Big guy

The shirt says it all. Parker had his 4 month checkup today. Here are the details:

Weight: 16 lb 1/2 oz (75th percentile)

Height: 26 1/4 in (95th percentile)

Like I said, BIG GUY!

He got three shots today and was NOT thrilled. He slept most of today and is being a little whiny. We just set up camp on the couch together and have had a nice (and much needed) lazy day. Now that Ben is home he took over the laying on the couch with Parker job for me. It's tough, but someone's gotta do it! It is hard to believe that he is 4 months old!

catch up

I am starting to feel like I am always playing catch up on this blog. Sorry for the long absence. I have been working 2 part time jobs and when I get home all of my attention goes to Parker and Ben. The blog is not the only thing that have been neglected...you should see the dog hair on our floors. Yikes! Just being honest here ;)

I had so many ideas for blog posts and there was definitely many big events that should have made it on here but since Christmas time craziness has officially started this is the best I can do. So here is our quick catch up.

Parker was baptized. Special day for our family. He was not a fan on getting the water in his eyes but we made it through.

Parker's first trip to the beach. Thanksgiving 2010 with the Calvert/Hobbs family.
...always a good time with these guys. We were out to dinner at the Crab Trap to celebrate Auburn's victory over Alabama! The Bama fans were good sports because the Auburn fans were PUMPED!
Christmas tree shopping at Home Depot. It might not be the most glamorous place to buy a tree but it sure is the cheapest!
Thankfully we had Parker to help us out while putting up the tree. Everything about this time of year is more exciting and more special with Parker here.
Like I said, short catch up. More to come. And this time I really mean it ;)

Our Saturday

When I was getting this.... ...the rest of my family was doing this.

It is no stretch to say they had MUCH more fun than I did. Dad went with them, he was just taking the picture. This is my 9th year to be cpr certified. I started needing it for lifeguarding and have continued getting it for school. At this point shouldn't I be able to skip the class and just take the test?? At least they had updated the videos this year. The videos are still hilarious. The actors were quite serious about their roles. Even the teacher laughed at the "choking victim".

Moral of the story: hiking on Monte Sano > cpr class. Unfortunately now Ben is sick so I am sure hiking in cold weather was not helpful. Hoping Parker and I don't catch it!

Special Announcement

My wedding rings fit again! I haven't worn them since July. I pretty much broke my finger in 3 places trying to get them off my pregnancy-induced swollen fingers after a day at the beach, so I have been afraid to put them on since then. Now I can go in public with Parker without people thinking I had a child out of wedlock. Wow, I think that is the first time I have ever typed the word wedlock. Anyways...happy to appear married again. Now I just have to get used to wearing jewelry again. It took me forever after we got engaged to get used to the feeling of a ring.

Speaking of getting engaged - we will be at the location of our engagement in a few weeks. I am looking forward to Destin for Thanksgiving with the Calverts/Hobbs! I have only been to the beach in the summer so I can't wait to see what it's like in cold weather. Hope we still get some time in the sand (minus the bathing suit). Can't wait to hang out with these guys...

(Ben, Joe and Andrew: one of my favorite pictures ever)

Halloween

Apparently Parker was not too excited about his first Halloween. I don't blame him, it's not my favorite holiday either. I am still scarred from my sophomore year at Auburn. I dressed up as a "cereal killer" with a plastic knife and cereal boxes attached to my clothes with red sharpie all over them. Yes it was last minute BUT I thought it was still obvious what I was. Unfortunately people asked me if I was a pantry all night. Excuse me for trying to be creative... ;)

My friend, Ally, had found these cute pair of scrubs for Parker before he was even born and I was hoping they would fit for Halloween. I have missed my scrubs since I have been away from school so I decided "Dr. Calvert" needed a nurse.
We went to my parent's house that night to see the trick-or-treaters and eat dinner with them. Since Parker is too young to actually enjoy going house to house my dad and I decided to just stop by/show off our cute Dr at the Ware and Abernathy houses. We even got a few goodies. Mrs Terry disappeared for a while and returned with Parker's first halloween basket and we got Cheez-its from the Abernathys. Parker (I) really enjoyed them!
Mom found my first Halloween costume and we just had to put it on Parker as well. Mom made this, and it's very special. So here is Halloween 1986....
...and Halloween 2010.

