Right before we headed to California, Parker decided to delight us with her new talent, sitting up. When we got back home she had honed her skill and is now an old pro. Here are some pictures of her playing with a stacking toy:
And, Parker says though she enjoys her new found skill, she still enjoys chilling on the sofa...
And of course, this all can just wear one out...
Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Michael and I went to Carmel Valley, CA last week for his good friend Tim's wedding. We had a great time and I survived being away from Parker for 4 days. Here is a picture of us together....
While there we got to see the sights, drive the famous "17 mile drive" where you wind through Pebble Beach (we went in "The Lodge" at the famed Pebble Beach golf club). One day we had lunch on this beach...
(Not very nice but it is the Pacific Ocean)
And met this bird as he eyed us for our food (look closely, are there 2 legs or one?)
Gotcha! There are two legs....he fooled us for a minute too!
And one last picture of Michael next to the otter:
Why yes, it is Michael's jeep. We finally have one car in the garage.....George don't get too excited. All the crap is just pushed up against the wall to the left of the workbench and behind the jeep.
It is officially summer here at the Stewart household. I bought the all dreaded bathing suit (even more dreaded after having a baby), made some strawberry shortcake, and Michael is getting the Jeep cleaned up. Here are some pics....Parker is ready for a drive to Bruesters Ice Cream....
Hard to believe but little Parker is almost 6 months old. She went for her 6 month visit today and all is well. She is 24 inches long and 15 lbs 8 oz. She is on the short side so she has lots of rolls to snuggle on. We both are battling colds once again....day care is a killer for those things. Hope everyone is doing well.
Russell "walked" this past weekend at his graduation ceremony from Georgia College and State University. We were able to be there to help him celebrate this big accomplishment. Parker was excited to see everyone, especially Great-Grandma Dot. Here are some pics:
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weekend. Parker and I spent Saturday morning at my office working (Parker slept, mom worked). Once she woke up, we headed over to Warehouse Row so I could get some new shorts (seems for some reason my old ones don't fit, hmmm). Then we met up with Michael who had been at a partner "retreat" for the morning and headed off to the National Cornbread Festival. We had a good time walking around to see the arts and crafts and enjoyed some yummy fried food of Chicken fingers, fries AND a fried moon pie (no wonder my shorts don't fit, now my new ones probably don't either). Today we have been busy around the house. I priced most of the yard sale items and Michael cut down our yard that looked like a jungle. It looks a lot better but we have a ways to go getting the yard whipped up into shape.
Parker got a new toy last weekend. We are such suckers for marketing and wanting Parker to have things that look like fun to us. So, we got her the Fisher Price Jumper seat that matches her swing and bouncy seat with the jungle theme. She is so short her feet don't touch the floor yet so we had to put a pillow under her so she could "jump". She loves it. Lots of fun little things for her to play with and it plays music, makes jungle sounds, and lights up. Her first word is likely to be an elephant noise or monkey noise since all of her big toys make them. Here are a couple of pictures.
Is this not too neat? You can go on-line to www.whitehouse.gov and request a card from the President and First Lady welcoming your bundle of joy (or special occasions like 50th wedding anniversary, special b-days, etc). Here is Parker's note from President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush (can't tell if these are real signatures or a copy...probably a copy)...
This morning we added something new to the routine....solid food. We are starting out on rice cereal. I thinned it out and we tried this morning to see how Parker would take to it. She seemed to really like it and when she was ready to finish, she let ya know. Here are some pictures from this morning. She is to cute. Grammy, she loves her highchair!
Hope everyone had a good Easter. Here are some photos from the weekend. Parker was baptized and she loved all the attention...
And here I am...walking:
What are these??? Feet???? Never seen them from this angle before...
From Parker....
So yesterday I got to chill at home with mom and dad...we played, we slept, we ate, mom and dad did stuff around the house like hang pictures, clean up, laundry (ya know...all that boring adult stuff)...they didn't drag me out of the house to go shopping like most weekends of late....we did go out around 5 and drive around the mountain and then headed to Zaxby's and Lowes (had to do a bit of shopping of course). Here are two pictures from the weekend....I am really trying to turn over...hoping I can accomplish this feat this week (I did it when I was 2 weeks old for goodness sakes, what happened?)
