April

April started out with a cold. For all three of us. Justin and I were down and out with aches, runny noses and fatigue. Parker had a seriously runny nose, but still managed to be his mellow, happy-go-lucky self. That guy is a trooper. I'm glad his first cold waited 5 months to come. It's a little crazy as a first time parent. He busted out the humidifier, raised up the head of his mattress slightly, used saline drops and the dreaded aspirator (which Park absolutely despised). It lasted about a week, so we spend the first part of April at home for the most part. It was rainy anyways.
Then came Easter.
Easter weekend was really fun this year because our brothers Ian and Curtis were here. We had both over on Friday the 6th for a visit. Parker loves his uncles, that's for sure! He also loved the beverages they were holding. Parker wouldn't take his eyes off the beer bottles. This either means that he enjoys the sparkle of the glass, the art of micro-brews or if we have a future frat boy...I guess we'll have to wait and see.

The next morning, the sun was out for the first time in a long time.  In fact, I think it may have been Parker's first experience with true sun.  Justin, Parker and I took a stroll up to Proctor for coffee at Starbucks and to look around the farmer's market. We ran into our friends, the Lees which was special treat. We pulled Parker out of his stroller to say hi for about 5 minutes. Later I realized that he had too much sun exposure, as he was a super light shade of pink. Now I'm going to be another one of those sunblock-Nazi moms I swore I'd never be. Poor kid.

After our walk, we headed to the Holmes' for dinner. Ian and Justin relived their childhood and I think used every piece of sporting equipment they could find. Perhaps the most entertaining was they shooting baskets from the rooftop.  Parker showed off by sitting up unassisted for about 2 minutes. Pretty exciting! (Before that, he has only done it for a few seconds). It was fun that his grandparents got to witness it.

On Easter morning, we drove up to Sammamish to meet family for church. Parker decided he really liked it and started yelling in excitement. That meant him and Dad spent the service in the foyer rather than seated with the family. :) After a great service, we headed to Tim & Maggie's for brunch. It was wonderful seeing family. The weather was wonderful, so we spent a lot of the afternoon outside. The ladies decided to make Parker the center of an Easter photo shoot. Of course, he decided to show off by sitting up the whole time! 5 months isn't too shabby for sitting up!

Another fun activity this month was Parker's first baseball game. My dad ended up scoring a suite at the opening series of the Mariner's game against Oakland.  So fun! It was great seeing the game from the suite. Parker likes to do things in style. The service was awesome. They took photos of Parker and gave him a certificate to commemorate his first game.  Uncle Curtis also got him a super cute Ms hat and socks. Love!

Justin and I went to the Coldplay concert with Ian, Ryan & Heidi in Portland while Parker visited with my cousin, Kelly. What a great show! The next day we drove to Bend, OR for a vacation with Justin's family. It was great to spend a few days walking the trails along the Deschutes River, relaxing, and eating good food. Parker enjoyed all the attention! He did a great job on vacation. He hardly fussed at all, slept well and didn't mind being off his schedule.

 He turned 6 months old on the 28th. It's hard to believe he's getting close to a year!

At 6 months, Parker loves eating solid foods.
Loves: bananas, Baby Mum Mums (rice teething crackers), carrots
Likes: sweet potatoes, peas, broccoli
Dislikes: avacados, plain rice cereal

Want a Kiss?

Parker had his 6 month checkup and vaccinations. He enjoyed tearing up the paper on the patient table, grabbing the cords from the wall, and chewing on tongue depressors.  While he found the oral vaccination tasty, Parker found the two shots in the thigh pretty rough.  Poor kid! He had a quick cry, but once I picked him up and popped a pacifier in his mouth, he was fine.  Extra bonus: he got a board book from Dr. Clapper. Parker is 17.12 pounds, has a 16 inch head circumference and is 26 inches long.

Some other favorites this month:

Don't Make Fun of My Milk Mustache

First Time in a Swing

Helping Mom Shop

Last Time on the Counter Due to Splashing

March

March was a big month for Parker with a lot of important firsts.  Of course, we are finding this to be true with every month. People are right when they say "babies grow up so fast"!

Parker absolutely loves standing. Of course, he can't do it on his own so Mom gets to hold him up a good portion of the day! He can do it if propped up against something for a few seconds...which has lead to a couple falls. Good thing he's tough!

Park is close to sitting on his own. He's a little wobbly, but if in the right position, he can sit for awhile before toppling over.

