so cute!)

After the bad weather passed, we were able to go back to the pavilion for the rest of our picnic. Overall, it was nice to get out and see some friends!