December

Our little family has started to get into a routine. Parker is consistently eating every 3 hours.  He eats then is awake for 30-60 minutes before his next nap.  He usually goes to sleep a minute or two after we put him in his crib.  Since he is a good sleeper, we are able to take him out a lot. We're trying to get the most out of this phase, as we realize this won't last forever.  Parker goes with us to restaurants, church and shopping.
At his last doctor's visit (the beginning of December) he was 20 3/4 inches long and 7 pounds 15 ounces. Parker seems to be a very content baby. He rarely fusses unless his is hungry or ready for bed.  He is more alert, always looking around, wide-eyed taking in the world. Parker enjoys being on his play mat, doing tummy time, and sitting in his bouncer chair. He loves looking at lights...the Christmas tree being his favorite. Parker tracks objects and voices with his eyes. Our boy has started to smile when we kiss his face or make silly faces. It is so fun to watch his face light up! We are looking forward to seeing more of this in the next few weeks.

 We caught Parker smiling on camera for the first time December 11th.

Grabbing his first toy!

Roscoe enjoys the toys more than Parker

Parker loves the Christmas tree lights

Supervising Dad hanging ornaments

He also is really enjoying bath time.  He likes the warm water on his body. After, he is very relaxed and happy.  It's good to be clean!

Justin had his First Western Properties Christmas party at the Alexis Hotel in Seattle. It was, as always, a lot of fun. He is blessed to work with amazing people. Parker came along with us, and was way more popular than Justin and I.   We ended up staying the night at the hotel.  We ordered room service, slept in and relaxed. Parker got spoiled and slept with us a good portion of the night.

Sleeping like a King

We decided to take a stroll around town in the morning. Parker got his first look at Pike's Place Market. There's no place like Seattle during Christmas! People watching is at it's best: street performers, Christmas lights, and shoppers.

Parker thinks he's a ninja in this picture

December 15th was a big day for Parker. We weighed him and he was 9lbs 5 oz. He's getting big! He's definitely filling out.  His cheeks are chubbier and he has a tiny roll on his thighs. Cute! Also, he rolled over from tummy to back 3 times in a row! His strategy is to be up on his forearms and to throw his leg over to get going.

Now he's getting good at it! Most of the time as soon as I place him on his belly, he works on flipping over. He will roll 2 or 3 times before he gets too tired to do it again.

Rolling over at 7 weeks

Towards the end of the month, Parker could hold his head up pretty well. His next and back are strong. He arches his back and is able to hold his head up to look around. He is also kicking his legs and moving his arms a lot more. He sort of bats at the dangling toys on his play mat. I'm not sure if he is doing it on purpose, but we'll go with it. :)

Parker's first Christmas was so special! It was really fun for Justin and I to have our son with us, as we get to start new family traditions and to continue old ones.

Again, the ninja pose...

On the 23rd, we went to my parents' house.  We made pizza on Dad's Traeger grill and played games. It was fun to just relax. Mom and Dad have a ton of Christmas decorations and a lot of lights. As you can imagine, Parker was in heaven looking around! On Christmas Eve morning, we had some of my friends (Scott, Rachel, Jon, Carly and Allison) over to brunch. It was so fun to get everyone together and for them to meet Parker. I love my friends and that no matter how long we go without seeing one another, it's just like old times when we reunite! Soon after they left, our family started to arrive. What a fun night! We decorated gingerbread houses, ate a DELICIOUS meal, visited and opened presents.

On Christmas morning, we woke up about 8. Parker's first Christmas consisted of putting on new jammies, watching his Mom & Dad open his stocking and, again, staring at the tree lights! After breakfast, we packed the car and headed to Justin's parents' in Lakewood. We opened presents and then Grandma Jane came to visit with Parker. We had a relaxing day and a yummy dinner (Holmes' family recipe gumbo) followed by games with our friends Tiffany and Derek.
We had a terrific Christmas. Parker was absolutely spoiled with gifts. He is such a lucky boy and he doesn't realize this, but I know he can tell he is very loved!

Excited for Santa!

Grandma made a stocking that's just the right size!

I can't believe how big Parker's getting! While he's still wearing newborn clothes, he's been getting too long for some of them.  It's sad that I'm already having to put away some of his precious outfits! At his two month appointment on the 28th, he measured 23 inches long which is 54 percentile. He is 10pounds 13ounces (29percentile). In 2 weeks he gained 1 pound, 8 ounces!  His head circumference is 15 1/4inches (22percentile). It's crazy to think how fast he is growing! Justin commented that he looks more like a baby than a newborn. People warned us they babies grow up before you know it and now we understand!

Parker's First Month

Parker's first few days and weeks have been a whirlwind.  We've had visitors many of the days. Our family and friends are amazing! It's been so nice to have received such love, gifts and meals! We are so blessed!

