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.