On the weekend of the 16th Justin flew to Las Vegas for March Madness with some friends. It was a well deserved time away since we works so incredibly hard to take care of his family.
Parker and I decided to stay with my parents.  We got lots of quality time with some friends and members of the family.  I celebrated Saint Patrick's day by going to the Sounders game with Allison and even got to see my good friend, Lynsey as well!
Parker enjoyed his first Saint Patrick's day by wearing a onesie that his Gramma Holmes got him. My mom and I called him Parker O'Thomas for the day....yes, ridiculous, but we enjoyed ourselves.
Of course while we were at my parents' Parker was an angel baby. He hardly fussed at all and slept like a champion. He slept through the night for the first time and I'm happy to say this has continued! Parker now consistently sleeps from 8:30ish pm to 8:00am. Hooray for sleeping!!

Our little guy has also seemed very interested in solid foods. For example, he was literally grunting at the mashed potatoes on my plate while we are at the Calmes' house for dinner. I gave him a tiny bit and he loved it! I looked at some ready signs on a form from the pediatrician and saw that Parker seems indeed ready to eat like a big boy. We started with rice cereal mixed with formula. Parker's face tells the story about what he thinks of this combo.

Not going to be a Gerber baby anytime soon

As you can see, he's not a fan of rice cereal, but he does enjoy being cheered on. This kid likes attention! Since then, we've added banana. That's a hit.

Another exciting milestone is rolling over.  On the 27th, Parker decided he wanted to watch TV. I strategically lay him on his mat so his head is facing the other direction. Of course, he decided he had to look at the screen and reached his head and shoulders around enough that he flipped onto his belly. We finally got in on camera on the 28th when Uncle Ryan was over.

Since Parker is able to roll to his stomach, this means no more swaddling to sleep.  Park loves being swaddled, so this has been a bit of a challenge. We've been working on having his arms out for a couple weeks and now he's at the point where he can sleep without waking himself up. The cutest thing is that this allows Parker to play with toys while he's falling asleep or waking up. He even can turn on the music in his crib light. So cute! He often will entertain himself for a few minutes in the morning when he wakes up.

Parker had several friends born this month. We are looking forward to the kids being old enough to play. Right now, the parents get to play.

Meeting Levi Snyder

Here are Parker's new friends:
Levi Snyder
Greyson Stockman
Lilli and Lukas Rimmele
Brody Mueller
Hailey Long
Hudson Rodriguez
Harrison Meixner








And now for some favorite shots this month...

Park can't get enough of this jumper

First day in the jumper

Worlds CUTEST Picture!!! Are you kidding me?! I'm gonna die he's so adorable!

Not a fan of the new highchair...

February

February is my birthday month. Although technically I was born on the 6th, I like to spread out the celebration. The funny thing is, though, this year I was more excited about my son each day than my birthday.  He's just so darn cute! Justin, Parker and I took a road trip down to Portland for the weekend. We met my cousin, Kelly and her fiance, Travis for lunch. It was the first time the boys had met and Kelly and Travis' first time meeting Parker. Next, we arrived at Ryan and Heidi's house. It turns out that Ryan, Justin and Ian had something special planned for Heidi and I's birthday. They took us wine tasting! I've always wanted to have this experience so I was super excited! We had an absolute blast! Delicious wine and the best company anyone could ask for!

That next day was Super Bowl Sunday. Heidi and Ryan had some friends over to watch the game. While Parker enjoyed staring at the screen, he was the only one who hated exciting plays. Everyone would cheer and he would cry. I ended up covering his ears most of the 4th quarter.

Not a fan of cheering

Football with Daddy

Along with the fun in Portland, we also celebrated my birthday with my parents, Lenny and Sandie. They treated us to dinner at BJ's. Love their pizza, beer and pizookie! Standard form: Parker filled his diaper and passed out.

I party 'till I pass out

Parker's first Valentines Day consisted of going with his Mom to Bible study, and getting a date night with Sara Nielson (what an amazing friend we have!) while Justin and I went out.

So much love!

Parker turned 4 months on the 28th. This month he has made progress with his motor skills. He is grabbing toys better and bringing them to his mouth. He also found his new favorite toy: his feet. Parker wants so badly to sit up. When lying on his back, he strains to lift his head and shoulders off the floor. He enjoys when I hold him in the sitting position. Also, Parker is starting to bear some weight on his legs. He likes to be held up and smiles when we root him on. Parker's personality continues to be mellow. He loves to know what is going on. He's always looking around, head on a swivel, taking in the world.

Working those core muscles

First time in the activity center

On the 28th, Parker had his 4 month check up and vaccinations. He is about 50% on all his measurements.
Height: 25 1/2 inches
Weight: 15 pounds 3 ounces
Head Circumference: 16 3/4 inches

At Dr. Clapper's Office

4 months old today!

A couple cute pictures:

This guys loves the camera

Bath time is a favorite...splashing's fun!

How awesome is this?!

Daddy/Son cuddle time