Parker 31 Weeks - Celebrating the Holidays

With Mom's telecommuting request getting approved, the last piece of the puzzle came into place for our relocation.  Now it was time to take a step back and celebrate the holidays!

North Texas offers a lot of fun ways to enjoy the Christmas festivities.  This year we visited the Stockyards for the kid activities and holiday parade.  Brady got to ride a longhorn, a pony, and watch the armadillo races.  We even got to see a live shootout western style.  Capping off the night was a live street band and some impromptu Texas two-step, even Mom and Brady got in on the action.

Later in the week West met East and we took the family to the Gaylord Hotel in Grapevine to see the Frosty the Snowman ICE exhibit and checkout all the holiday lights.  Poor Brady was getting over strep throat and a touch of the flu so he wasn't in the best spirits, getting a little freaked out when the purple ice turned his hand purple, but bouncing back when he saw the giant Christmas tree and water fountains.  Parker just smiled and squirmed like he always does.  It wasn't easy, but Erik and Katie made it to the hotel to join us and checkout the lights.  Uncle E spent the weekend horseback riding, enjoying country music, and chasing his nephews.

This week also marked our 14th dating anniversary.  We took advantage of the free babysitting and some caffeine and went to one of the first restaurants we checked out when we moved to Texas - the Reunion Tower.  The food was good (and filling), the wine was just awesome, and with the rotating floor we got to see the best of Big D one last time.

With Brady feeling a little better, we met his BFF Keira at Texas Motor Speedway to checkout the Gift of Lights and meet Santa.  Brady was a little nervous at first to sit on Santa's lap, but when we told him he had to sit there to make sure Parker was ok and not scared he jumped right up - what a good big brother!  They both did great posing for the picture and Brady even told Santa what he wanted for Christmas (race car).  Then we met up with Keira and went back to her house to exchange presents on one last play date.  The kids had so much fun together, it's so cool how they remember each other even though they don't get to see each other often.  They helped each other open gifts, played with toys together, cleaned up messes together, and gave each other lots of hugs.  Brady was a gentleman and kissed her goodbye on the forehead, he's going to be quite a catch someday!
 

This week the infant room at daycare had their annual holiday book exchange and party.  Parker enjoyed the fun wearing his Elf Sized onesize and taking one of his favorite books to share (mirrors and peek-a-boo).  In return he got a nice interactive book from Liam, a little boy who is younger but about Parker's size.  Parker also got a Christmas blanket from Ms Barb, some holiday art (with his footprints) from Ms Delaney, and a Christmas ornament from Ms Lauren.  They even tried to get Mom to cry by giving her Parker's first finger painting captured a frame at a time.  We are really going to miss these special women who have taken such great care of our sons!

With only one short week left in Texas, Mom and Dad are saying a lot of goodbyes.  We have been so fortunate in our time in Texas, so many special friends and memories were made here.  While it's time to return to our northeast roots and family, we'll always have a little of the wild west in our hearts and it our soul.  We'll miss you Texas!!!

Parker 30 Weeks - Teething and other big boy stuff

The house is sold!  In less than 2 weeks we had 3 offers and the house sold easily to the highest bidder.  And after days of house hunting, while en route back to Boston airport we found a new apartment complex needing tenants and found our new temporary home.  Pieces are starting to fall in place for the move! 

Parker is getting so grown up turning 7 months old this week and doing lots of big boy things.  He sat in a restaurant high chair for the first time.  He's so little we had to watch he didn't face plant into the side of the table.  He also transitioned to the high chair at home while big brother moved up to the big table.  Parker looks so tiny in the high chair compared to Brady!  We thought we'd have to get a lower (not counter height) table for Brady but turns out the extra height is a blessing so he doesn't get distracted and try getting up and down.  Big brother did great eating from the table with little brother in the high chair, he even enjoyed feeding Parker and playing peek-a-boo from behind the chair.  Parker is getting stronger and more mobile crawling all over the living room, play room, and breakfast room.  He's been having a lot of fun with Brady's play house, even managing to crawl down the slide.  He doesn't head butt things like Brady used to, preferring to scoot on his belly then get up on his hands and knees to rock.  He's starting to nap less in the day, taking 2 naps for 1-2 hrs each.  Eating wise, we give him four 5 oz bottles at school, plus morning cereal and a veggie for dinner.  This weekend we started mixing the cereal with fruit and started feeding him a meat blend for dinner to increase his calories and boost his weight.  Turns out he does not like chicken and brown rice, preferring apple turkey cranberry and sweet potato chicken.  And now that we've increased the solids, his poops are getting thicker (and smellier).  Parker has never been as great a sleeper as big brother, but it's gotten worse with traveling and teething.  Poor little guy is just chomping on his fingers.  He tends to be fussier at bedtime (tired and less distractions) and has been waking up to 5x/night.  This is not fun when Mom and Dad have to work 9+ hr days.  We started teething tablets which seem to give him some relief and if he's really struggling we give him baby Tylenol.  Hoping the teeth break through soon.  He also had a bit of a rash on his back but that has been clearing up.  Despite it all he's still his giggly happy self!