And here is Dad and I, ya know, chillin on the sofa...
Go to:
http://www.networkforgood.org/pca/PersonalCharityBadge.aspx?pcaid=102379
and donate for a worthy cause. Ali is a scrapbooker whose story of her son's autism is inspiring. She is a really cool mama....read more on her blog
It has already begun...defending Parker's honor to a 4 year old boy. This morning when Michael dropped Parker off at school, he had an exchange with a 4 year old that went like this
Little Boy (LB): What is HIS name?
Michael: It is a SHE and HER name is Parker
LB: Parker sounds like a boys name
Michael: What is your name?
LB: Robbie
Michael: I know some girls with the name of Robbie
LB: no response, walks away
So today when I went to pick up Parker from school, I was chatting with one of the other moms. This was the first time I had met her as usually her husband comes to pick their daughter up. I said I was Parker's mom (since we have no identity there other than association by our children), and she said "Oh, you're Parker's Mom, I was just saying what a beautiful baby Parker is". (Insert proud mama smile) She truly is....we are so not sure where the good looks came from but are ever so grateful.
Life is good.
Here is another picture of our adorable, nephew, Wrenn
And, some Gerber daisies to brighten your day. Spring is almost here...it was like 78 degrees here today with a great breeze. Parker and I play hooky as I had to take her to the doctor again....she has a cold but it was a great day to skip the afternoon of work and daycare.
Kelly delivered Wrenn in the wee hours this morning around 4:38. We are very excited to have a new baby in the family. When I have pics I will post them along with the details as I am not sure that I remember them all correctly.
We give our love to Kelly and Greg during this special time.
Welcome Wrenn...Parker is ready to play!
Parker has now entered the big girl world of school. She started at UTC's learning center this past Thursday when I went back to work. She seemed to enjoy it but was definitely tuckered out from the change in routine. She has now slept 5 nights in a row through the night (or at least we did not have to get up with her....she was somewhat talkative through the evening hours but did not fuss so we did not go get her).
I am holding up OK after going back to work. It has been an adjustment and I am fortunate that I really enjoy my job and my boss which made it somewhat easier to go back. It was hard to leave Parker but it makes the time we spend together now more important.
Hope everyone is doing well....in other news, Michael, Parker and I are anxiously awaiting the news of our niece/nephew's arrival. Kelly is in labor so we are about to be an aunt and an uncle and Parker will have a cousin. Hopefully we will have pictures soon to share.
Here is a picture from Parker's first day of school...
Hey there....been a bad blogger lately. Not too much to report lately. Parker has been visiting this week...we went to my office to show her off and she went to the mall with me to buy some much needed new clothes (since I go back to work this week-3/1). Today, Parker and I took a nice stroll through the new neighborhood. Here is a picture of her bundled up in her stroller (was not as cold outside as her clothes would suggest).
Parker has just now (finally) noticed the rainforest animals abover her head when she is in her swing. This obviously has added to her enjoyment of the swing (much to her mother's happiness, the bouncy seat was getting old). Here is a picture of her enjoying the animals.
Also, she is really holding her head up in "tummy time". See picture below. I also put my hands against her feet today and she "scooted" forward. Now if I can get her to use her arms too she will be crawling all over the place (note to self: vaccuum the floors really really good and put up all the junk still out from the move before crawling begins). She got really frustrated being on her stomach and not being able to roll over and crawl. It was sooooo cute.
House news:
We have shutters up (yippie). I am certain the neighbors are excited as now they are not subjected to seeing us walk around the house (ya know, post baby figure and all). Michael jumped in and got the pantry started this weekend. We just have to finish staining the boards and securing them to the metal brackets. It is a HUGE space...sigh, I am sure I will find a way to cram it full of stuff :)
We also rearranged the living room and it feels much better in there. Got our photos out and our Willow Tree figurines so it is starting to feel like home.
Next on the list is to finish the pantry, hang our pictures/artwork, and paint the foyer and hall.
