Parker's favorite games

At 7 months, here are some of Parker's favorite games:

1. Dropping items OVER and OVER again...when he drops them we say, "Uh-Oh, there it is!" We do this repeatedly...especially when he's in his high chair eating. He loves to play with a spoon, so we probably do this about a million times every time he eats.

2. Biting-yes, biting. He's got FOUR teeth now, so he bites everything, and I mean everything.

3. Crying when mommy walks in or out of a room-he pretty much does it if I'm not holding him.

4. Saying "Ahma". We think it's his version of "mama", but he has no clue that's what he's saying.

5. Bouncing on his back-he does it when he's laying on his back-he bounces up and down..it's really weird/funny.

6. Rolling all over the place. He can get where he needs to go.

7. Getting up on all fours and rocking. (See pics below)

8. Drinking out of a straw

9. Rolling over when he gets his diaper changed-it's cute/annoying at the same time. You almost have to lay your body on top of his to get a new diaper/clothes on.

10. Playing with toys-he's really enjoying them now. He got this train for Christmas (see 2nd picture) and I get it all set up and he grabs it and throws the pieces. I'm pretty sure the little boy in him is starting to come out. He's not very gentle with it.

11. Playing with friends-he reaches for them and grabs whatever body part he can get to-usually the feet or sometimes he goes for the eyes (sorry Zane).

He's really proud of himself here. He just destroyed the train.

He's really trying to crawl, but he's not there yet!

A Very Merry Christmas

Dear Parker,

Let's just say we'll never forget your first Christmas! We spent it at your grandparents house, and it was quite eventful. The day before Christmas I started feeding you fruit. I thought bananas would be a great fruit to get you started. Well, little did I know that they would cause you to be very constipated! You screamed ALL NIGHT on Wednesday. Of course, I didn't really realize the culprit so I gave them to you again on Thursday. You were upset all day and screamed all night again on Christmas Eve. Your daddy and I had to get up at 3:30 am and take you riding around town for an hour! It was the only way we could get you to sleep. We finally figured out the culprit. We stopped by Walgreens and got you some prunes and prune juice. That finally did the trick, and you began to feel somewhat better. Other than that, :) you had a great first Christmas. I didn't take a ton of pictures, but we did take a lot of video for you to have.

Here you are with Abby and Lily before the Christmas Eve service.

Christmas morning at Marmee and Poppa's house

Christmas morning at Gigi and Granddad's house

Last year, we decided that Parker would get 3 gifts from Santa. We figured if 3 gifts were enough for Jesus, then that would be plenty for Parker. (Disclaimer: We have no control over aunts or grandparents). A lot of people think we're crazy and that we won't follow through with it, but we really feel like this is a great tradition to start in our little family.

7 months old!

Parker,

You're seven months old! Happy birthday, baby boy! You had a busy weekend. We took these pictures before we went to Uncle David and Aunt Lauren's Christmas party. You were so good! You let everyone pass you around and kiss all over you! You even went to complete strangers! You also went to Star City to hang out with the Petty clan, but of course I forgot to take any pictures while we were there.

Wonder why you're smiling so much bigger when I'm holding you? (probably because you're laughing at Daddy who is taking this picture!)

You are still the happiest baby we know! Everyone comments on your laid back disposition. This is really funny to Daddy and me because you DID NOT begin your life as a laid back child!

You started eating in your high chair! You are so much more attentive now since we moved you out of the Bumbo. You seem to not get as distracted when we're feeding you! Speaking of feeding, so far you like all veggies, but non-green ones are your favorite. We haven't given you fruit yet, but we're planning to soon.

You're growing and changing all the time! You LOVE to dance. When I'm holding you, you'll jump up and down to dance. You are also "patting" me on the shoulder now...so cute!! You're really trying to get up on your hands and knees, but you're not quite all the way there yet. Hopefully we have a little while before you start crawling!

We love you, Mr. Man!

Visiting Santa

In the words of my sister, only our child would actually enjoying visiting Jolly ole' Saint Nick!

Lately

Parker,

Here is a recap of what you've been up to lately!

You went to dinner with your friends Truett and Karoline. I made you wear your pea coat and matching hat! You look PRECIOUS in it!

You hung out with mom and dad!

You played with your Gigi-she taught you how to shake your head to the words, "No, no, no, no.."

You hung out with your granddad...rolled around on the floor, etc.!

You went on a hunger strike, so we let you play with your food as suggested by Aunt Meredith. She said you needed to have a sensory experience with it! She's the speech path, not me, so I just went with it. It worked!

You are the light of our lives!

(You also played with Poppa this week, but we forgot to take pictures!)

Getting stuff done!

Parker loves going outside, but it's way too cold to venture out. His second favorite thing is to stare out of the window. So, being the creative mother I am, I figured out how to make him happy and get some chores done at the same time!

Ice maker

Parker,

You have a new trick. It's definitely your strangest one yet, and it makes us shake our heads in disbelief every time you do it. You see, you LOVE the ice maker. Weird? We think so, too. Whenever we get ice out of it, you start jumping and smiling. The only thing we can figure is that you've seen Tulip run to the fridge sometimes to get a piece of ice when we get our own ice (your sister LOVES ice, too.) However, you don't only do it when your sister comes. This past weekend, you were at your Gigi and Granddad's house and I left you with Gigi and your daddy for a few minutes. Well, I came back and Gigi said, "He really likes the ice maker!" Up until that point you'd done it a couple of times, but not consistently. Well, apparently your daddy got some ice out of the fridge, you heard it in the other room and got really excited! We thought it was funny that she noticed it, too. (We hadn't told anyone else about it because we thought it was a coincidence.) Now, you seriously do it every time!!! I love that you have weird quirks about you! You'll soon enough find out that your daddy and I are not the most normal people on Earth, and so far you're fitting in right along with us!

Thought I'd post a picture of my two babies who love ice!