Restaurant high chair

Playing peek-a-boo together

Brady "helping" with dinner

Brady is such a big boy too.  He's a great big brother, helper, singer, has a great imagination, and loves his YouTube dance videos.  He got an extra treat this week getting to spend a few days with Grandpa Bob and Grammie Terry while Mom, Dad, and Parker were house hunting.  He even got to drive the tractor to "help" Grandpa.  Now that it's the holiday season he enjoys seeing the Christmas lights and singing Jingle Bells (he knows almost every word).  And when we tell him we're moving to Mass he gets excited for snow, sledding, snowmen, skiing, and playing with Parker.  The boys are going to have so much fun in the snow!

 A moment of calm on the plane

Playing with Grandpa

 Our little helper

 It's snowing!

Early morning cartoons at the hotel with my bro

Parker 29 Weeks - Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!  Hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey Day filled with family, friends, and of course food!  We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year with another delicious fried turkey, a tradition we plan to take with us up north.  Also got to do a FaceTime call with Great Grandma Muzzey and the family after their Thanksgiving dinner at her house - it was great to see everyone, can't wait to celebrate the holidays with you (in person) soon!

In she goes

Happy Thanksgiving "Y'all"

The boys had another great week.  Parker has started making clicking sounds with his tongue which he and us find hilarious.  He will get into clicking and just keep going and going.  He's getting more coordinated (and faster) at crawling and will find a way to get to an object to check it out.  When he's on the floor and gets fussy, he knows what his mom's feet look like and will crawl over and hold Mom's pant leg until she picks him up.  And he's getting better at sitting up on his own.  If occupied by a toy he seems to stay sitting longer, until he swivels his head and starts tipping over.  He's getting so grown up!  He's still not as great of a sleeper as Brady, waking 1-2x a night about 75% of the time.  When he wakes we feed him, change him, and put him back to sleep pretty easily, but it does disturb our sleep and can make working 9 hr days feel much longer.  He's also not as good of an eater as Brady.  We've moved him up into 6+ month (stage 2) baby food to help him boost his calories.  He'll eat 1/2 a jar of that at least once a day giving him another 40-50 calories in addition to his four 5oz bottles of breast milk and 2 nursing sessions.  Should have mentioned in the last blog post that when Parker hit the growth spurt and Mom was sick we did have to start supplementing with formula (no more than 1/2 a bottle) which he did well with.  But even with all that his 6 month clothes are starting to fit tighter, time to break out the 6-9 month clothes!

 Love those cheeks

Sitting on his own

Brady is a bundle of energy.  This week he woke up before daycare, went downstairs on his own, and started calling "where are you guys?!"  Where has our baby Brady gone?!  We've told him winter and snow are coming and he gets really excited telling us he's going sledding, skiing, and making a snowman.  His little imagination is so fun, he likes to play hit and catch with Mom without a ball - he's pretty impressive at it too since he hits the "ball" in the living room and runs and catches it in the kitchen.  Like Aunt Rose says, he's a little "Imp"!

We officially notified the daycare of our move and pulling the boys out of school this week.  They took it pretty hard, afterall they spend almost as much time with the boys as we do.  Ms Kayse, Ms Christina, and Ms Sam told us they were going to start a petition to keep us here lol.  Brady has had such a wonderful experience at the Childrens Courtyard.  He's made great friends, learned all sorts of skills, and learned how to interact with other kids and adults.  We can only hope to find a place as special for him when we move north.

Holiday time in Sundance Square

Parker 27 & 28 Weeks

Sorry for another 2 week blog post but time is really flying by now - only 5 more weeks until we move!  Or 14 more work days, but who's counting.  In the last two weeks we have made major strides with readying the house to sell.  Uncle Paul was in town and he and Jeff repainted Brady's play room, Jeff repainted the front door, and contractors came to repair the carpet and paint both interior and exterior trim.  We held a yard sale to get rid of a bunch of stuff we had in storage and made over $500.  With everything clean and clear the house really looks amazing.  Century 21 did a great job with the listing, it even has a YouTube site.  In only 4 days we've had 10 showings.  If it hadn't been a rainy cold weekend maybe we would have had more.  It's weird to have strangers walking through our house, but know it'll make a great home for the next family.

Knowing that we only have a short time left in Texas we're trying to cram in seeing all the good stuff one last time.  Mom's boss had a dinner party in downtown Fort Worth with all her co-workers, what a really nice gesture to host us and our spouses  Then we met up with Michelle and Randy to celebrate Michelle's birthday - Mom left the karaoke to Michelle.  We also saw our friends Kris and Randy as they'll be out of town for the next 4 weeks for vacation and work.  After 10 years in Texas, it'll be hard to say goodbye to all our friends.