Our son was three days old on Halloween. Grandma and Grandpa came over for the day to celebrate.  It was a big day with lots of firsts.

First Pumpkin:

Justin carving away

First Costume:

Parker's not so into the costume

Our little pumpkin!

First Bath:

Along with the excitement of the holiday, we've just been adjusting to life with our new addition.  There's been lots of cuddling and just spending time staring at our son. It doesn't get old!
Here are some snuggle pics:

Meeting G

With Mom

The 3 Boys

Passed out at the Doctor's Office

One of my favorites

It's so much fun to be at home snuggling, but we are also determined to get out into the real world. Here are a few of our attempts to be "normal".
Justin took Parker for his first walk in the stroller. We've made it to church, gone to a birthday party, and out to eat sushi!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year because of our new addition.  We spent it with the Holmes side of the family.  Parker got to meet Great Grandma Jane, Aunt Dana & Uncle Mike, and Cousin Aaron. It was really fun to visit with family and to just relax.  We have a lot to be thankful for this year!

Visitors at the Hospital

Parker Thomas Holmes arrived at 5:47am on Friday, October 28th. He weighed 7pounds 7ounces.  He was 20 inches long. We spent about 2 hours getting to know our son before the 4 anxious grandparents got to visit us in the labor/delivery room.  They had been waiting all night to meet him.  There were tears of joy and lots of hugs.

Grandma & Grandpa

Gramma & Pop

A few hours after Parker arrived into the world, and after my epidural wore off, the nurses took Justin, Parker and myself up to the recovery room.  Our friend, AJ, was there for the ride.  As they wheeled us out of the delivery area, we got to stop at the nurses' station and they played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star throughout the entire hospital. They play it every time a baby is born so everyone can stop and celebrate! Pretty cool.

The Postpartum Room

Uncle Ryan & Aunt Heidi

The rest of the day was pretty much a blur for us. I was drugged up, and we were all sleep deprived. Although we don't really remember it all, we were lucky to have many family members and friends stop by to visit and to meet baby Parker. It is so nice to know we have so many people supporting us through our journey as new parents! Here are some of the first meet & greets.   

Jer & Jodi Durr

Cousins Amanda & Alyssa

Alli (not sure why this won't turn!)

Aunt Jill

The boys

Great Grandma Vreeburg

Uncle Ian

Cousin Rachel

Josh, Debbie & Gemma Parnell

Auntie Allison

On Saturday morning Justin and I felt comfortable enough to head home.  We were excited to bring Parker to his house. It would be nice to just relax and get adjusted to our new life with a family of three. My OB and Parker's pediatrician gave us the blessing to check out around 2:00.  We packed up, put Parker in his car seat, and the nurses put me in a wheelchair to head to the car. Tiffany and Derek Bluhm happened to show up for a visit at that time, so they helped us carry everything and even acted as our photographers!

Parker falls asleep without fail within seconds of getting into this car seat

Ultrasound at 37 Weeks

We may be biased, but our baby is super cute.

Our doctor does a routine ultrasound when the baby has reached term to check on growth, health and amniotic fluid. Justin and I were so excited for this. We couldn't wait to see how big our son has grown! Boy, has he grown! He is definitely running out of room. Actually, I could have told you that before the ultrasound. My stomach is stretched to the max.  The ultrasound technician estimated that our baby is 6 1/2 pounds. He should gain about 1/2 pound each week, meaning he could be an 8lb baby! Let's hope he comes before he gets that big.
We were able to see all our baby's organs and major body parts. Our son is head down, with his legs in pike position, so he's basically folded in half with his toes next to his head.  We saw some 3D images of his face. His nose was squished against my insides. With one hand he was holding onto his foot which was pressed against his temple. Pretty cute! He was swallowing and opened his eyes at one point so we could see his lenses. It's crazy that an ultrasound can show all that!
I was tearing up with joy seeing my son's face. We love him so much already. It's hard to wrap our minds around the fact that we will love him even more when he is born.
A few days after our ultrasound, we had a routine appointment with our OB. When we got there, we found out that she had been pulled into an emergency surgery, so the nurse would meet with us instead. As she took my vitals, she asked us, "Did Doctor Nelson go over the ultrasound results with you?" When we told her she hadn't, the nurse got an uncomfortable look on her face. We could tell something was not right.  The nurse told us that she couldn't decode all the jargon in the notes, but what she could tell was, "there may be something wrong with the baby's heart". She kept talking, but I couldn't hear it because I was immediately in shock and started crying. We've been believing all along that our son was perfect, and to hear this was like a punch in the stomach. It was obvious she didn't know exactly what the report said and we were extremely upset by the uncertain news.  When there are inconclusive results on a test, they usually reschedule an ultrasound a few days later, but I think she could tell there was no way we were leaving that building without answers. She called and made us an immediate appointment with a pediatric heart specialist in the building, so we headed straight over. We prayed on our way down and Justin kept reassuring me that everything would be alright. 
I was in a fog as we walked into the office. We had to fill out paperwork and as the receptionist was talking with us, I started bawling and said, "I don't even know why we're here! The nurse just told us something is wrong and we have no idea what's going on!"
The receptionist was great. She assured us that the specialist, Dr. Park, who we were seeing was the best, as was the technician who was conducting the ultrasound.  He drove in from Gig Harbor especially to meet with us. She said they would explain every detail as they did an in-depth ultrasound of the baby's heart.  We were told that the original ultrasound showed a shadow next to the heart which can indicate too much fluid and more issues in the future.  At this appointment, they took 45 minutes to look at every single aspect of our son's heart. They watched the blood flow, took an up-close look at each chamber, the walls and arteries, explaining everything as they went along. At the end, Dr. Park assured us that there was absolutely nothing wrong with our baby. He said that often normal ultrasounds can have shadows that actually are nothing, but have to be looked into. This was the case for us. Now we are extra certain that our baby is healthy, this was just not the way we wanted to find that out!
It was tremendously scary, and was probably the most terrifying few hours of my life. It showed me just how attached Justin and I are to our son already. We just wanted our baby out of my tummy and into our arms. It's so hard feeling helpless. We love him so much, and he's not even here yet. It made us how much our parents love us and gives us a glimpse at how much God loves us. We are so blessed to have this little life.

