Parker Kisses

Tonight during a bath Parker stopped playing, leaned toward Mommy, and gave her a kiss.  A real little boy kiss, not a wide eyed mouth open baby kiss.  What a wonderful surprise!!!  Love this kid!

Fall 2015

Following an Indian Summer, Fall finally arrived in the northeast in full colorful splendor.  70s and 80s have turned to 40s and 50s, with the hardwoods showing their full range of red, yellow, and orange.  It only took about 2 weeks for the first real colors to show before they faded and the leaves fell from the trees.  The kids keep us busy, and Mommy still has to travel a lot, but we take full advantage of the beautiful scenery on the weekends.

Parker is a little boy now - he does so well with his signs and he's talking more and more each day.  His first word was "bubble" as he loves his baths, but not long after was followed by mama and dada.  He also says Brady but it kind of sounds like baby.  Each day his words get clearer.  Other big boy things he does are climb the stairs all by himself, follow directions ("pickup blankie" or "bring this to Mommy" or "put blankie in your school cubby"), help get himself dressed, and eats with a fork or spoon by himself although it's very messy.  While he can't really talk yet, he does understand what you're saying like "let's go to bed" and he heads to the stairs, or "let's eat" and he goes to his highchair.  He likes to eat all the time, just not much at one time and is still in the 5th percentile.  Like big brother, he has taken to yogurt and fruit which is always a good backup when he rejects the menu.  At night when Mom or Dad are cooking you can find him in the kitchen trying to put his on pan on the stove, our future culinary chef.  His other favorite thing to do is play outside, he could stay out there for hours.  Now at 17 months old, it was time for his first haircut.  It was also Mommy's first haircut, and he did a great job holding still watching the iPhone.  Overally he's still such a happy kid, always giving big smiles and big hugs.

Brady is full of imagination and energy - he has a range of emotions not unlike many 3 yr olds and you can usually tell how he's feeling just by looking at him whether he's happy, sad, angry, or playful.  He is a great negotiator especially when it comes to cartoons or candy, the trick is getting him distracted.  An epic story teller when on the potty, the craziest stories always come out of his mouth.  Who knew big poop comes out of your left leg and small poop comes out of your right.  He is rough and tumble with his climbing, jumping, running, kicking, dancing, or singing, all signs of a happy healthy little boy.  It only multiplies with Parker joining in on the fun.  One of their favorite things to do together is eat snacks in the hallway closest together which is very messy but keeps them occupied for some time.  Some cool stuff Brady has learned in preschool is to spot the first letter of his name "B".  He can also spell his first name.  When he gets to school he makes his own breakfast pouring his cereal and milk. He hangs up his jacket on his hook with his name, and puts his blankie in his own cubby.  When he does finally get tired, he is quite the snuggler telling Mom or Dad to cuddle him, he also likes to hold Mommy's hand.  Our sweet loving little boy.

Fall family photo op 

Playing together 

Enjoying the Trails at Great Brook Farm State Park 

Parker (and Mommy's) first haircut

New School Year & Brady Starts Preschool (End of Summer)

It's been a great first summer here in the northeast.  The boys have had quite the opportunity to see family and friends and spend lots of time exploring our new area.  It's been fun to watch another summer pass and see the boys bond for one another grow.  Even though it's been uncharacteristically warm for this area (upper 80s...if we were still in Texas people would think it was a cold front), the trees seem to know fall is coming and the first touches of orange, yellow, and red have reached the tips of the leaves.

Marking the official end of summer is the boys transitions to their next classrooms - Brady to preschool and Parker to the toddler room.  For Brady this has been the easiest drop off yet, he is meeting new friends and enjoying new toys so never has a hard time letting go of Mom's hand.  Parker has some of his old classmates and some from his buddy room so about the only new for him are his teachers.  He does cry for Mom at drop off but they gave us a poem, tissue, and chocolate to make it all better.

Brady is doing all kinds of big kid things in his new classroom - learning to recognize his name, learning how to meet people and introduce himself by shaking hands, and new books new games and new toys all focused on learning through play.  We are so proud of him!

 1st day of preschool - someone is ready!

1st day of the toddler room - Mr Smiles 

 Parker's 1st Toddler sheet - no more sign in sheets!

