January

Parker is continuing to grow and learn like crazy. He changes every week and it is so exciting to watch! He is holding his head up really well, so we started putting him in his Bumbo chair. Parker seems to really like sitting up and will be entertained in his chair for 10-15 minutes before his head starts getting heavy.  

Our little guy is also arching his back and really reaching his head when on his stomach. He recently has started to grab for toys more often and put some objects to his mouth.  He likes to feel the ribbons on his taggy blanket that Grandma made him.  

Parker is starting to "talk" more often. He like to think he's having conversations with us. We will talk and Parker will respond with "oooooo" or "oooohhhh" sounds.

Parker also enjoys looking at himself in the mirror. I'm not sure if he knows it's him, or if he thinks he has a baby playmate, but he's loving it. He'll smile and squeal at the mirror. What a ham.

One very special thing we did this month was head to La Canada, California to visit Justin's Grandma.  We hadn't seen her in 2 years, and really wanted her to meet her great grandson.  Justin and I were very excited about the trip, but also nervous to travel with a baby. We are great travelers and good packers, but it's a whole different story with a baby! How do we get through security? How do we make sure our 11 week-old doesn't cry the entire flight?! Turns out, it's not too big of a deal. We decided not to bring a stroller. We carried Parker in his car seat through the airport. Security wasn't so bad, although Parker wasn't so excited to be woken up to be carried through the metal detector.  On the plane, Parker drank his bottle during take off and was lulled to sleep by the sounds of the engine and subtle turbulence.  He slept the entire time except for 5 minutes when he decided to spit up all over himself and we changed him!

We stayed 3 nights at Grandma Audrey's house. She has a super cozy house that makes for a really relaxing time.  She was absolutely in love with her Great Grandson! She loved holding Parker and looking at him while he gave her smiles! Parker loved Great Grandma's ceiling fans and was entertained by them the entire time! Grandma lives close to Justin's Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Gordon, so we spent a lot of time with them. We were lucky because Justin's cousin, Annemarie's son, Jackson was having his 2nd birthday party that weekend so we got to see many of his family members in the area. It was a lot of fun for Parker to meet everyone and to visit!

We also had the opportunity to see some of our college friends, Patrick, Jamie, Justin Blaine, Missy and Ashlea, before we left on Sunday.  It's always entertaining to see these friends and it was special for Parker to meet them.  

When we arrived home from California, we were greeted by the first snow of the season! We received 7 inches at our house and were snowed in. Justin was unable to make it to work, so we took advantage of our snow day. Our friends, Josh and Rachel Snyder came over to sled and play in the snow. Justin put Parker in the front pack for his first sledding adventure. In true form, Parker slept through the whole thing!

Parker and Daddy Sledding (very carefully!)

At the end of the month, Parker is sleeping about 8 hours straight, usually from 8pm to 5am. Then sleeps again until 8am. He is reaching for toys. His body is never still, always grabbing and wiggling. He's not super coordinated, but he's definitely getting better.  He sucks on his fingers and is drooling more. Parker is still rolling from his tummy to back and has started rolling from his back to his side. I imagine that pretty soon he'll be fully rolling over. He's growing up so fast!!