The boys are doing great - they get lots of play time with Grandma Reggie and Jeff.  Grandma does great feeding, changing, and playing with Parker.  Brady and Jeff have a lot of fun together playing with cars, trains, animals, or bouncing balls.  Parker is really starting to move now.  He doesn't like siting still long preferring to flip onto his belly and crawl after an object that interests him.  This also makes it quite challenging to change his diaper or get him dressed (but Mom is getting good at dressing a baby on his belly).  After getting over his ear infection he hit quite a growth spurt, eating 1/2 to 1 jar of baby food a day, up again 1-2x/night for milk, and fitting better in his 6 month clothes.  Brady is such a big boy, he does a great job helping his Mom and Dad, feeding his dog, and is learning to put away his toys.  He has so much energy, especially before bed when he loves to watch videos and dance (Footloose being a favorite).  Having these two wonderful little boys in our lives just makes us glow from the inside out.

Next weekend is Thanksgiving then we take a house hunting trip north.  We're getting excited to find our family's new home and get settled in, hopefully before the holidays!

Mommy and Michelle 

Mommy and Kris

Giving Parker a nightcap 

Grandma and her boys

Playing ball with Jeff

A morning person...and a non morning person

Family selfie attempt!

Parker's first selfie

Caravan to Grandmas, even Indy got a ride

"Stuck in the mud" game at Grandmas 

Brother bonding time

Our little Pats fans

Parker - 6 mo checkup

Parker had his 6 month checkup yesterday - he weighed in at 13 lb 4 oz (1%), 24.75 in long (5%), and 43 cm head circumference (25%).  He's a little peanut just like big brother was at this age!  And his ear infection also seems to have cleared (this made Mom very happy).  The Dr was a little concerned with his weight being so low, but he is proportional and was just getting over being sick.  His Mom's tall stature probably doesn't help either.  Developmentally the Dr was happy with Parker - he's reaching for and raking at objects, he pulls them in and switches them hand to hand, he will stand (temporarily) under his own weight, and he's started crawling.  Occasionally he will point with his index finger at an object, hook it, and pull it in (toward the mouth of course) which the Dr said is more a 9 month skill, so good for him!  While he does laugh out loud he's not a big talker, preferring to watch and smile rather than blow bubbles or make consonants.  At this visit he got 4 more shots - 3 vaccinations and 1 flu shot.  We go back in a month for a weight check and his second flu shot.

Parker 25 & 26 Weeks - Moving On

We're moving back north!!!  Daddy accepted a job with Lockheed in Mass which will move our family back to the northeast just in time for the best snow of ski season.  This is a very exciting (and busy) time for our family as we make preparations to sell the house, move to a new area, find new daycare and pediatricians, etc.  Mom is hoping to stay on with LM in a telecommute role until she can find something in the NH/MA area.

And speaking of moving on, Parker started crawling this week!  He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks himself until he either slides backwards or face plants.  Most of the time on his knees he has his feet crossed which prohibits him from using his knees to crawl.  But he sure is close, occasionally he pulls a knee forward and face plants, but he'll get it coordinated soon. 

Parker 26 weeks crawling (sorta)

Then there's cartwheel twirling Brady!  Who knew a 2.5 yr old could do cartwheels?  One of his favorite songs is Footloose (he calls the video the one "where the guy goes upside down") and he loves to watch Kevin Bacon do his solo dance routine.  Brady watches with such interest then tries to mimic his moves.  And sure enough, he does a cartwheel!  

Over these two weeks the boys have had lots of firsts.  Parker had his first Halloween which he enjoyed watching big brother trick or treat.  This year Brady was old enough to understand it better and enjoyed hanging out with Luke (a friend's son) and going house to house.  Brady was very excited to see all the kids, and enjoyed getting lollipops.  And Parker has moved on from rice cereal to now eating baby food.  He's getting used to the consistency and temperature, and keeping that tongue from pushing it out.  He ate a whole jar of peas, and has eaten some sweet potato.  Unfortunately he spiked a fever (102.5 deg) warranting a call from daycare and a trip to the docs where we found he had an ear infection so he is on his first antibiotic (baby amoxicillin).  We are hoping this is not the first of the same rounds of ear infections Brady went through that resulted in tubes.

The weather has been fantastic and when Mom and Dad get a breather we take the boys to the park to burn off some energy.  The boys are also getting spoiled by Grandma Reggie and Jeff having lots of play time, games, and puzzles.  Mom and Dad are enjoying the benefits of having family close too (free babysitting) and Jeff is an excellent chef.

Only 8 weeks until Daddy starts his new job in Mass, exciting!

Mike & Sully - Halloween 2014

Hanging out with my BFF at the park

Our little thumb suckers

Play time with Daddy...and yummy feet!

Mom and Dad at the retirement of one of Mom's Navy guys