Brady's 1st Preschool sheet 

(one of the cats spilled water that took out the pink notes at the bottom)

Parker's 15 month checkup

Parker had his 15 month checkup today - he weighed in at 18lbs 7oz (3%) and 28.5" tall (1%).  At his 12 month checkup he was 16lbs 8oz and 27.5" tall (both below the charts), so he's made a good upturn in his stats.  Developmentally he is doing well, getting better with his verbal communication.  He can say mama, dada, doggie, bird, and boat both verbally and with his signs.  He also signs milk and more quite frequently.  His walking is going very well, and he has learned to walk backwards (which makes him giggle) and stand up on his own without holding onto something.  And he responds to commands listening when we say "No" not to go up the stairs (unlike his brother) or "Ready to eat?" making a direct route to his highchair.  The pediatrician was a little concerned that he's on the low end of the growth curve, but given his mom is small and his brother was around 5% for some time, and developmentally he is right on track, we will continue to monitor his growth.  Unfortunately Mommy had to wake him from a nap at school to take him to the doctor's visit, so he was a little less happy than usual and didn't enjoy having his vitals taken (heart rate and temp), nor his attempted eye exam, or his 3 vaccinations (Dtap, MMR, Chickenpox - 1st MMR and Chickenpox).  And since Daddy had the diaper bag in his truck, Mommy was poorly prepared with snacks or a dry diaper but Parker was a trooper not complaining once. We're so happy he's healthy and doing well, we just love having Parker light up our world.  We love you Parker! 

Content to wait on the scale

Summer Fun!

Children are absolutely amazing.  Brady continues to surprise us in the most amazing ways - this week he learned to go potty all by himself.  Without going into too much detail, let's just say he can stand to pee and sit to poop all by himself.  What a major accomplishment for our little man!  And he's started learning not only how to take his own clothes off, but put them on too.  Like all things it takes a little practice, so we're not worried when he comes home with his shoes on the opposite feet or shirts inside out and backwards.  He'll get the hang of it.  Can't believe in just over a month our little man will be in pre-school!  Think he's already gotten a head start with all this independence.  He's also really taken to his gymnastics class.  The first class he wanted Mommy nearby.  The next class the parents had to stay by the door and let the kids join when ready (Brady took about 10-15 min before he couldn't resist the fun).  By the third class it was only a minute or two before he forgot Mommy and was in the circle with the other kids.  He is fearless and willing to try anything.  All this gymnastics has come home too, he now does handstands on the wall, jumps between or off furniture, practices his forward rolls, and started backbends.  Our little monkey.  Someone once told us 3s were harder than 2s - while we love all stages of our boys lives, we have to say 3s are so much FUN!

Gymnastics class at The Little Gym

Parker is doing amazing too - he is now 4 weeks into walking and he's only getting faster.  He still keeps his hands up as he goes which is a good idea with an older brother or dog constantly zooming by him.  Always smiling, he doesn't get upset at much, he's a very chill baby.  And he is just enamored by his older brother wanting to grow up to be just like him.  Parker has switched from baby bottles to the same bottles as Brady and will drink 3/4 of hot milk when he first wakes up and again at bedtime.  He seems to really like water too going for Mom or Dad's ice water or drinking tub water (silly boy).  He eats just about everything we offer him only having the occasionally food aversion.  When all else fails bananas are a favorite.  Not sure where he puts it all, his 6 little teeth are busy, this boy can eat!  We are expecting a big uptick in weight at his 15 mo checkup next month.  As for sleeping he is still sleeping through the night, but appears to be a morning person and is regularly awake and smiling by 6:30am (Brady is sound asleep until we wake him at 7am).  He's getting really good at his signs especially "more", "done", "dog", "please", and "up".  And he will say "Mama" and "Dada" and "Dog", of course it's not perfect diction so you have to be listening but he is doing so great!  It's amazing that while he can't talk much, how much he can understand.  If you ask him "where's Brady?" he will turn and look until he finds Brady and smiles.  He does that with everything (where's the fan? where's Indy? etc).  This also works well when you tell him "No, don't climb the stairs" or "Give Brady a kiss on the cheek goodnight" - he does it!

Mr Smiley "Watch Me Run All Over The Beach with my Chip!"

How Parker signs "more"

We've had a busy summer exploring our new area and getting to enjoy the outdoors (couldn't do this in Texas in the summer, that's when we used to hibernate!).  We've been to camp with the Muzzey family to celebrate July 4th, been strawberry and blueberry picking, we've spent the day at the beach in Ogunquit Maine, we've had the Seminara grandparents visit, we've gone to a local farm to feed the animals and get some fresh ice cream, and rode in a town bike ride.  We're so lucky we can offer our kids all these experiences.  We wonder if we'll be able to keep our boys grounded - that's when Brady stands up and shares a favorite toy with a classmate.  We think so :)  

"Mommy, I can do it!" 

Brother time at the beach

 Making cookies with Grandma

Playing cars with Grandpa

Parker - Celebrating Dad (and WALKING!!!)

This has been a big month for Daddy - first we got the '61 Chevy back and put her home in the garage.  Daddy is super excited to work on her on his every off Friday.  And it was great getting the help from Grandpa and Uncle E making it much easier to load and unload the truck.

