Wyoming

I sent the boys to Wyoming with my dad, Allen and his girls. They had a great time exploring fishing, and eating (apparently the kids could get enough eggs for breakfast so the dads had to go without. I enjoyed a quiet weekend at home (although I didn't just stay at home). I went to Sydney's 3rd birthday party. I went to Heidi's wedding reception. I ran errands all alone. I had a girls craft night at Ashlie's It was a great weekend for everyone!

This is Hayden's fish. He one $2 playing Dollar, Dollar, Dollar. He caught the first and the biggest fish.

Bye Bye Binkie

Yesterday I decided to put Parker down for his morning nap without his binkie. He did just fine so I even left it home when we went to the zoo for the afternoon. Second nap without he did great too. Bed time wasn't an issue either. So now it is official, the binkie is gone. Let's hope I don't regret it at church on Sunday.

Parker is Walking

12/15/09

Parker learned to walk the first part of December.

Parker's Walker

11/29/09

Parker has been close to walking for such a long time. One night he took Grandma Great's walker. He did a great job walking with the walker. The next day I got out Riley's little walker (from when she broke her femur) and he walked with it for a few days. (Until Hayden climbed on it and fell off and scrapped/bruised his face).

I'm One

I loved this picture of Parker. I think it looks like he is saying, "I'm one!" We had them taken at Christy Rossi Photography.

Parker's 1st Birthday

Is it really true? Has a whole year gone by? I am not sure where this year has gone. I could have sworn that Parker was just barely born. He is growing up so quickly and is such a joy to be around. We had a fun party for him. Here is a snippet of his birthday. More will come later.

Sippy Cup

11/18/09

**Warning: possibly TMI for some***

I have struggled with Parker nursing since he was five months old (although he never was fabulous to begin with). He never would nurse very long and we were often worried about his weight. I started losing my milk at one point but found some herbs that got us back on track. When I started teaching again I refused to give him a bottle since we had worked so hard to keep him nursing. He was so close to a year old I didn't want him to start having a bottle. I decided we would really encourage the sippy cup while I was at school and I would nurse him in the mornings and evenings. This worked really well.

The Friday of my first week I came home and Parker had four new teeth. he bit me so hard the next day I was bleeding. Every time he would nurse I would bleed. A few days later he bit the other side. That was the end of nursing! I think it is funny after working so hard to keep him nursing we had such an abrupt ending. (Although it wasn't really funny it hurt like heck!)

He finished up the breast milk from the freezer and is now on whole milk from a sippy cup and he does great.

Leaves are Falling

11/10/09

Lance was raking leaves and I decided to take pictures of the kids playing. Parker was okay at first but quickly got tired of Hayden and Brea covering him with leaves and then cried the rest of the time.

Big Brother

9/11/09

Hayden is a great big brother (when he wants to be). Parker was sitting in his high chair with a few peas on his tray. Hayden decided he would help and stood next to Parker and as soon has he started getting low on peas he would add more to his tray.

Balloons

8/5/09

Parker had his first experience with a balloon. He had a great time with it. It kept him entertained for quite a while.

Best Buds

7/13/09
When I first put the boys in the same bedroom Hayden was SO excited. Parker usually wakes up first and would sit in the crib babbling. When Hayden would hear him he would get really excited and start giggling. When I went in to get them this is what I found.

Seeing them like this made me so happy. When I was pregnant with Scott I remember thinking how fun it was going to be to have by kids so close. I hoped Scott would be a boy so the could be best friends. I am so grateful I was able to get pregnant so soon after Scott was born so that Hayden can have a special bond with Parker. You should hear these two giggle together. It is so cute. I hope they always have a good relationship.

Bath Time

7/12/09
Why must I document everything? This is my boys having their first bath together.

Get Me Out!

7/14/09
Is it mean to torture them even longer so you can get a picture of them screaming?

Bumbo Baby Sitter

When Hayden was a baby I loved, loved, loved the Bumbo. I rarely use it with Parker. One day he was sitting in the Bumbo and the next thing I knew he was on the floor crying. I asked Hayden if he took him out. Of course, he said he did. I put him in again and watched skinny little Parker wiggle around and crawl out of his seat. It is pretty funny to watch. But needless to say, we don't use the Bumbo very often.

He Crawls

Parker started crawling about four weeks ago. Not the army crawl. He would get on his hands and knees and lunge forward. These pictures were taken the beginning of June. He is way better now. He can get wherever he wants to go now.

He can even steal his brother's new airplanes.

Poor Parker

Parker dropped another 7 ounces over the last two weeks. Please pray for Parker.

Parker - 6 Months

Little Parky had his six month checkup this week. He is little! He has basically fallen off his growth curve and is only in the 3%. He didn't even gain half a pound in the last two months. He currently weighs 13 lbs. 9 oz. A lot of babies only weigh that much and it is fine. The problem is, like I said before, He dropped off the curve.

We have had a few problems nursing lately. I lost my milk supply so Parker wasn't getting anything to eat. I realized this when Parker had no wet diapers for a few days. The pediatrician's nurse wanted my OB to give me a prescription for Reglan. The OB said, "No way!" Apparently it causes severe post partum depression. I have been taking Fenugreek, an herbal supplement, and have increased the amount of water I drink. I also have tried nursing and pumping more frequently. It has helped. Parker still isn't a big eater but at least I know he is getting milk again.

He still hasn't started solids. We had to wait until the milk issue was resolved. I was hoping to start after his checkup but since he hadn't been gaining weight appropriately we have do wait another two weeks. Parker will go back to the pediatrician on June 30 for a weight check, if he has gained we will call my milk issue resolved and he can have food. If he doesn't have enough of a gain we will have to start adding formula powder to bottles of breast milk to increase the calories. Hopefully all will be well. I think it will be okay, he is eating again.

Thankfully these eating problems haven't caused any developmental delays. He is practically crawling. He scoots, rolls, gets on his hand and knees and lunges forward, bear walks, etc. Parker can sit himself up when he is on the floor playing and will sit for a while supporting himself with one hand. He will not let me sit him down. He still doesn't sit up straight. I can't put him in the Bumbo very much because he climbs out. (I video taped that last week. I will post it soon.)

Parker is the biggest mama's boy ever. He always wants to be held by me. If I walk out of the room he bawls. I complain that I can't get anything done with him (but secretly I love it).

Hayden and Parker are so cute together. When Hayden plays with Parker the both giggle and smile. I hope their sweet relationship lasts forever. The boys are finally sleeping in the same room. I decided Parker was finally too big for the cradle so I moved him to the crib in Hayden's room. The have done just fine with it. The only downside is that Hayden gets up so early. When Parker wakes up in the morning it disturbs Hayden enough that he wakes up a few minutes later.

Pictures

I forgot to post these pictures before I put them in the frames. These were taken in April for Easter/Parker at four months.

New Picturs

Here are the newest pictures of the boys. I only was planning on getting Parker's five month picture (we do pictures every month) but Hayden begged to have his taken too.

Of course the day we had scheduled he was covered with scratches. But he usually is.

Wheeler Farm

Joe's mom is tending his sister's children while they are out of town. So we decided to have a picnic and see the animals at Wheeler Farm.

I need to be better about taking pictures of Parker. The problem is he always wants to be held and so he is always in the snugglie, therefore he never gets his picture taken since I am the one who takes the pictures. Poor Parky.