We do! Parker's first snow and she is to small and sick to enjoy it. I am going to put some in a bowl for her so she can feel it and experience her first snow. The neighbor kids are already out and about sledding down the street and I am sure a snowman or two will soon follow. See the pics below....
Thank you for the very pretty flowers and neat balloons. I am feeling better already (Parker has RSV, a bronchial infection). I am entranced by the shiny balloons and the flowers smell really good so these are things that are very neat to a developing brain.....thanks grammy. I send hugs and kisses your way.
Love,
Parker
Saturday Parker had the pleasure of meeting most of my side of the family. She was able to meet my grandparents (see the 4 generation photo...don't get this very often). She also met Granny, Grandma Pat , Glenn, Debra, Uncle Steve, Kim, Alex and Tyler. She had a great time and was very well behaved. After visiting with my Dad and his family we went to meet my Aunt Bobbie. She was thrilled to also meet Parker. After her big day we were very hungry so we were lucky enough to also get to meet up with Emily and Greg (who we were meeting for the first time...we REALLY liked him Em!) for dinner. It was good to catch up and Parker again was the perfect child and let us (and all the other restaurant guests) eat in peace.
See the photo album on the left side called "Parker meets her great grandparents" for more pictures.
Here are the pictures of the kitchen and dining room. I LOVE it all. I love knowing where everything is and that it all has a home...except the food as we have yet to put the pantry shelves up but that is next. It was weird to shop for real food yesterday versus frozen meals. I got test drive the kitchen last night as I cooked dinner and everything was perfect. We even ate dinner at our new dining room table and it was so nice to feel at home again. Look at the photo album called "Home" on the left side for more pictures.
We had pancakes for breakfast today! Which means we have a (drumroll please.....) a working KITCHEN! I will take pictures tomorrow and upload them as our tables (dining and kitchen) are arriving tomorrow so I can take pictures of 2 completed rooms (for the most part....just a couple of odds and ends to complete). The pancakes were great and I look forward to cooking lots more stuff. I got most of the kitchen items unpacked, washed and put away so I feel much better. The house is starting to come together. I even got some scrapbooking completed this weekend as I went to scrapbook night with the Newcomers group. Parker's book is coming along. Lynn, I was able to work on the "All About Me" album you got me for Christmas and I finished putting together the album we started at CKC in Donna Downey's class...the "My Life Then...My Life Now" flip album. All I have to do is add some pictures and the journaling.
I will upload pictures tomorrow of the kitchen, dining room and will post about Parker's big day this past Saturday where she met lots more family.
Disclaimer: not for those with weak stomachs
OK, I should have known....since Parker had her shots this week and was taking tylenol her BM's were not all that regular...in fact, they were non-existent. So, one would think that I would know by now that it is the calm before the storm. Oh man, was it ever the calm before the STORM. Go figure.....she let loose this morning and exploded. So, next time, I have fair warning...don't put her in my favorite outft, don't be far from the changing table, AND make sure there are wipes loaded in the wipe dispenser AND pick her up carefully when she appears to be crying for no reason....as there was definitely a reason. At least we were home when it happened.
Just one of many life lessons Parker will bestow on her parents (Kelly, take note as your day is coming).
Hope everyone is having a great day (and of course I just made it immensly better by sharing the above entry about my child's potty habits).
Countertops are being installed NOW! Yippie!
By Saturday afternoon we will have a fully functioning kitchen again...yippie. The m-wave and downdraft were installed today as was the under cabinet lighting. The handles are going up on the doors and drawers and tomorrow we will have countertops! It will then look like a real kitchen. Saturday the sink, dwashwer and cooktop will be hooked up and we will be in business. I plan on cooking pancakes Sunday morning on the new cooktop with the bridge griddle plan I received for Christmas. Yummy. Guess next week will be spent finally unpacking the rest of the boxes out in the garage and getting the kitchen in order. I will teach Parker about organizing :)
By the way, I did bake cookies in the new oven and they were yummy.
So, the next time anyone visits, we will have a wonderful home cooked meal (for at least one meal while you are here...we would not want the area restaurants to go out of business now that we have a kitchen).
