The Gamecocks hosted LSU for their last home series this past weekend and of course, Parker had to go and cheer on his Gamecocks. Unfortunately, it didn’t do a whole lot of good because they ended up losing the game we went to but that’s ok because Parker got to sport his cute USC apparel and hang out at the ball field!
I forgot to mention that over Mother’s Day weekend, Parker broke out in an AWFUL rash/eczema/raised bumps all over his body. I mean legs, arms, chest, back, neck, face….everywhere except where his diaper and socks were. And it got back quick so Tuesday the 15th we went to see Dr. Wheeler again (when does the frequent patient discount thing kick in?). His first words were “Whoa…that is a bad case of something Lauren. I mean extreme.” Yep, thanks Doc. I love Dr. Wheeler but sometimes I feel like if it can happen, we are going to experience it. I thought he was going to diagnose eczema (we had already started Aveeno everything) and give me a prescription cream so when he announced he thought it was an allergy to cow’s milk and soy, I was a little taken aback. We are now on Nutramigen (geez that junk is SO expensive….we are already spending close to $80/week just for formula and that is for 4 oz bottles….I can only imagine the bill in a few months, YIKES!) and a week and a half later, it is MUCH better so that must be it. His face is a little discolored where some of the bumps had gotten so irritated and red, the patches have turned lighter but I am sure once all the irritation is gone, the color will come back. Bless his heart. Bless our hearts….Nutramigen stinks! It is nasty smelling going in and coming out. It has torn his tummy up so we pack lots of extra outfits now for those fun occasions. His reflux has actually worsened too since being on Nutramigen. We were on Enfamil AR which was GREAT for the reflux. We have tried a little rice cereal in the bottle but he downright refuses. After a couple of days of that and enduring close to 2 hour feedings, I quit and just went to Nutramigen mixed with a little Thick-it from Riley’s Drugstore so for now, I will deal with a little reflux and LOTS of spit up….no matter how nasty it smells. Did I mention I have a new best friend? Her name is Washing Machine 
Parker has been smiling for a while now but his smiles are so big and he smiles all the time which melts my heart. He is also getting to the point where he recognizes familiar faces and voices and gets excited when he sees people he knows. Slow down Parker…you are getting so big so quick! These were taken this past Friday while we were relaxing after work.
What a great day! This day was MUCH better than Mother’s Day last year. I can honestly say Mother’s Day 2011 was one of the hardest days ever but praise God that He saw it fit to bless me with sweet precious Parker in time for Mother’s Day 2012. Scott and Parker were both so sweet to me and gave me some beautiful flowers, a massage from Urban Nirvana and some beautiful new jewelry from Handpicked. Love my sweet boys!
We had lunch with my Mammy and some of my aunts and cousins. Unfortunately, my mother was in Florida on vacation with some of my siblings and we missed them very much. After lunch, we spent the afternoon at Mammy’s playing games and then enjoyed a yummy steak dinner. While we played games, Parker napped on Mammy for 6 hours straight! I love lazy Sunday afternoons like that!
Mammy with some of her great grands
Parker loves his Mammy!
I can’t complete this post without mentioning how thankful I am for Parker’s birthmother. I think of her daily but I thought of her lots on Mother’s Day. She is such a beautiful, loving girl and I pray that God held her especially tight on Mother’s Day. I love her so much and thank her for the most precious gift in all the world.
A couple of weeks ago we tried Parker in the Bumbo because he has always been so strong and has amazing neck/head control. This is how the bumbo experience unfolded…
The first 10 seconds
Within the first 30 seconds, he had it with the paci and started warning us he was over it
Literally, this was less than 1 minute in the seat…HA! He is even cute when he cries 
So the verdict is…..no Bumbo yet. We will try again soon.
By the way…he is 2 days shy of 11 weeks in these pictures….told you we have a big boy!
Parker is such a lucky little boy. The weekend after he met his grandmother, grandfather, aunt and uncle, he got another visit by more of Scott’s family who were anxious to meet him. Scott’s grandmother, uncle, aunt and cousin (we missed you Kendall, Kayla, Ben & Adaline!) got to come for a great day visit and a great time was had by all. They had driven down from New York to Tennessee to assist Casey with a move to Texas and decided to make a short detour to see little Park. Again, he was spoiled with lots of love & attention. We had a great lunch out, a nice neighborhood walk, a little corn hole and some relaxing on the back porch before they had to head back. Parker loves meeting everyone and loves snuggling with them even more!
I know, I know….I am behind on the blog but again, I am determined to keep this somewhat current so I will remember and one day, Parker can read about his first year. So let me take you back a few weeks to the first weekend of May when Parker got to meet Scott’s mom, stepfather, brother and sister-in-law for the first time. They all came into town to spend the weekend with us and Parker was spoiled with lots of love and attention. We spent a day in Charleston and Parker did great. We ate outside at Fleet Landing, had a great carriage ride and a nice walk. During the weekend, we grilled out a lot and spent lots of family time together. Parker really enjoyed getting to meet his grandma, grandpa, aunt and uncle and look forward to seeing them all again very soon!
My mom’s mother, Mammy, turned 77 a couple weekends ago and we had the opportunity to celebrate her and how much she means to me. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love and adore my Mammy. We went out to eat Friday night and then had a surprise party for her Saturday at my dad’s farm. What a great day of family, food and fun! We love you Mammy & I am so glad you are going to get to keep Parker some this summer!
(if you are wondering where Parker’s pictures are from this day….so I am! I guess I was holding him a lot and didn’t get people to take pictures of us. I will work on that 
)
Friday, April 27th, Parker hit the 2 month mark. Man, time has flown!
We went to the doctor for his 2 month check up and shots. Parker weighed 14.1 oz (95th percentile), was 23.5 inches long (75th percentile) and his head was 16 inches in circumference (73rd percentile). We have a big boy! And a happy boy! He did great with his shots, no fever and just a bit of fussiness.
Hey guys! It’s Parker 
I am now eating 5 oz each bottle and I ask my mom and dad for them about every 3 and 1/2 hours. I eat Enfamil AR because I have nasty reflux but with the help of Prevacid, it is getting better. I am sleeping good at night. They figured out how to get me to sleep with my boots and brace on at night….flip me on my belly. I am so strong, I am pick my head up so good if I ever need to so once I proved to mom I was big enough, she flopped me over and we have been good to go. I wake up after about 5-6 hours and ask for 1 bottle at night and then go right back to sleep. During the day, I enjoy talking and hanging out. I like to smile a lot and make cooing noises. I have started going over to play with Ganma or Crystal, Mia & Caden a couple days a week so mom can work some and that is a lot of fun. I like chilling in my swing and I am learning to like my stroller. I enjoy riding in my Baby Bjorn on my mom and dad and just looking around at everything. I went on my first boat ride the Sunday after I turned 2 months and thought that was great! I liked to lay on the floor of the boat and feel the vibrations. Here is a picture my mom took of me and my cousin Reece.
Thank you Lord for the blessing of this beautiful baby boy. He is such a happy baby and makes his mom and dad so happy!