Many faces

Here are some of the many faces Parker makes. I realize this blog has quickly become full of poorly taken pictures of just one person...but I'm not gonna apologize ;)

"Content now that you are changing my diaper" face

"Just finished eating so I will continue to suck air" face

"PLEASE stop taking my picture so many times" face

"You are boring me" face

"Wide awake/furiously moving my arms and legs" face

"Again...stop with the pictures!!!!!" face

"Feed me now" face

These are just a drop in the bucket when it comes to his facial expressions. He such an active baby, and he always keeps me entertained.

Had to share

My little man sure knows how to stick out his lower lip!

Scarecrows

Last weekend my cousins, Emily and Grady, were in town from Nashville. My GiGi took us all to the Botanical Gardens to see the scarecrow exhibit. It was very interesting with lots of creative ideas. I didn't get pictures of all of them because I had my hands full with the little guy. Ben took most of them. It was a beautiful day to be outside, and fun to spend time with family.

Parker started out in the stroller. He normally loves it. But.....

This is how we spent most of our time there. Ben and I took turns holding him. Is it sad that my arms were sore the next day?
Ben stopped to take pics of the flowers. They were beautiful.

Here are some of the many scarecrows:

M*A*S*H

Jack Sparrow

Pinocchio

Richard Simmons?!? I could see it after we read the label but I had no idea who this was supposed to be at first. Guess the hair and short shorts should have given it away.

Wizard of Oz

E.T.

The boys with Superman

Fiona. Our family loves Shrek.

2 months

I meant to take tons of pictures on the day he turned 2 months but the day got away from me. Thankfully I snapped a picture of him on our bed before we headed out for the day. This is his "I know you want me to smile but I am just gonna halfway grin at you" face. I get it a lot. I tickle him, talk to him in funny voices and make weird noises all to get a huge smile out of him but this is usually what I get. I will take it, I happen to think it's pretty darn cute.

Here is a few things we have learned about our 2 month old boy...

- There is no being chill with this boy. He is either moving or sleeping. Even in his sleep he moves like crazy unless he is swaddled! If he is tired of sitting or laying in one position he will let you know with a scream. This makes it difficult to do things around the house when he's awake (which you would see if you came over...embarrassing).

-Speaking of screaming, he's a pro at it. He's even cute when he screams. Pretty sure only a parent can think that. Here is the list of things that can stop the screaming:

1. Going outside. It is amazing how quickly he gets happy once we walk outside.

2. Loud noises. I was making pumpkin bread/muffins with him in the kitchen and he was not a happy camper. I turn on the hand mixer (cringing because I assumed this would

upset him) and he fell asleep within seconds. Who knew?? I heard a vacuum works for

some. I might have to give that a try.

3. Car rides. Parker and I have explored all of Huntsville at this point. In the first month

of his life we hopped in the car if nothing else would work. Unfortunately that tends to eat

up your gas so now we are opting for smarter financial decisions.

4. Rocking. Sometimes this works like magic and other times it does nothing for him. But

he loves to be rocked. Am I spoiling him? Maybe. Oh well.

- I am so thankful that he has no problem going back and forth between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. I have come to terms with supplementing. Honestly, formula is easier but I still want to continue breastfeeding as along as possible. He will eat whatever you put in front of him, whenever you put it in front of him. He has never refused a bottle and he drinks it all every time. I love how he looks after he eats. He almost looks drugged. It's so cute. Side note: wonder how many times I can say cute in one blog post?

