4th of July

We began celebrating summer with fireworks in mid June with the show in Lake Villa. Parker stayed awake for the show, watched the sky (and the people) and even talked through some of the fireworks with a few baby "oo" and "ah"! We also celebrated at the Taste of Grayslake, where he fell asleep half way through the show. If he can sleep through the fireworks, I would imagine he can sleep through anything! On the 4th, we watched the Kenosha fireworks and Parker was more interested in the fountain behind us than the show in they sky. The final show was over Fox Lake on the 6th, and he slept through it all. The noise of the fireworks doesn't seem to startle him at all, but a loud sneeze or a surprise "hello" in the house can scare him to tears!

Summer with Mommy

Our second time swimming wasn't as successful as the first - Parker was tired and the water put him immediately to sleep!

We have an inflatable kiddie pool at home and it's almost as much fun as the bathtub! It has an inflatable bottom so its nice and cushioned as Parker practiced sitting up.

Dipped his face in the water!

Practicing sitting up! 5 months 3 weeks and very steady!

 Using a sippy cup - loves his sip of water!

 Such a great job posing for the camera

Lil Swimmer

Well first off, this morning I was so excited to be able to take a shower (and shave my legs!) while Parker played quietly on the bathroom floor. Just a few months ago I was afraid to take a shower while he slept - it's such a horrible feeling to turn off the water and hear him screaming from his crib. Someone is growing up way too fast!

I had already planned on attending the tot swim at the Grayslake pool this morning. It was forecasted to be quite humid today. Parker has Daddy's warm blooded body and gets so hot so quickly that I hesitate to keep him outside when it is so warm. But he loves to be outside and I figured a swim would be good for him. However, this morning I woke up with a teething, cranky baby - not sleeping, not eating, spitting up, whining - and a crazy storm rolling in. I am so happy I decided to try it anyway. Parker had a blast in the pool, floating, swimming and watching the other kids. He is such a social butterfly - we will definitely be going back often this summer. Guess its time to sign up for swim lessons!

Not so sure about this...

... warming up to the water ...

... splashing away!

Took a break to chew on the camera. 

Take 1...

Take 2...

Take 3!

Loving it!

This is how he spent much of the time in the water - floating on his belly, chewing on my shoulder.

I think someone enjoyed himself!

Schools out...

Now that I am on a part time schedule, not only is the house getting clean but I can catch up on all these pictures as well! And we finally bought a baby monitor. It was hard to justify spending another $200+ on a monitor when Parker's bedroom is just feet away from our living spaces. But right now I am updating his pictures while enjoying the beautiful weather on our back porch.

Enjoying his bike ride-thanks Grandpa Redman for the trailer! Actually he typically falls asleep on our rides. So glad I do such things to keep him entertained!

Walking through the forest preserve.

Playing in the jumpy. He loves to be upright and watching everyone, so this is one of his favorite places to be. We still have to put a pillow underneath so he can reach the ground and actually "jump".

My first Mother's Day gift from Parker - beautiful flowers and a half day at the spa! It was quite relaxing and enjoyable. 

"I'm planning on taking over the world! Mwah-haha!"

This sitting is such hard work!

Enjoying the sun!

Sitting in the shopping cart.

Enjoying a fresh banana.

At five months old (weighing 17 pounds!) Parker is able to sit up by himself for at least half a minute. Then he reaches for something and loses his balance!

Three Month Portraits

Milestones

Parker has learned to roll over! At three months and three weeks, twice now he has been found on his back in his crib (he is a tummy sleeper). Both times he was quite fussy and upset as though he had no idea how this happened! For the past few weeks he has been scooting around in his crib. He will move from one end to the other, he has twisted his body around so he is sideways, and he has moved over so he is resting against the rails! Something tells us he will be crawling in no time!

He has also begun to eat rice cereal, both white and whole wheat. We started this just after his three month birthday. We knew he was ready to start eating when he would watch us while we were eating. He would stare so intently and start smacking his lips while we ate! It took just a few tries, but he is eating off the spoon like a champ! He gets excited when he sees the bowl, opens his mouth for the spoon and sucks the food right off. Guess we need to buy a high chair!

Baptism

God parents Josh Redman & Missy Gehrke

Parker was baptized at Trinity Lutheran Church on April 21, 2013. He was just over three months old and did very well! He was awake for most of the services and finally fell asleep just before it was his turn. He barely fussed as the water was poured over him. Then Pastor Janet walked him down the aisle and held him up in the air and Parker seemed to enjoy it. Half asleep, he just looked around at everyone without a fuss or cry from him!