Parker the Cowboy

Parker has a FAVORITE toy.  It is a horse.  A galloping horse to be exact.  He loves to jump and jump and jump on this horse.  It makes sounds and has little toys attached to it and he thinks it is the best thing in the world.  The problem with this toy is that it doesn’t live at our house.  It lives at Parker’s cousin’s house.  The other problem is Fisher Price no longer makes this horse.  Reggie & Lindsey bought it for Van over 3 years ago and now you can’t find them so Parker only gets to play with it when he goes to see his cousins but when he gets to see his horse, he plays hard….so hard he will ride it until he falls asleep…

I’m on a boat

My kid loves the water.  He loves the boat.  He loves being outside.  Hallelujah! 

Roll baby roll….

The first week of August, Parker decided to roll for the first time.  After about 15 minutes of seriously hard work, I ran and grabbed my camera and was able to capture the first official roll.  Now he is rolling all over the place and thinks he is really something.  I think the funniest part of this video is all his high pitch squealing followed by the deep grunting (not dramatic at all) BUT please note he was not to be outdone by his mother’s ridiculous reaction….what can I say, he gets it honest I guess!

Play Time!

Parker is really loving play time.  He is enjoying his Johnny Jump Up, Cousin Reece’s jumperoo horse, his rainforest activity mat and his buddy’s Porter’s Baby Einstein exersaucer that they so sweetly let us borrow.  He loves to hold onto to things and really study them.  For a little baby, he has quite the attention span. 

Parker & His Faithful Companion

Parker loves Louie and Louie loves Parker.  If you don’t believe me, see below

Yucky peas

The many faces of Parker

So fresh and so clean…

 

5 Months Old

I cannot believe Parker is already 5 months old!  According to our scales at home, he is unofficially 19 pounds and growing every day!  He is definitely growing out of 3-6 months clothes and forcing me to buy 6-9 month sizes to finish out the summer.  He takes 4-5 bottles a day (6 oz) of Enfamil AR and eats 2-3 containers of Stage 1 baby foods.  His favorites are still squash, carrots and sweet potatoes. He also likes peaches, apples, prunes and pears but really doesn’t like bananas or green beans and HATES sweet peas.  He wakes up around 9am and goes to sleep around 9pm.  He takes 2 naps a day, each lasting about 2 hours.  He is a very happy little boy and smiles all the time.

Oh Parker…the last five months have been absolutely wonderful watching you grow and become such a sweet, charming little boy.  I am so honored God chose us to be your parents.  You make each day so exciting for us as we watch you discover new things.  Happy 5 months son!

Our little chatterbox

Parker has discovered his voice….and he uses it most of the day!  It is hilarious to listen to him make all sorts of noises and even more funny when he discovers he can make a new one and then does it over and over.  Everytime we pull out the video camera though, he completely freezes up so I shot this one with my cell phone so sorry for the poor quality but sometimes you have to get what you can get with what you can get it with

What’s for lunch?

Parker has tried pretty much all the Stage 1 foods that Gerber has to offer.  We started him on veggies and then introduced the fruits because I thought if he had the sweet fruits first, he might not eat the veggies but actually I think he prefers the veggies.  After the first few weeks, his favorites are sweet potatoes, carrots and squash.  His least favorite is definitely sweet peas.  He is SUCH a good eater.  He just shovels it in.  I really mean it, he actually helps you feed him.  He assists your hand in getting it in his mouth because you aren’t doing it fast enough!  As of today, he is eating 1 container mid-morning or lunchtime and another around dinnertime.  I think we are about to increase it to 3 a day because he is a machine.  He is still getting 4-5 bottles a day, most of them 6 oz but we are now giving him a 8 oz bottle at night to help get him through the night.  His typical night is still about 12 hours of sleep with maybe 1 or 2 wake ups where he just needs a few pats on the back and his paci to get back to sleep.  We are so proud of him and how wonderful he is doing.  What a blessing Parker is to us!

Thank you Lord for beautiful feet

The day after we got home from the beach, I took Parker back to the ortho to get his cast off.  Hopefully this will be his last cast he will ever have to wear!  When Dr. Locke took it off, his foot looked beautiful!  It was in the proper position and we knew the second surgery was successful!  I am so thankful that Parker’s foot is now able to flex like God designed it to do and that it is turned the way it is supposed to so that as he grows he will be able to run, jump, hop…whatever he chooses to do on those beautiful feet. 

We will continue to do a lot of stretching, strengthening (Johnny jump up mainly) and conditioning so that he will continue to make progress.  The game plan is to wear the brace/ boots /dobbs bar another few months for 23 hours a day and then hopefully just wear it at nap and bedtime for a few years.  I give God the glory first for what he has done so quickly in Parker’s foot.   I know that He is Parker’s healer and I have trusted Him from the beginning to take care of Parker.   Second, I have to give major props to the doctors we have seen and just how amazing this whole Ponseti method to treat club foot.  I am so thankful to live in a country where this is available. 

                           Thank you Lord for this beautiful child

                                        and for his beautiful feet

Rice cereal?? Um, no thanks

I know I mentioned that Parker is eating Stage 1 baby foods and that he loves them.  But I failed to mention that we had tried him on rice cereal first.  We introduced it the day he turned 4 months old (June 27th) and tried it for several days before introducing the baby food but he hated it!  I mean really did not want anything to do with it.  Baby food it is Mr. Parker!

Yuck!  Doesn’t look very good to me either Park….

Summer Vacation

After we finished up with court to finalize the adoption, we took off for our summer vacation to the beach.  We spent the week of the 4th of July down at my parent’s house in Surfside and loved having a break from it all.  We were all in desperate need of some rest and relaxation!  Scott, Parker and I were able to enjoy the few days by ourselves of doing absolutely nothing.  We napped a lot, played a lot and just enjoyed time together.  Since temperatures were well over 100 with the heat index, we decided against actually taking Parker on the beach.  With all the heat in addition to his little cast and the extra caution we have to take with the sun due to the loss of pigment from the eczema….we just decided some indoor play time would be easier and more enjoyable for everyone. 

On Tuesday, my parents and siblings (minus Brad) joined us.  Shannon also brought Mammy so you know Parker got lots of attention!  Lots of cousin lovin’ going on!

 

While we were on vacation, we also started Parker on Stage 1 baby foods…..and he LOVES them!  He is such a good eater!