- We had to 2 month check up and it went well. He weighed 11 lbs 6 oz ( 50th percentile) and was 23 5/8in (75th percentile). This was a huge improvement after having to go get weight checks every few days because he wasn't gaining weight. He has very sensitive skin, and a mild case of eczema, and really bad cradle cap. Poor baby. We are changing everything we use at bath time and hoping that it helps. He also had 3 shots at the appointment. He cried for a few seconds, then whimpered and then smiled. I was impressed! He had more issues with Dr Scott listening to his heart than the shots. Crazy. We are very happy with our pediatricians office. Dr Scott spent lots of time explaining his skin, the shots, developmental milestones, etc and he never seemed in a rush to move on. I didn't even ask lots of questions, he just volunteered the information. Being around the medical field from school I know that is not something to take for granted.

- He has a huge smile when decides to share it with you, is never silent, has the most dramatic and loud yawn, enjoys his bouncer, likes to try to hit things with his hands, is somewhat attached to his paci, has very strong legs, falls asleep in the baby bjorn, enjoys walks around Big Spring Park, looks like his daddy, has hazel eyes, and has tons of family that loves him very much.

6 weeks

I mainly want to talk about what has been going on with Parker but I lured you in with a picture. Sneaky, huh?? I can not believe his is already 6 weeks old. I feel like I will forget what is happening if I don't write it down so here it goes.

Sleep: Some days are good, some days are bad. At best we can get 4 hours straight at night. If we are lucky sometime he will go back down for a few more hours but that is usually not the case. He naps several times a day. I bet he would sleep more at night if I could somehow manipulate his naps during the day but I am usually so relieved that he is sleeping and I don't have the heart to wake him up. Once he gets a little older we will start working on a schedule but for now we are on HIS schedule. This boy loves to be rocked to sleep. I have read all kinds of things about how that is teaching him bad habits for the future. Guess what experts...for now I love rocking my son to sleep. I enjoy watching him calm down and rest against me while his eyelids get heavier and heavier. He's cute. Deal with it. A good thing about his sleeping habits - he can sleep through just about anything. Loud restaurants, the tv, his parents yelling at the Braves baseball and Auburn football, and lights mean nothing to him.

Feeding: After all the "issues" in the beginning he is back on track with gaining weight. That is definitely a relief for this momma. We are mainly breastfeeding with a little bit of supplementing formula. Thankfully he has no trouble switching back and forth. I am feeding on demand for the most part. The exception is when he naps through a feeding during the day and I wake him up. Some days I feel like I feed him continuously all day long and other days are much more structured. I knew the right answer for how long and how many times he should be breastfed but WOW I didn't grasp how much of my day would be spent on feeding him. Especially since he takes him time and has to be encouraged to continue the entire time.

Activities: At 6 weeks he is VERY alert. When his eyes are open they are wide open and searching the room for new and fun things to look at. He does not like to be in one position for very long and lets you know by screaming. At least we know he has a great set of lungs. I should have known by all the activity during my pregnancy that he was not going to be laid back baby. He has extra strong legs and neck muscles. He is moving his arms and legs constantly. He likes to be held so that he can look over your shoulder. This way he can practice head-butting your shoulder and face. He is also very expressive. My personal favorite is the pout face. He can stick that lower lip out more than anyone I have ever seen. Looking forward to the stages in life where he does it on purpose... He grins all the time but I am not convinced I have seen a full smile. He does not appreciate being put on a blanket for tummy time but we do it anyways. He also will squeeze your finger harder than I was squeezing Ben's hand before I had the epidural. I can't wait to see how his personality and abilities develop as he gets older.

Thanks for being patient with all of my thoughts. Obviously I am in love with this little boy and I am so thankful to have such a gift in my life.

Blessed

Parker has 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, and 2 great great-grandmothers.

He is blessed.

Last weekend we were able to visit Dickson, TN for my Grandma's birthday party (Parker's great great-grandmother). We drove up with my parents and spent the afternoon there and then had dinner in Nashville my my aunt, uncle and cousins. It was a fun day filled with family time. I would love to do it all over again on a day where I had more sleep ;)

Our family in front of my great grandparents house in Dickson, TN

Grandma and Parker.

4 out of 5 generations ( my Grandad was out of town)

I know we will treasure these pictures forever. Like I said...we are all blessed to be a part of this family.