Also, in other remodeling news, the hinges arrived for the shutters and Michael got one pair hung last night....they look great. One window down...7 more to go.
Once we get the countertops installed tomorrow I will send some pics.
Parker had an excellent report at the doctor today. She weighed 9.5 lbs (wow, she is growing fast) and is 21 inches long. She is in the 40th percentile for her weight and the 25th for her height. The doctor said she is doing well and is well proportioned. She had her first set of shots (was worse for me than for Parker). She cried when they stuck her but when I picked her up she calmed right down and is now sleeping peacefully....they said she would sleep a lot today....yippie! I have a cold and can use the extra down time to nap myself. Next check up at 4 months.
Wow! Parker slept from 12 am to 5:15 am this morning. I made Michael go and check on her around 5 as I realized I had not heard her in a while and got worried and I could not be the one to peek in. She was starting to wake up and had slid down in the bassinet to get extra cozy. They technically say that sleeping from 12-5 is considered sleeping through the night :) My body did not know what to think of 5 hours of sleep at a time so I woke feeling like I had a hangover (does not help that I have a cold). However, I am very glad to have gotten 5 whole hours of sleep. I hope this is a trend. She also slept from 5-8:30 pm earlier in the evening so I was actually able to get a decent dinner together and Michael and I were able to eat in peace (She usually senses when Mama is eating and wakes up and is fussy as she thinks she should be eating too).
On another note, we go for her 2 month check up today and she will get some shots so the rest of my day is probably going to be spent consoling a fussy baby. I will post an update of her appt when I get a minute.
A much discussed topic in the Stewart household. We are proud to announce that the past 2 nights (and days) Parker has slept in her bassinett on her back. This makes me very happy as I can now sleep in my own bed instead of on the sofa or recliner with a baby on my chest. I don't want to jinx it but she has even put herself back to sleep after waking up crying. We swaddle her up really good, arms too, and get her to sleep in our arms and then place her in the bassinett. We owe a coworker of Michael's a huge THANK YOU for telling us to go back to swaddling all of her. We thought she did not like it anymore but it has worked. Of course, she has managed to get her arms out of the swaddle before her nap is over but she stays asleep for the most part. Now we just need to work on the sleeping all night thing so I can get more than 3 hours of sleep at a time.
On another note, the kitchen is coming along. I now have a working oven and warming drawer installed. The m-wave works too but is not installed yet as they ran out of lumber to build the shelf for it. Now, I just need to get the downdraft and blower figured out and installed, countertops in and then we can put in the cooktop and sink and hook up the dishwasher and we will be in business.
Hmm, maybe I should go bake some cookies and keep them in the warming drawer so we have warm cookies tonight :) Sounds good to me....now where the "heck" are my cookie sheets?
Happy baby after eating.
OK, now I am getting sleepy since my tummy is full.
And now I am asleep.
Man, life as a baby sure is good.
Went to the doctor this morning and all is well. Parker is growing by leaps and bounds. She now weighs 7 lbs 14.5 oz and is 19.5 inches long. I am excited as this means in a couple of days I can put her in the front carrier (you have to weigh 8 lbs). Everything else looked good too. She even rolled over from her tummy to her back for the doctor...4 times. She is developing well. Pray for us as we are going to begin the process of getting her to sleep on her back in the bassinet. This will mean lots of crying on her part and a lot of patience on ours (something I am finally learning to get). However, for me to be able to finally sleep in my own bed without a baby on top of me will make this process worth it.
Anyways, Parker says hi to all and sends hugs, kisses and smiles your way.
Welcome to the new blog. This hosting site has better options for sharing photos so I have switched over since we will have lots of photos to share of little Parker.
Hope all is well. Parker has a well baby visit today so I will update the blog later with all the details. She had a big day yesterday as I took her with me to get my hair done and then we went on a shopping trip for non maternity clothes (very depressing). I am sure this is the first of many shopping excursions she and I take together. Fortunately for me, she can't tell me what she wants so therefore this was one of the cheapest trips we will take together.
More info and pics soon.
