Family Pictures

We had family pictures taken a couple of weeks ago. Parker wasn't feeling very well the day of the photo session, but he tolerated us getting in his face and trying to make him smile. At one point I pulled a fireman hat off of their prop shelf to keep him occupied and somewhat happy, and that led to one of the cutest pictures of him ever.

Our family photo also came out great. Taylor hasn't seen them yet because he's been offshore since Sunday. He's going to love them!

Parker has reached SUCH a fun age, and learns something new every day! He started clapping today. I was feeding him lunch and he out of the blue started clapping. I cried like a nerd haha.

And just for the heck of it, here's a video of him giggling like crazy. I never get him to laugh like that. He saves that one for his dad, but I got it out of him!

Sometimes I'm a little nutty

It's three months before Parker's birthday and I've pretty much finished planning. I'm a huge planner...always have been. If I don't have everything planned out well in advance for any event I get really anxious and panicky haha.

I made the invites, his party hat and shirt that he will wear, guest list, menu, and the gift we're going to get him. We have waaaaay more people on the list than I thought we'd have, but when you have tons of family I guess that's to be expected!

For those interested, this is the rundown of his party:

Menu

1. Big chicken and sausage gumbo
2. Brisket
3. Fruit/Veggie tray
4. Chips and dip
5. beverages

I know, I know...but it's not catered! I don't understand people who go all out and hire a caterer for a child's birthday party. It's ridiculous and a waste of money. Parker isn't going to care that we won't have penne with vodka sauce.

Invitations

I will be changing the picture to one of him with a teeny little Parker sized cake.

Hat and Shirt

Birthday Gift

I'm still debating on whether I want to make a banner or not, and I need to redo the hat. Those will only take me an hour or two. I do need to get some fun things for the older kids to do, and maybe some junk for goody bags for them, but I'm not going all out. Any opinions or suggestions are more than welcome!

On the move

I've been in denial for weeks about Parker's mobility. There's no way that my son will be walking soon. No way, no how! I realize that this is completely irrational thinking on my part, and that it will happen sooner than later. So rather than continuing my attempts to thwart such behavior as walking, I decided to embrace the fact that it is inevitable. Tonight after eating crappy TexMex at Cucos we trekked on over to Target (aka the homeland, mecca, heaven on Earth) to buy one of those toys that help babies learn how to walk. Someone recommended the Playskool Explore 'N Grow, and it is quite possibly the best $20 we have ever spent. The kid LOVES this thing! He was chomping at the bit to get at it when Taylor was assembling it. He was so cute pushing it around the kitchen and crashing into things. And the walking...so precious it killed me on the spot. I now can't wait for him to start walking for real. Yes, my life as I know it will be over once it happens. And for those of you who are itching to throw out a "just you wait...", please don't. I'm not interested. Let me live in ignorance mmmkay?

And in true Andrea fashion, no blog post is complete without pictures and videos of the adorableness that is Parker!

Parker's nine month update

Yes, it has been nine months since my sweet baby boy was brought into this world. On the fourth of every month I become a little sad. Sad because he's getting older, but mostly because he should actually be a month younger than he is. I know having a beautiful, healthy,wonderful, smart as all get out, absolutely perfect baby is all that's important. I know that. And I am eternally grateful for such a little blessing. But, I can't help feeling angry, bitter, guilty, and sad that I couldn't carry him to term. That my body failed to do the one important thing it was put here to do. We all have our issues though, don't we?

I took this picture this morning to commemorate his "9 monthday". I love the faces he makes. He makes us laugh every single day.

At nine months Parker can (some of these are things he's been doing for months):

1. Feed himself puffs and other small cut up foods.
2. Hold and successfully use his sippy cups.
3. Crawl like an old pro.
4. Sit up on his own.
5. Pull himself up into the sitting position.
6. Cruise along anything he's able to.
7. Say "mama", "baba", and "guh-guh" (he calls Taylor "guh-guh" lol).
8. Open and close doors (as long as they're not all the way closed) and cabinets.
9. Stand in his crib and try to climb out causing us to put his mattress on the lowest level.
10. Pass toys from one hand to the other.
11. Have a toy in each hand.
12. He understands peek-a-boo, and gets mad when you stop.
    

At nine months Parker is working on the following:

1. Standing on his own (the longest he's done it so far is 10 seconds!).
2. Walking unassisted.
3. Clapping.
4. Waving "bye bye".
5. Saying "dada".
6. Stacking the rings on his ring stacker toy.
7. Sorting the different shapes on his shape sorter toy.
8. Slowly weaning off of purees and eating only table foods.

We're still working on getting him to sleep through the night again. He's down from being up 3-5 times to only waking once at night. I can do once a night for now.

That's everything that he's up to right now. I'm sure I've forgotten one or two things though!

Bumps, bruises, and emergency visits to the opthamologist

Parker had his very first eye exam today. He likes to stand by the desk and hold onto the top while I'm checking email and such. He was doing that this afternoon and lost his balance. I couldn't catch him in time, and he fell and hit his eye (his actual eye) on the sharp corner of the leg of the desk. He started screaming like I've never heard him scream before, and I was in hysterics right along with him. I calmed down enough to call my mother-in-law who just happens to work for an opthamologist. She told me to take him in so the doctor could check him out. The exam went well as far as the outcome goes. His eye was fine and there were no broken bones around it. The exam itself was a train wreck. He had to be held down so his eyes could be properly looked at. It took me, my mother-in-law, and one other lady who works there to keep him still. He HATED it. I don't blame him though. I personally have panic attacks when I'm held down. The poor man was so worked up and exhausted after his traumatic experience that he passed out as soon as we drove away.

I'm pretty sure Parker will be walking by the end of the month. He's getting so brave, and tries to take off without anyone helping him. Once he's able to stand on his own (which he's getting better and better at), and becomes more stable while walking all bets will be off. I keep telling him to wait until after the beginning of November, but I know that's not going to do anything. We are definitely in for it!