Next it was Daddy's 37th birthday, and for that special occasion Parker started WALKING!!!  And not just the teetering steps between Mom and Dad, but the I want that toy so I'm going to walk across the room and get it walk.  Sometimes he makes it all the way across and sometimes not falling on his bum.  His first free steps were from the fridge toward Brady when he was upset, much to Brady's wide eyed surprise.  He's also tried drinking a bottle free standing, but that head tilt makes it hard to hold his balance.  But his stability is getting better, and so is his confidence, we know he'll be cruising in no time!  And for Daddy's special day, Mommy got a babysitter (Grandma Reggie) and took him to a surprise dinner in Groton at the Gibbet Hill Grill.  It was a beautiful day, blue skies, green grass, cows in the field (and a wedding in the backyard).  Mom and Dad enjoyed an awesome dinner then went out for a drive in movie (Jurassic World).  To top it all off, Daddy got a happy birthday card signed by both his boys.  We love you Daddy! 

This year Father's Day fell the week after Daddy's birthday.  To our surprise, an old family friend (Ben and Augie) was in town due to the death of a relative so they stayed at the house.  Augie is also 3 yr old, he and Brady had a BLAST playing together all weekend.  From baseball, chalk, playdoh, swimming, making cards, playing on the beach at Hart Pond, and just running around, the boys had a great time.  It was also nice to see Ben although we missed Nicole and baby Levi!  We'll see them soon in St Thomas (can't wait!!!).  Father's day was rainy and soggy, so Mommy made the Dad's breakfast and we said goodbye to Ben and Augie as they headed off to fly home to Virginia.  Daddy just relaxed the rest of the day with the family before Mommy had to fly out of town again.  One more week of work until real vacation, woohoo!

Takeing the boys out on the bike path for on Daddy's Birthday

It was a nice relaxing trip for Brady and Parker

Celebrating Gary's Birthday at Gibbet Hill Farm

Parker loves Ice Cream Cake!

And so does Brady!!

Augie and the Boys having a blast! 

Parker enjoying some time in the sand

Brady and Parker playing with some new friends at Heart Pond Beach

Augie and Brady discussing a civil engineering masterpiece

Ben pushing the double Bob on the rail trail.

Brady and Parker trying to figure out how to order more toys

Tent in the Living Room!

Having a blast walking on two legs!

Starting to walk like a pro!

Brady & Parker Moving Up - 1st Week in New Classrooms

Summer marks transition for kids moving up the next grade.  Same with daycare.  This week was Parker's first week in the Toddler transition room and Brady's first week in the Preschool room.  For Parker this meant transitioning from two to only one nap a day and sleeping on a floor mat instead of in the crib.  The first couple of days this was hard for Parker.  He didn't want to lie on the mat and would crawl away.  On the way home he would fall asleep in the car or be uncharacteristically irritable at dinner.  By late week he and the other babies got the hang of it.  He will move again, this time without his teachers, into a toddler room in September.  Brady handled his move like a pro.  Since we moved mid school year he was with a younger group of kids, now he is being moved up with some of his buddies into a room of older kids more on his level with learning.  Brady likes that room too as they do a lot of sensory play ("floam", flour, water, washing babies, etc).  For the summer months we drop off and pick up in that classroom, starting in September he will be in there full time.

1st Time Sleeping on the Nap Mat

 

Gift from daycare - class photos!

Parker and Brady are growing up fast.  Parker has started blowing kisses, waving, and just this week started taking a few teetering steps.  He walked back and forth between Mom and Dad about 4 steps several times.  Not all were well balanced and he tumbled on a few, but his smile said it all as he was so proud.  We love this kid!  He does show a temper time and again, like when you bring him in from outdoors he will get upset and head butt you.  He's become a great sleeper.  While Brady liked to be rocked or held after stories, Parker just wants his crib and will reach for it until you put him down.  Silly boy.

Brady is getting so grown up too.  He has a great memory and imagination.  We love the way he explains things to us, for example when he sees a robin hopping around on the ground because they're great listeners waiting for worms and that they take home to their two babies.  He's also in a "I can do it" phase and does a great job taking off his own shoes (on is harder), putting on / taking off his coat, climbing into the car and his car seat, putting cheese on his pasta, you name it.  And when he wakes up in the morning he doesn't cry for us anymore, he just opens the door and comes out looking for us.  Our big kid!  On the flip side he's very rough, especially when he's tired.  He loves to cruise around with the elephant walker while Parker is on his farm walker, but he'll smash into Parker or any walls or furniture at full speed.  He also likes to pull things out of Parker's hand or throw heavy objects.  Not sure what this is all about.  Despite that when he wanted to cuddle tonight he said "I'm a boy, I'm a good snuggler".  We'll take it. 

Living in the northeast we have all sorts of new places to explore this summer.  In just the last month we have traveled to NJ to see the Seminara family and explore a farm, we've gone to an airshow with Uncle E and Katie, we checked out a festival in Westford with one of Brady's buddies from school, we've had visits from Uncle Paul and the grandparents, gone with Grandma Reggie to a zoo, and explored the rail trail.  Mom and Dad got out too checking out a show in Boston and enjoying an off Friday to walk along the Charles River on a beautiful sunny day.  Maybe when we get to feeling "local" we'll stop asking ourselves if we're on vacation!