Saturday, December 28, 2013

Getting my ears lowered

It was definitely time for a hair cut. Parker's hair was about three inches long and he would have some crazy bed head and curls sticking straight out!! We took him to the Kids Snips in Vernon Hills and he did pretty good...until the trimmers. He wasn't the biggest fan of those! But he looks like such a handsome little boy now ... where did the baby go?!?






We haven't attempted playing in the snow again, but Nana got us a full set of winter gear for Christmas. We need to plan a day sledding!! Here is Parker watching daddy shoveling the snow.



Parker has been obsessed with the stairs lately so we finally broke down and bought a gate. There is a window in the middle of our steps so the gate is just leaning between the banisters. Parker is loving having one step available to him. He is constantly bringing his toys over and leaving them on the step. He is climbing up and standing on the step. Sometimes he can scoot back down on his belly; other times he asks for help and hold my hand as he jumps/falls back down to the floor. 



It's the most wonderful time...


We had a calendar full of Christmas events this year! We had four parties but thankfully they were all on separate days. I think we might keep that our limit for the future - one party per day. I don't want to exhaust Parker (or ourselves!) and make sure everyone stays in good spirits. Parker did amazing - he spent just a few minutes acting shy at each party. But then had no problem walking around and playing with anyone and everyone!



Saturday night was Jeremy's extended family party. Sunday was brunch with my immediate family. Monday, Parker's big sister Kasey came in on the train from Minnesota. Tuesday was dinner with my extended family, and then Wednesday was brunch with Jeremy's immediate family. Phew! All of these parties and Parker has been quite the rockstar. He is so social and doesn't want to miss out on anything. Sunday and Monday he basically did not nap at all. Thankfully he was still the happy, cheerful little guy he always is.



We didn't do a whole lot for Parker for Christmas this year. We figured he would never know the difference and so we relied on our families to provide the Christmas gifts - and they did not let us down! We haven't even opened all of the new Christmas toys yet. Although Parker doesn't seem to understand - his favorite toy continues to be a kitchen pan, lid and wooden spoon!





Sunday, December 15, 2013

Dear Santa...

Dear Santa,

I promise I have been good this year. It's just that my mom won't buy me any new toys. I'm tired of all of these baby toys because I am NOT a baby! I can run, climb stairs, eat grown up food & drink real milk. Besides, mommy & daddy's toys are just so much more fun than anything I have to play with!

Love,
Parker





Sunday, December 8, 2013

Growing up


It's amazing how fast this little guy has gone from a silly, happy baby to a little toddler, understanding words and doing things purposefully. He pulled a brush out of the drawer in the bathroom and handed it to me. I brushed the side of his head that I could reach, then handed the brush back. Parker then held the brush up to the other side of his head, waiting for me to finish brushing his hair!

Parker understands the words no and not in your mouth. He was playing with a toy and wanted all the pieces to pop back up. So he was banging the toy and talking, looking at me. I told him to bring it here and I will help. He then stood up, grabbed the toy by its handle, toddled on over and handed it to me!

He can imitate very well and learned to give high fives in a day. He loves to play with the pots and pans, mixing up his pretend food with a wooden spoon. He also learned to put the lid on and off, and to put toys inside and cover with the lid. 

He never wants to stop playing and diaper changes are quite the challenge as he is twisting and rolling away. After changing a poopy diaper and being mad at the sitter, Parker walked away from her, saying mama and looking at the door. 

One week before he turned 11 months old, Parker decided he was done with nursing. He nursed late that evening and then never again, acting as though I was hurting him if I even tried! He was sick and teething at the time, but is doing well with milk from a straw cup. He is also sleeping better and is much easier to go down to sleep.


He continues to love to be outside. We had the first real snow today, and I put him down on the sidewalk. He was excited and bent down to pick up a pine cone... and then burst into tears when he realized how cold the snow was! I forget how he wouldn't know not to touch it with his bare hands. I look at snow and instantly know its cold and would be painful to touch. Clearly that is a lesson to be learned!