Getting Ready

Apparently there is more to going to showers and setting up a nursery to having a baby. We (ok...I) have been reading books on everything from pregnancy to feeding to labor. I've loved being pregnant. I'm excited about feeding and changing. I'm not so excited, however, about the whole labor thing. I just like the before and after parts. I've heard that once I get my baby in my arms, I will forget about all the pain. I am holding on to that.
In addition to reading, we took a tour of our hospital to see where we check in as well as the labor/delivery room and the postpartum room where we will be most of our stay. This helped ease our nerves. As we were walking around, Justin turned to me and said, "This makes everything real!" It certainly does!
We took a birthing class on October 15th. It was an all day class that touched on basics of labor and delivery as well as some post-postpartum topics like nursing. Perhaps the most entertaining part was when the teacher made Justin wear an empathy suit. Good thing J got me a new iPhone with an awesome camera the day before! Now he knows what it's like to carry around an extra 25 pounds.

Now we're as ready as we can be for our son to arrive. Hurry up, little guy!

Setting Up the Nursery

It has been so fun setting up our son's nursery! We started back in May looking at furniture and design ideas. We decided on navy blue, light blue, sage green, white and yellow.  These colors will work for many years as our baby grows.

Uncle Ian and Justin setting up the crib

Let me just say the my mom is a genius!  We could not have done this without her. She found a great plaid and matching fabric choices to make our crib skirt and bumper, pillows, valance, quilt and many blankets! It is so much better than we had dreamed! The colors and design are perfect. We also found a rocking recliner online that's like new.  We added some finishing touches like the art work, baseball lamp and bookcase.

With the 4 showers, we received all the essentials (and more) to fill the room, care for, and entertain our baby. It's complete and all we need now is our son!

Shower Power

The Holmes family is blessed! Four amazing showers. Our friends and family is the absolute best. We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of love on our son.  Justin and I have enjoyed looking at each gift and putting it in the nursery, all the while, imaging our son using it in the future.  Our baby is already spoiled and he's not even going to arrive for another few weeks!

My girlfriends, Tiffany, Jennifer and Debbie threw me a shower on September 14th. I love these girls! It was unreal and they did a fabulous job!  It was great having all of my friends in the same space. Heather led a devotional that was very meaningful. The experienced moms gave me some good tips for my upcoming adventure of motherhood. How cute is this invitation?

Aunt Maggie and my cousins, Amanda and Alyssa, threw me a shower on September 25. This was for the Alexander side family and friends. It felt great that many family members came from a long way to celebrate. I was amazed at how talented and creative Maggie is...quite possibly the cutest decorations and theme ever!

Aunt Maggie, Amanda, Alyssa & I

Sock Monkey Theme

On September 29th the 3rd grade team at Purdy Elementary threw a staff shower. I'm the 5th Purdy gal to have a baby in the past year...we're getting good at showers! My team is awesome and I am so lucky to be a part of it.

Justin's aunts, Dana and Jill threw a shower with Grandma Jane on October 1st for the Holmes' side of our family. They are so supportive and loving! It was great to see good family friends!