Wordless Wednesday

BFF's

I Don’t Know How She Does It

I haven’t read the book but I’m looking forward to seeing the movie starring Sarah Jessica Parker, especially since I’m partial to her last name. And by seeing the movie, I mean waiting until it’s available on pay-per-view and somehow convincing Kris that this will be the best movie of the year and he must watch it. Must.

The movie is about a working mother and the non-stop balancing act between work, children, and the million other things in life. I was reading the trailer and the phrase “non-stop balancing act” really hit home for me. With being a working mama the juggling act is forever on-going. But I feel like I have a handle on it. I wake up super early and stay up super late. I manage to find time to make Parker's food, cloth diaper, keep the house tidy, and put dinner on the table for me and Kris. Sometimes said dinner doesn’t happen until 9pm, but it sure tastes good by that time because you’re starving. It took a few weeks and a few conversations with fellow working mamas to figure out what works best, but I’ve got it down now.

While on maternity leave I often thought to myself, how do working mom’s do it?? You just do. You figure out how to get things done, even if that means staying up until midnight doing laundry and, let’s not lie, catching up on the Kardashians. You learn to appreciate stores that stay open late (love you Target!), curse those that close early (I’m looking at you, Whole Foods and every.single.mall), and appreciate online shopping more than you ever thought was possible. You learn how to function on little sleep. My natural adrenaline keeps me going. I honestly don’t realize how exhausted I am until my head hits the pillow at the end of the day. Life is busy, hectic, and crazy no matter what your situation--whether you work, stay at home, go to college, or do a little of everything. But once you get in a groove it’s great. Until the thing that makes your groove wakes up at 330am to play like last night. Still love her to pieces ;)

And now I present you with Parker getting tricked by what she thought was a paci when really it was just a paci case thing. And one of her new favorite toys--the Altoid tin.

Parker's Worth It!

Kids Are Worth It: Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline by Barbara Coloroso. I’m only 20ish pages in but so far I am in love with this book. The author’s parenting principles are right on the same page as mine—treating your children in the exact way that you would like to be treated. There are quotes throughout the book and this one stood out to me:

Who of us is mature enough for offspring before the offspring themselves arrive? The value of marriage is not that adults produce children but that children produce adults—Peter de Vries

I’ve definitely matured since Parker has arrived. I have much more empathy for others than I did before. I’m slower to judge. I’m more respectful of others and they decisions they make. I have to be the best person I can be so that Parker learns how to be the best person she can be!

Up next on my reading list is Raising Your Spirited Child: A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, Energetic by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. I’m excited for a book geared towards little ones with unique needs. Kris and I have found that many of the parenting books out there are more for low demand babies which just won’t work for our Parker!

Have you noticed yet that I must research anything and everything?? I don’t know if that’s a flaw or an asset ;)

Here are some pictures of Parker crawling around the house. Happy weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

10 Months!

You see what she is doing with her left hand?! Trying to pull off her headband. The horror!

10 months. That’s only two months away from turning the big o-n-e. Two months!

Parker started this month off by pulling herself up on furniture. She now “climbs” up walls and scoots across the couch, especially if her BFF, Sydney, is on the other side of the couch trying to maintain her safety (video of this is at the end). And while we’re on the subject of movement, Parker is so fast at crawling now. She sees what she wants and boom, she’s on the crawl to get it.

Perhaps the most exciting thing is Parker standing! It’s a very short stand—like ten seconds—but she’s standing! She likes to pull herself up on whatever, let go for a few, then grab back on. Kris and I stared at each other in amazement when this happened. And of course, like the sap I am (which only started when Parker arrived), I teared up. Never did I know how emotional these milestones would be. My bet is that she will be an early walker-I would think in the next couple of weeks. I'm not prepared for the cute crawling and pulling up phase to be over so quickly but I'm very excited to have her running around the house!

We have two teeth finally poking through up top with about three more on the verge of breaking through. Parker’s eating three meals a day and her nursing has slowed waaaaaay down the past couple of months. She’s content with nursing three times during the day and is still nursing during the night. She sleeps about 11 hours each night. Sometimes as little as 9, sometimes as many as 13, but usually 11. We're at about two naps each day for a total of 2ish hours. There is far too much fun stuff to do besides nap!

Parker is still doing wonderful at daycare. They’ve had a fun month of activities—bubble play time, outside picnics, bring your favorite book days, arts and crafts, and many more things! She has a lot of baby friends that she crawls around with and talks to. Apparently, she also really enjoys pulling said babies hair and trying to steal their Veggie Straws, which we don’t let her eat. I did however break down and let her eat Cherrios. Organic, mind you, but still Cherrios. Occasionally Parker got mad when other babies had Cherrios and she didn’t, so I brought some for her. She doesn’t eat too many but it keeps her happy, so Cherrios it is!

And in an update to the clam post: he has been found! He was hiding on our bedroom dresser. Still no sign of Sophie though…I feel like our house in being filmed for Toy Store 25 with the way toys have been disappearing.

Here are some pics from the past month!

Where Parker Goes...

...Clammy Clam goes. He's yellow. And pink. And squeaks. And Parker is obsessed. He has gotten us through quite a few diaper changes and car trips. He is guaranteed to get a laugh out of Parker. I guard this clam with my life. I anxiously await his demise, as Sydney is also obsessed with this toy and tries to grab it when we aren't looking. I feel like we may need to stock up on these clams just in case one becomes a seafood dinner for Syd.

Update: I wrote this post about a week ago. Today, we lost poor clam. He's hiding out somewhere in this house with Sophie the Giraffe. Or possibly hiding in Sydney's belly. Time for an Amazon order.

The Parker-Tini

Diclaimer: No babies were harmed in the making of these delicious martinis.

Little bit more please.
































Yep, that' s about right.
































I prefer my milk shaken, not stirred.





























































































It's cool. I am 10 months and all.

































She's cut off.