Week 12 with Parker

Parker is getting ever more coordinated.  He can hold his head up for longer periods of time during tummy time or when lying on his stomach on the boppy pillow.  He will stare at objects like the fan or a light trying to figure out what they are.  This week we started him in the Exersaucer - he is so little!  Had to put the airplane book under his feet so he could touch, and a blanket or pillow in front and behind him so he wouldn't head butt the seat.  He managed to rotate himself 90 deg!  Same went for tummy time.  He is pushing hard with his feet, but hasn't figured out to lift his head or push with his arms, rotating himself 90 deg again!  His hands are getting more coordinated pulling objects like blankies into his mouth, holding his parrot on his bouncer, or holding his feet during a diaper change.  Holding blankies or something soft helps him settle down when he's upset, and he'll suck on his fingers (thumb and index) making Dad's favorite suction noise.  He also likes to look around and blow bubbles, although he seems to get extra bubbles during hiccups.  This week he had his first tears after waking up from a nap, this prompted Mommy to give him extra cuddles!

 Mr Smily

 1st time in the Exersaucer

 Grabbing his feet - this does not make diaper changes easy!

 Sucking on his fingers like Daddy did as a baby

Managed to rotate himself 90 degrees!

Brady continues to amaze us with how much he can comprehend and how much he remembers.  He made a trip to the AT&T store with Daddy where some older kids gave him a blow-pop.  Daddy told him he could eat it but to let Daddy know when he broke through to the gum cause he could choke on it.  Five minutes down the road Brady tells Daddy he broke through and handed the rest of the blow-pop to Daddy - what a sweetie!!!  Since it was 105+ deg plus all week we made a trip to the spray pool.  Brady did his signature move and jumped in with Daddy catching him.  It's only a foot or so deep but we want to keep up the good habits at least until Brady is comfortable putting his head under water.  He had a lot of fun taking Daddy around the spray pool, his favorite was the tunnel.  Mom and Parker watched from the shade, with Parker lying on an ice pack to keep cool and catching up on his sleep.  And Brady is getting very good at going on the potty.  At the beginning of the month he would go occassionally at school, now he's up to 3x/day at school and 1x/night at home - go Brady!  Once he gets this mastered we'll transition to peeing when standing and work on going poopy on the potty.  Sounds like a good one for the Dad department.

 The tunnel at the spray pool

Mr Fearless jumping in

Parker snoozing by the pool

Cooking Mommy a burger and a hot dog - someday soon! 

This was a busy week for Mom and Dad with a night out to the Cotton Bowl stadium in Dallas to watch Real Madrid and AS Roma play a match in the International Champions Cup.  Despite all the returning World Cup stars, Real Madrid lost 0-1 to AS Roma.  It was a beautiful 80 deg night with a beautiful sunset.  While Brady was home playing with the babysitter, Parker enjoyed the match only getting upset when the crowd got really loud and then he went to sleep.  We had great seats too, 1st row, and directly in front of us was all the action and the lone goal.  Also got to see an old friend who came over bringing us dinner one night.  It was good to see Catie and catch up with one of Mom's long time friends.  Tonight Grandma Reggie flies in for a week to help Mommy with the boys while Daddy goes out of town on his business trip.  Almost forgot to mention this was Mommy's last week of maternity leave.  Taking care of the little munchkin is so much more fun than work, even if confined inside because of the summer heat, she will have to go back eventually but not until after she burns off some vacation.

1st international soccer match (for us all)

Parker and Catie