Memorial Day 2010

Look Millie, I bought you a toy at the store:

Playing tug-of-war with Millie and Daddy:

The tongue-smile means he's happy to be in the water:Learning to drink from a straw:

Saying Good-Bye

Why do pictures of my itty bitty son bring tears to my eyes? He is so much fun now and I look back at these pictures and remember how rough things were back then. I would not want to relive those days again but I do miss Parker being that small!

This picture was taken on 9/24/09 (16 days old)....the first time we put Parker in his big-boy bed and introduced him to his Astros mobile. You see, I didn't know exactly how I wanted to decorate Parker's room but what I did know is that I wanted THIS mobile. I am so glad that Parker's Great Aunt Linda bought it for him and we've used it a lot! However, this past week, we had to pack it away. Since Parker is now standing in his crib, I was afraid that he was going to destroy it or hurt himself with it. His bed looks so sad without it! Another sign that our boy is getting older.

Some other milestones:
-started clapping on 5/18/10
-started waiving bye-bye TODAY
-when he sees Bryan, he says "dadada"
-when I ask him "where is Millie/Lizzie", he finds them with his eyes

Some regressions:
-waking up around 2am to play...
-not able to fall asleep on his own anymore
-doesn't like "fancy" foods anymore....loves string cheese, wheat bread and poached chicken (boo!)

Memorial Day Picnic

We met some friends today at a park for a picnic to celebrate Memorial Day. I've come to realize that I am not cut out for picnics during the summer! I won't go into why but we did have a good time while we were there. There isn't much to report but I thought I would share some pictures because they make me laugh (I hope they make you laugh too!).

Our picnic bunch....
And here is my son, nowhere near the picnic:

He didn't want the PB&J sandwich I brought him to eat......he wanted to eat leaves:

He is not a social butterfly, that is for sure!!!

Swim!

Today was the PERFECT day to go swimming! I am so glad that Neon and Noah invited us over to their house to play, eat lunch and swim! The have a beautiful pool and everyone got in to enjoy our first pool playdate.

As you can see here, Parker is showing off his new "tongue" smile.
And here, Caroline is trying to tell Parker a joke but he is more interested in blowing bubbles...BOYS!

See, Parker was listening and thought Caroline's joke was very funny!

Thank you Neon and Noah for hosting....y'all are great! I hope we didn't leave any Cheerios on the carpet. Oh, by the way, Neon made tuna salad for lunch and substitued the mayo with avocado.....DELICIOUS!!!

Storytime @ Pottery Barn Kids

Today we went to Pottery Barn Kids for storytime. We met Michelle and Austin there and then we had lunch. The storytime was fun and I think we have a new favorite book....The Shark in the Dark. Also, while we were there Parker tried out some chairs.

Trying out the adirondack chair:
Listening to The Very Hungry Caterpillar:

Austin was wanting to play with this very cool ball:

And, Parker trying out the R2D2 chair:

I Just Can't Keep Up!

I've had several people tell me this past week that Parker has grown up a lot in the past month. I tell ya, he is keeping Bryan and me very busy. And on top of that, I'm trying to keep up and document all of the new things he is doing.

Tonight, we are flying solo because Bryan is volunteering at The Ronald McDonald House so we decided to eat an early dinner with some friends. Neon, Noah, Abra and Gabrielle met us at Corner Bakery for dinner and then we went to Yumilicious, a frozen yogurt place, where Parker ate frozen yogurt for the first time (pictured above). We had sugar-free vanilla, topped with vanilla wafers. He loved it! I just hope his stomach likes it too.

It's very sad that my baby boy is growing up so fast but at the same time, it's really getting fun!

A Memorable Sunday...

1) Parker stood up for the first time without holding onto anything.

2) Parker ate tomato soup and grilled cheese for supper.

3) Parker learned to suck the peanut butter off his toast.

4) Parker now sticks out his tongue, a lot!

5) And, Parker loves making music for his family:

Today, My Boy Ate His First Snail!!!

Parker loves to follow Millie and Lizzie outside. It doesn't take him long to get from the kitchen, out the door and to the grass. And today was no different: I opened the door to let the dogs out, Parker follows them outside (by crawling), sits outside on the patio for a bit, and then when I called the dogs inside, Parker followed. However, when he got inside, I noticed he was chewing on something. Bryan was closer so he checked his mouth and guess what.....IT WAS A SNAIL! I was so excited but Bryan was about to barf! You see, I will be the one teaching Parker about bugs and digging in the dirt and Bryan will teach him about electronics and cool things that light up. Bryan does NOT like to get his hands dirty!

