Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!!!!!!

We had our first family outing to the zoo on the 23rd. It was a beautiful day on Friday plus it was Ryan's b-day so we went to celebrate. Although Parker didn't know what was going on he loved being outdoors. I love this picture because it looks like Parker is really interested in the animal behind the glass. He was very well behaved and only cried once when we were looking at the elephants. I guess he thought they were big and scary, or maybe mommy just made him mad!







Our neighborhood also recently had a fall festival. Typically Ryan and I never participate in the neighborhood events, but now that we have Parker we thought we should make an appearance. They had the cutest little pumpkin patch where we could take Parker's picture. It was tough since he can't quite sit up on his own so we had to be really quick because he would only hold the pose for a few seconds before he would fall over. We were trying to wedge him between pumpkins, but it didn't always work. He is such a wiggle worm!!

Little Aggie Fan

Parker got all decked out to watch his first Aggie football game. He is going to have to grow into the ball cap, but he sure does look good in Maroon.

With the cooler weather, we were finally able to take Parker out into the backyard to play. He loves the outdoors and anytime he has a crying fit, it soothes him.

The First of Many Firsts

Parker has accomplished a huge task, rolling over. We are proud to announce that Parker has rolled over for the first time, yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing to watch him figure out how to do something on his own. You would think something so small would not be such a big deal, but it is HUGE. He was on his stomach and acting a little fussy because it was time to eat and all of the sudden he shifted his weight and rolled on his side. At that point in time I was sitting next to him cheering him on, and then he mustered up enough strength to finish it off and rolled on his back. I was thinking that maybe it was done accidentally but he did it two more times after that and I got the 3rd successful attempt on video. Wow, he is getting so big!!!!!

Parker is a talker

Parker is growing by leaps and bounds. It is so amazing to watch him learn new things. Right now he is talking and moving so much that I can't keep him still. It is really going to be crazy once he actually can get around by himself! I love sitting by him and playing with him, just to see what he will do next. Check out this video, I took it with my cell phone so the quality isn't great, but see for yourself how much he talks!

Parker's Surgery

I just wanted to let everyone know that Parker had to have surgery on Thursday, September 10th. Thursday morning we woke up and everything was fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Parker ate lunch and took a nap. He woke up from his nap screaming. Typically he doesn't cry when he wakes up so I ran in the bedroom to check on him. I picked him up and could not calm him down. I knew something was wrong, based on his cry, but I could not figure out what. I went to change his diaper and what I saw was alarming. Below his belly button in his lower abdominal area was a large knot that was about the size of a 50 cent piece. I immediately started crying and called Ryan at work. He said he was coming home and to call the pediatrician. We took Parker in around 2pm and she looked at him and said that it was probably a hernia. She wanted us to go to the Texas Children's Emergency Room so that a pediatric surgeon could check it out to determine whether or not he would need surgery. The surgeon looked at it and recommended he have surgery that night. So that is what we did. Parker was such a trooper. He was not allowed to eat both before or after the surgery so he went 12 hours without eating. It was amazing how calm he remained when usually he has a fit if I feed him 5 minutes late!!!! I think he knew something was going on. I am just so thankful that the surgery went ok and the hernia was repaired. We were able to come home the next day and you couldn't even tell that Parker had just had surgery. He was back to his normal self kicking and squirming, but it was very obvious that he was much more comfortable. We just thank God that we caught the hernia when we did and that Parker has recovered nicely.

Parker is two months old!

Time just flies by! I can't believe that Parker is already two months old. Yesterday we went to the doctor to get his first vaccines. I was so nervous for him, I just kept thinking that he didn't even know what was about to hit him. Parker did really good. He had to get 3 pokes and cried for about two minutes and then he fell asleep. He weighed in at 11 pounds 2 ounces and he was 23 and 3/4 inches long. Although his weight is average for babies his age, he is on the longer side. The doctor said that he was in the 75th percentile.

Parker is so much fun. He is full of smiles and likes to talk to you by "cooing". His personality is really starting to show. He is extremely active and loves to stand up and look around at everything (with someone holding his hands of course). He is so attentive and can easily hold up his own head. I can already tell that we are going to have a tough time keeping up with him once he starts moving on his own.

There have been many firsts for Parker this month. Not only has he had his first smile and first sound (besides crying), he also went swimming with his friends for the first time and went to his first Astro's game.

Hudson, Chase, and Parker all went swimming at Kristi's birthday party. Both Chase and Parker only lasted about 10 or 15 minutes in the pool before they got fussy. They liked the water, but they didn't like the sun in their eyes.

Parker loved going to the Astro's game. He was such a good boy. He loved all of the lights and loud noises. He only cried once when an Astro's player hit a homerun and everyone started cheering. It was a little too loud and it scared him!

It has been a while!

It has been a few weeks since our last post and we have had a lot going on. Parker is growing like a weed. We just went to the doctor and he weighed in at 10 lbs. 8 oz. I am guessing this is a little off because he was wearing his diaper which was full of pee! It is probably more like 10 lbs. 4 oz. or so. I took him to the doctor because he had a rash that seemed to be getting worse. Luckily the doctor said that it looked like he had really sensitive skin and that his shampoo/body wash might have been irritating him. We switched him over to Aveeno wash which is for sensitive skin and the rash seems to be doing much better. I also talked to the doctor about the "episodes" he has each night. She said that he probably had a small case of colic. Basically every night in between 6:30 and 8:30 he cries. It is not your normal cry, it is ear piercing and you cannot calm him down. He will be happy as can be and then all the sudden he gets mad and won't stop crying. The doctor says that colic clears up in most babies around 3 months and that they are not sure what causes it. In a small percentage of babies it takes 9 months to clear up. I am praying that Parker is a 3 monther (or less).

We had our first play date with Chase. Kristi brought Chase over to see us last Wednesday. As proud parents we tried to get their pictures together, but of course one of them was always crying and not cooperating. We laid them down on a blanket on their backs and Chase was as happy as could be sleeping and Parker was screaming right in his ear. Every so often Chase would grunt just like he was trying to say "Quiet down over there, I am trying to get some sleep". Parker did not like laying on his back at all so then we tried them on their stomachs and both of them let us get a few pictures in. Finally, we sat them up on the couch and Parker was happy-he loves sitting up looking all around. Well Chase did not want to have anything to do with that so he started crying. It was so funny to see their different personalities. One day we will be able to show them these pictures and tell them this was the first day they met!

Yesterday we went to Andrew's 1st birthday. I can't believe how much he has grown. Everyone had to get a look at little Parker since that was the first time many of them had seen him. He was such a good boy and slept almost the whole time. I have always wondered why he sleeps so much when we go places, but doesn't when we are at home. I guess I will never know. Raylea and ReAnna just loved Parker and took turns holding him. They were real pros. I guess it is because they have had so much practice with their brother and sisters!