Parker

Parker Thomas Calvert has made his arrival! He was born August 19th at 12:05 p.m. at Huntsville Hospital. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 20 inches long. He was exactly 2 weeks early, and I was READY for him.

For those of you who are interested in the details, here is a summary of how things happened. For the rest of you please skip to cute baby pictures below. Wednesday morning around 2:30 a.m. I woke up to go to the bathroom. This was not uncommon as I was getting up around 5 times a night (no exaggeration). This time was different, and I felt what I thought was an early contraction. Of course I was so excited I could not fall back asleep but I didn't want to wake Ben up because I knew it would be a long road ahead of us if this was the real deal. That morning I told Ben that I was pretty sure I was in early labor but not to worry and that he should go to work because who knew when this would actually happen. He very unwillingly went to work but was able to come home early. Besides I am sure he was not getting anything done sitting at work thinking about it ;) After dinner my contractions quickly went from 6 minutes apart to 2 minutes apart so we panicked, packed our last minute things, and drove to the hospital. By the time we were in the parking lot at the hospital my contractions were about 5 minutes apart. I was determined NOT to go in too early and be sent home so I made Ben drive around looking at houses in Blossomwood and the Downtown area. He was nervous, but I was even more stubborn. After a while of driving I was in much more pain than earlier so we headed back to the hospital. We walked into the hospital about 8:30 p.m. and I was admitted by 9:00. I was 3 cm dilated and IN SERIOUS PAIN. I waited and toughed it out for a while, but when they told me I was 5 cm I asked for the epidural. There was a HUGE difference between pre and post epidural Jess, just ask Ben. There was a small scare in the middle of the night. When my water broke, Parker's heart rate dropped significantly. All of the sudden there were 4 or 5 nurses and a doctor giving me meds through my IV, giving me shots in my arm, putting me on an oxygen mask and putting my bed at a very uncomfortable angle. Thankfully his heart rate returned to normal after a while but all the meds they gave me slowed my labor. NOT what a woman in labor wants to hear. After all the excitement Ben and I tried to rest for a little while. Around 11 a.m. I was ready to push and Parker was born at 12:05 p.m. Unfortunately the epidural drip had run out and I was REALLY feeling the pushing part. I can't even imagine how it would feel with absolutely no meds...kudos to you ladies who do it naturally. Once he arrived and they put him on my stomach the main emotion I had was relief. It was so wonderful to see him and know he was healthy. One of my first thoughts after seeing him: Where did all of that hair come from?? Once they took him to another part of the room I told Ben to go with him. I couldn't see Parker but the sweet look on Ben's face was priceless. He was enamored with his son from the beginning.

Here is Parker right after he was born.

Ben was a natural and wanted to hold him all the time.

This picture was taken right after I delivered him, so please excuse my tired and swollen face.

This is still his favorite sleeping position. He looks so relaxed with his hands up like that. What a cutie.

This is our "celebration dinner" that we got from the hospital. I was a little concerned about ordering salmon from a hospital kitchen but my dinner was great! The sparkling cider was a nice touch as well. I love that stuff!

We got a picture of Ben and Parker right before we left to go home. Thanks for the cute outfit, C!

These next 2 pictures were taken by the hospital photographer. We fully intended to not buy the pictures that they took at the hospital but we ended up doing it anyways. It's a pretty sneaky business...you are hormonal and excited about having a baby so of course you will buy the pictures. We admit it, we were suckers. But I like to think of it as proud parents instead.

I just want to add one more thing. I was very proud of Ben during the whole experience. He was so sweet, supportive and helpful. Most importantly, he didn't faint. He even cut the umbilical cord. I was shocked! More on our experiences since we have been home at a later time.

2 Year Anniversary

August has always been a big month for us.

We started dating August 2006.

Engaged August 2007

Married August 2008

First Anniversary August 2009

And who knows...maybe we will have Parker August 2010!?!! Happy Anniversary Ben. I am proud to be your wife and I love you. And you are SUPER cute.