Guess Who is Sitting?

Parker has been practicing her sitting skills for well over a month now. At first she could sit for just a few seconds before falling over. A few seconds turned into thirty seconds, then a minute, then a few minutes! I was such a proud mama last weekend when I was playing with Parker on our bed and she decided to sit and play for the longest time.

I know what comes soon after sitting and that's crawling! Our house is not the least bit baby proof. Wait, I take that back. We do have a baby gate blocking off the stairs that go to the basement. But that was put up more for Sydney since she liked to go down to the basement and it's not puppy safe down there all the time. So we have a lot of work to do in the next couple months--the wine glasses on our wine rack need to find a new home, plants need to be placed on high shelving, vases need to be put away...there will be a lot of things going into storage! Ahhhh, how I will love all the extra space we will have when the basement is finished. We sure do need it!
































































































































































































































































Parker's new thing is to purse her lips together and blow air through them to make noises. It's the silliest thing and she does it all the time!



Doing it again!



Parker was absolutely fascinated by her blankie!





























































































After a long time of sitting Parker decided that she had enough and toppled over. She thinks it's hilarious when she falls! Thankfully our bed is nice and comfy so it doesn't hurt :)







Now off to starting thinking about how to baby-proof this house!

Busy Busy Busy!

Typically Kris and I don't do anything non-Parker related during her waking hours. No cooking, no cleaning, no computer, no nothing that doesn't involve playing and cuddling with our little girl. When she falls asleep for the night one of us usually cuddles with her on the couch while the other runs around like a manic trying to fit a billion things to do in just a couple hours. I never plan to do things differently--what matters more, having a spotless house or cherishing every moment you have with the ones you love? If you came over to my house unannounced, you'd be able to tell in an instant that it's the latter :)

However, we do have a dog that loves to shed and a baby that loves to put everything in her mouth, so we need to vacuum and sweep daily. Since we aren't the type of parents that will plop their baby down in the bouncer/exersaucer/whatever to get chores done, we bring Parker along for the ride!































































And in true Parker fashion, she's sneaking a glimpse at the TV. We aren't planning on letting her watch TV for quite a while and she must know that because she will do anything to see what is on! I'm pretty sure that March Madness was on in this picture. What can I say, she's daddy's little girl :)
































Even though we are both insanely busy at work, the moment we walk in the door and hug Parker it's as if all our work troubles have disappeared. Parker is such a great stress reliever :) April 18th will be a nice work stress reliever for me as well--the end of the 2010 tax season as I know it! That date seriously cannot come fast enough!

5 Months!

Happy 5 months, Miss Parker!

































As usual, it's been another wonderful month for us. Smiles and giggles still fill our house. Parker grins ear to ear when she looks into mirrors so we spend a lot of time in front of them! I wonder if she realizes the baby in the mirror is actually her or if she thinks it’s another baby—maybe one of her daycare friends! The giggling is one of the best things. Parker loves when Kris eats her belly. I have a cute video of this that I will post as soon as I figure out how to get the video on my computer!

Parker is now getting mad at actual things now. For instance, I put Parker in her car seat the other day and she started chewing on the seat straps. I moved them out of her mouth so that I could buckle her in and she freaked out! Prior to that day I could have taken the straps away form Parker and she would not have cared one bit. I thought it was really neat to see this new development in her communication skills!

Grabbing onto toys has taken a new turn. Parker used to have to use both hands to pick up a toy but now she's mastered the art of using just one hand. If I'm walking around carrying Parker she likes to hold onto something, usually Sophie the Giraffe. And if Sophie is not in her hand then Parker wants whatever is in my hand. If I try to take a drink of water Parker reaches out for the glass and tries to grab it from me. Not yet, baby girl! We're waiting until the six month mark to start Parker on anything other than breastmilk, but she's definitely starting to get more aware of what Kris and I are putting into our mouths!

We now have a little girl who loves rolling around, especially when I'm trying to get her dressed or get a diaper on her. What a troublemaker :) She goes from back to side, to belly, then back over again. Finally she's able to move around a bit and it really helps with her naps at daycare. The daycare providers have to put her on her back when she naps but Parker still doesn't like sleeping on her back so now she's able to roll over to her side to get comfy.

Parker is also getting better at sitting every day. She can sit on her own for about 30 seconds before she topples over. We practice in the bed a lot to comfort the falls :)

Here's some pictures from the past month!











































Saying "Yaaaaaaaaay" always makes Parker smile!
































Napping in the Moby. I wear Parker every night and she falls asleep within minutes of being put in the wrap.































































Baby smiles!

















































































































































































Big girl sitting in her highchair! Parker loved that duck but Sydney loved it even more, so she decided to tear it to shreds...



I'm hoping this next month is full of great weather so we don't have to stay cooped up in the house!

Give and Get!

I love a good bargain and it's even better when it's for a good cause. From today to March 20th you can save 30% off your entire purchase at Gap, Old Navy, and Banana Republic. 5% of the proceeds will go to one of the following non-profits:

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
WWF
Feeding America
Teach for America
Habitat for Humanity
JDRF

Follow this link to get your coupon! Proceeds from your purchase will go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

http://gap.p.delivery.net/m/p/gap/gcan/gpjump.asp?p=bp/lls.html

I already got a lot of cute stuff for Parker today--dresses, leggings, sweaters...all very adorable and all very summery! Now time for me to get into Banana and score some deals for myself!

Another New Toy

A few weeks ago Parker discovered her feet and they are now her favorite toy. And she thought hands were cool! I bought little socks with animals on them that jingle when she kicks her feet to help her learn cause and effect—I kick my feet around and they make noise—and to make her more aware of these fun toys that are connected to her body. Parker didn’t like the socks at first since she wanted to put them in her mouth but couldn’t reach. That all changed this past weekend when she discovered that she could pull her feet all the way up! I think that we have a future gymnast on our hands :)





































Sydney also really likes the new socks :) I really have to keep an eye on that dog! If I didn't she would have those things in her mouth in no time!
































Parker trying to pet her big sister :) Sydney is all about trying to lick Parker but when Parker reaches out for her fur Sydney wants no part of it!































































































Parker's favorite place to play with her feet is on her changing table. It is almost impossible to diaper her now since she's always grabbing onto her toes and shoving them in her mouth! We have always had a lot of fun on the changing table; we set a mobile up on it and Parker absolutely loves looking at it and talking to the animals. We have even more fun now since she discovered her feet!





Check out my new trick, mama!



Haha, this cracks me up every time!



Whatcha lookin' at? This is totally normal. Totally.





Look at that bear flying around! Parker is now able to reach the mobile toys just enough to be able to bat at them.





















It's so cool to see Parker experience new things, even if it is something as silly as shoving feet in her mouth :)

My Whole Life

Life doesn't get much better than this. I am so very blessed.