Happy Monday!

Kris, Parker and I had a great weekend. We started Friday off by—gasp—playing outside! It has been so humid for weeks that we’ve taken refuge in the cool, air conditioned house. It was nice to finally get outside after work and enjoy the fresh air. Parker had a great time climbing all over Kris and playing with his belt. I never knew belts were so cool. She also really wanted to grab Syd's leash to take her for a walk.







































































































































































Saturday we woke up bright and early. Early as in 5am early. That was short lived though because Parker soon realized that she was still very sleepy so we got some cuddle time in on the couch. Even though we sleep together every night, there’s something different about lying on the couch with her snuggled on my chest. It makes me remember the many nights when she was days and weeks old and we laid on the couch together. As soon as she woke up for real, we went out for our morning jog and ran through the subdivision over to the neighborhood park. I’m in love with this park. There is a ton of cool playground stuff, picnic and grilling areas, and a huge, green grass field that just begs to be played on. Parker loved going down the slide with me and swinging; Kris and I loved getting a break from the run!

After we got home we spent the rest of the weekend just playing around the house. Parker is infatuated with Sydney’s toys and dog bowls. I try to stop the licking and chewing of dog items, but Parker is a fast one. She stuck her hand in Syd’s water bowl, pulled it out, and licked it before I had a chance to stop her…so I decided to give her a water bowl of her own. She decided to pour it all over the floor.



























































































































































Kris spent a bit of time in the basement and it’s coming along fabulously! We have a bar, crown and base molding, tile in the bathroom, paint on the walls…our goal has been to have it done by Parker’s first birthday and it looks like we’re on the right track. I’m so proud of Kris for doing all of this work and doing it so well. We will welcome the extra space with open arms!

Parker decided to have another early morning today. This time, it was 4am. I honestly don’t mind getting up with Parker no matter the time, but I knew that she couldn’t possibly be ready to start her day, even though she was crawling around on the bed, eyes wide open, with a huge grin on her face. So into the Ergo we went and within minutes she was out cold. It’s going on 20ish months since the sweet, caffeinated goodness that is coffee has touched my lips but today I was so tempted. I was getting hot water for my tea which is right next to the office Keurig. It took a lot of strength not to brew a cup!

We had a great weekend and we’re looking forward to the ones ahead; filed with friends coming over, family visiting, and birthday parties!

Friday Flashback

Parker's first true act of defiance--sticking her tongue out at me ;)

Wordless Wednesday

Well, this picture could be wordless but I’m going to add words to it ;)

I love this picture. Parker is such a sweet baby. An incredibly demanding baby who knows what she wants and will settle for nothing less (wonder where she gets that from?!) yet still the sweetest thing. She loves being held, so I hold her. She loves being worn, so I wear her. After we are reunited after a day of work and daycare we come home to cuddle and play. When Parker is ready to dream sweet dreams in her big king bed she lets me know by snuggling up to me. It’s such a precious moment and I look forward to it every day. She knows that all is well when in the arms of her mama. It’s the best feeling in the world.



And, let me be honest, I also like this picture because my hair looks awesome. It’s naturally wavey which is just the way I like it. Before I had Parker letting my hair air dry was not an option—it would turn into a greasy mess. Now, I let it air dry at night and I end up with the perfect amount of waves. I try to wake up every day around 5:00am so that I can get ready for the day before Parker wakes up. If this happens, I’m able to fix my hair, apply some makeup, and generally look pretty well put together. If this doesn’t happen, and sometimes it doesn’t because Parker wants me to stay cuddled up, I get up when Parker does and get ready in five minutes. Which means my hair is pulled up, hiding my waves. So hair still down at the end of the day looking good makes me happy!

Whatever Works

Diapers, sunscreen, and clothes are what I dread. Every single time I have to put a diaper on Parker, apply sunscreen, or get her dressed/undressed the waterworks and screams come out in full force. It’s absolutely miserable. My method of defense is to give Parker random, new things—like medicine boxes, koosies, necklaces—if Parker hasn’t touched it before it will typically interest her long enough for me to get the job at hand done before she has a chance to realize what happened. The tricky thing is that usually the new “toy” only works once. If I try it out the second time around, Parker realizes my trick! It’s sort of difficult to keep finding unique, baby safe things for Parker!

This day, the water bottle was my best friend.





Lord knows what will it be tomorrow!

OH-IO!

What a whirlwind of a weekend. Friday afternoon we had Parker’s nine month well visit and she’s 20 pounds (75th percentile) and 29 inches (90th percentile). Everything looks perfect and she’s right on with all the age milestones. I was happy to see that our pedi was there that day, broken leg and all. We somehow got on the subject of sleep and I was elated to find out that she co-sleeps with her three year old son! I love having a pedi that is seriously on the same page as me, Kris, and Parker. The only downside of the appointment was that poor Parker hates it. If I’m holding her she is fine, but if I have to set her down she screams. Bloody murder sort of screams. Thankfully the pedi accommodates Parker and lets me hold her while she checks her out.

After the appointment we came home and played for a few hours. Then Kris and I started our trek to Ohio. We decided to leave Friday night rather than Saturday morning in hopes that Parker would sleep in the car seat the entire drive down. A very risky proposition considering how Parker sleeps cuddled up next to me, nursing on and off throughout the night. We were a bit afraid (read: absolutely terrified out of our minds) that she would scream the entire way down but thirty minutes in the car was all she needed to be knocked out. I cannot tell you how much easier the trip was with a sleeping baby versus an awake baby who is irritated by the restraints of the car seat.

Parker woke up bright and early at my parents place on Saturday. We were able to take a walk, fed the thirty plus ducks that flock to the outside patio, and take a swim in the complex pool. Parker had a great time and it was nice to visit with my parents. Next on the list was our niece’s big birthday party celebrating Caroline’s first and Natalie’s fifth. The weather turned out to be great, and while Parker was exhausted, she was too excited by all the new people and commotion that she didn’t even try to nap. She was very clingy to me and Kris though. She’s been having some stranger anxiety lately and while it was family around, we haven’t seen them enough for Parker to recognize them right off the bat. It would be so nice if we all lived closer!

I was glad to have Parker hanging out with her cousins. My nephew Joshua was being sweet as can be to Parker. It warmed my heart to see how gentle and caring he was towards her. He decided that we needed to find a way to keep Caroline and Parker babies, so that they wouldn’t grow up too fast ;) I agree! The birthday girls were very busy during their party but Caroline and Parker did get some play time at the end of the day. They were semi-interested in each other, which was so cute to watch, and very interested in my camera bag!

After the party we got Parker in her PJ’s, loaded up, and were on our way. She played for about an hour and then was old cold. Another peacefully trip! Kris and I have decided that any future trips we make will take place in the wee hours of the night. It was so nice to see everyone!