Sorry, no pictures this time!

Another First!

Today was Parker's first birthday party (the other one was a playdate). We had such a great time and not only did Bryan join us but we also got to meet a lot of the other Daddies! We've only known the birthday boy for 4 short months but in that time, we've seen and learned a lot from him. We are so thankful for the friendship that we have with him and his Momma (and now his Daddy).

Above, Parker is in his party outfit. His shirt, that my Mom made, has a balloon on it. He looked very cute today! And below, poor boy, was not wanting to swim today!

And the rest of the afternoon was spent baby-proofing.....fun fun fun!

Playing @ Home, Part Two

And he continued to play while I took more pictures!

Books and a bus:
He picks the bus:

But then brings me a book:

And then, I let the dogs out to sun and I guess Parker wanted to join them:

Millie shows Parker how it's done:

Playing @ Home, Part One

We were a little off schedule today so we decided to stay around the house today. Parker played while I folded laundry and took lots of pictures. Our little boy is not only crawling EVERYWHERE, he is standing, cruising the furniture and walking behind his toys. Here's a sample of what he can do now!

Standing:Moving from one thing to another:

Almost there:

Good and squared up:

Picking up something he dropped and then standing back up (without falling):

Shhhhh, Don't Tell Daddy!

We will be in baby-proofing mode very, very soon.....

Cowpoke Parker

Parker was invited to his first birthday party playdate which had a western theme (hence the name Cowpoke Parker). We met the birthday boy right before Christmas last year and I am so thankful we did! It's been exciting to watch him grow from a 6 month old baby to a WALKING one year old! And a bonus for me....his Mom is really cool!!!

And here is the birthday boy:
And a side note (really just for my scrapbook), Parker started walking behind the push-along-toy that was at the playdate....Woohoo!!!

Stroller Buddies @ The Dallas Zoo

On Tuesday, we went with some friends to the Dallas Zoo. Stroller Buddies is a program which gives Moms and babies a guided tour of special exhibits at the Zoo. We learned about the monkeys, tigers and otters. It was a perfect day to be outdoors and Parker seemed to really like it. We are now looking forward to visiting the Fort Worth Zoo with Bryan!

(Ninette/Chi, Heidi/Braxton, Libby/Brenden, Katy/Blake & Melanie/Aiden)

(Parker checking out the "peeing" monkeys)

(Our group walking to the next exhibit)

(Taking a little break with the babies at the water play area)

(This sign made me laugh....)

I'm A Little Behind But He's Still 8 Months Old...

I have a ton to post but there is a little boy that is keeping me BUSY and at night (when I do postings now), I crawl into bed very early. At least I am posting this before he is 9 months old! A lot has changed for us in the past month! Here are some highlights:

*Eating only table foods (no more baby food/cereal...YAY!)
*Three 8oz bottle per day
*Total of 4 teeth (2 top and 2 bottom)
*Crawling
*Pulling up and cruising
*Can say DaDaDaDa
*Stands in his bed
*Has NO food allergies
*Is perfecting his pincer grasp
*Walking behind walk-along toys
*Loves to play in the dog's water bowl

So many people have told us that kids grow up so fast and to cherish these times because they will fly by. I think we are doing just that!

Grandma bought Parker a swimming pool/ball pit and he loves playing in it but he enjoys crawling out of it more than anything. If you look close at the picture below, you can see some teeth.

Storytime with Rabbi Glickman

I have a lot of posting to do but for now, I thought I would share a couple pictures from today. This morning we went and played at the mall and then this afternoon we went to B&N, with some other baby friends, for a storytime with Rabbi Glickman. However, the time online for storytime was incorrect. So, there we all were and no storytime so we decided to just have a playtime! I was sad to have missed the storytime but had a great time just hanging out.

I included the second picture because it cracks me up....Parker has friends to play with and all he wants to do is stand....

The store manager felt so bad about the mistake so he gave all the babies a book....so nice!

Isn't He Pitiful?

He has two top teeth coming in.....

Cinco de Mayo Playdate

We hosted a Cinco de Mayo playdate here at our house yesterday. I am so bad about taking pictures of playdates here so the only ones I'll share are of Parker (not wanting to wear his sombrero!). While the babies played, we had nachos and chatted about the new things our babies are doing. Just before our playdate started, I found a new tooth in Parker's mouth! This one is on the top and diagonal from the bottom one. Needless to say, our afternoon, night and today were a bit rough! I hope he feels better tomorrow!

I hope you had a good Cinco de Mayo and ate some delicious mexican food!