Week in review

Today was a stay-home day, as many Mondays often are around here. Today was laundry day extraordinaire since we went to our storage facility (AKA my mom & dad's house) on Sunday to pick up all of Parker's fall and winter clothes. It was fun to go through the bins and remember all the clothes that Thomas once wore. And I realized there is very little he needs for the season...poor child and his hand-me-downs. I don't think he'll care though. And at least his brother is only two years older, so it's not like he'll be sporting butterfly collars or anything equally not-so-retro. Thomas enjoyed this because it gave him a new toy:



Yes, I realize that's not the safest thing in the world for him to do and I probably shouldn't let him, but he put himself in there and was having a ball (and returned later to do it all again). In the end, I'm just glad he's feeling well again!

Last week in the middle of two planned doctor's visits, we had to throw in an unplanned visit to the pediatrician as well. He started running a fever on Wednesday night that kept him out of school on Thursday. That afternoon he was scheduled to see the dermatologist (re: his eczema that lately has not been clearing up), and she noticed his lymphnodes were swollen in his neck and thought he might have strep. So after that visit I hauled both boys to the pediatrician's office (both visits occurred during their usual naptime, by the way) and found out it was not strep, just another virus. The next day (Friday) he went to the allergist, but we were unable to do the tests because he was still running a fever. He goes back this week. Hopefully we'll finally be able to figure out what the deal is with him and dairy. Who knows (when he was about a year old, he saw the allergists and everything came back negative even though he does not tolerate certain foods at all (i.e. dairy products cause eczema)).

Speaking of doctor's visits, on Tuesday of last week I took Parker for a couple of vaccinations. He did great and didn't even cry. And just to update, his weight as of last week was 18 lbs, 2 oz (with a wet diaper that probably added a few ounces). He is a big boy! I don't have any new pictures of him except for this one that I snapped the other day while he was taking a nap. The color is not good because it was dark in his room and I didn't want to use the flash, but I thought he just looked too sweet. And yes, I know "back to sleep" and nothing should be in the crib.... He does sleep on his back at night. :)


On Saturday we decided to be tourists and we went for a walk downtown. We strolled (literally, with Parker in the stroller) down to the Battery until we got too hot in the sunshine and Thomas got too tired to walk.



And when he did tire of walking, he's lucky his Mommy was feeling generous. :)


He thought that was great. It was a beautiful day and it made me so thankful that we live in a city as gorgeous as Charleston.

Later that day we all enjoyed some time out in the yard. Thomas gave his best imitation of Sully (or as he calls her, "Sussy"):


This week we are more than thankful that Trey is here all week for a change. Thomas has been so happy to have his Daddy around. And Parker seems to think it's pretty great too. I'll try to better this week of taking some pictures of Parker!

29 months old!

Thomas is now (as of Saturday) 29 months old! It's hard to believe he is nearly 2 1/2!


He talks all the time and says the funniest things. He is always asking, "What's this, Mommy?" because he always wants to know more about everything he sees and does. It's amazing to see how much these little children really are sponges soaking up the world around them. He learns so many new things each day and he enjoys nearly every moment of it. I think it's a result of school, but these days he is singing and dancing a lot more too. I need to get a video of his dancing; it is the funniest thing.

He can sing his ABCs all the way through and a few songs like "Twinkle, Twinkle" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider." Here he is this morning saying his ABCs:


He loves all the things that boys usually love - trucks, cars, planes, balls, etc. One weekend recently his dad was teaching him how to catch the football and he did a great job with it. I just have to be careful about him throwing that big ball in the house!


We are just now working more and more on having Thomas clean up his own toys. It's a work in progress. Tonight he cried for 10 minutes before bed because I told him he couldn't have a tractor in his bed, and I wouldn't read to him until he picked up all of the books he took out of his bookcase and threw on the floor (ALL of them!). He has a bad habit of pulling out EVERYTHING and dumping every basket of toys he can find. He's happiest when surrounded by toys...



However, for as much as he loves his toys, he loves his baby brother most of all. When I pick him up from school, he gives me a quick hug and then rushes over to Parker and gives him a hug and a kiss. He loves Parker (a little too much sometimes!). This is what he does just about every time I put Parker on the floor:




It brings such joy to my heart to see these boys together. I know they are going to be such great friends.


It is often very hard managing a 2-year old and a 4-month old as a full-time mom, but knowing they will always have each other and they can grow up as best buddies makes it worth it.


It's hard to believe how quickly they grow. Before I know it, I'll probably be talking about Parker at 29 months! Speaking of growth, Thomas seems to have grown an inch recently. His shirts are getting a little shorter (especially with his pjs!), but he's still a slender thing. Most of his shorts are 18 months sizes! I just ordered him a few 2T pants and I'm hoping they will fit him in the waist. Guess I need to discover the joys of the adjustable waist pants! :)

As for school, he seems to be doing well with that as well. Last Thursday he came home sporting a sparkly star sticker on his hand. His teacher said he got it for being a "good listener." I find this a bit funny seeing how this is the biggest problem we face at home (well, the opposite). He still sometimes gives a quick cry when I drop him off, but I think he almost thinks he has to do it for some reason. Silly boy. When I pick him up he always excitedly tells me that he had fun at school.

One last positive change/growth has been his eating habits. He is finally getting better about trying new things and eating his vegetables. I no longer have to make him a separate meal from what I (or Trey and I) eat. He still doesn't like potatoes unless they are french fries, but he will eat rice and couscous. He will eat at least a few bites of vegetables. Our lives would all be easier if he could eat dairy, but it's still not working for him. On top of that, a recent trip to the GI gave us a slew of negative test results, but unfortunately there was one unexpected positive. On a RAST testing (blood testing for allergies), his only positive was to peanuts. He tested negative to this over a year ago on a skin prick test at the allergist, but now this supposedly less sensitive test yielded a positive. The allergist already had us waiting on peanuts until he was three because of his other intolerances, and now we are planning another trip back to the allergist to test again. I do wish he was free to eat what all the other kids eat, and I hope it happens one day!

All in all though, he is growing up to be such a delightful child. If we could just improve the listening, life would be lovely. He makes me smile so much with his infectious smiles and adorable perspective of the world. Each month I don't think I could feel more proud and blessed to be his mother, and yet each month, I feel it just a little bit more. I laughed the other day at the GI appointment with the nurse asked in taking his history if my pregnancy with him was normal. It's hard to believe now and remember all the drama of having my water break at 16 weeks and being told there was less than a five percent chance that he would survive. I cannot imagine not having him in my life and I thank God for giving me the miracle that he was and is.

Smiles and love

Another early end to naptime means more time playing with the color accent feature. How can my heart not melt when I see this smile?

Parker smiles like this all day long and it just melts my heart away. How can I be mad at him for wanting to be held so much when he gives me this big grin? I just can't. Even when he's not smiling, I still think he is cute. :)





And then his big brother gets up from his nap and must hug Parker right away...


Parker tries to show Thomas who is boss...


Never a dull moment around here. And always lots of smiles to go around. Life is good.

Two boys, one bear bottom

The other day Parker was wearing a particular onesie that I remembered Thomas wore when I took some pics I liked. So I tried to recreate. Though now that I am looking at the actual photos of Thomas, I'll have to work harder to get a shot like this because I love, love, love this one. This was Thomas a little more than two years ago...


And here was the best one of Parker in this attempt...


And Parker now:


And Thomas then...


In full color, here's Parker:


I love this one, seems like they are conspiring...or maybe just being friends (notice how Parker is holding his hands together):


Will have to try harder to get a better shot soon, but since the boys' daddy wanted to see some new pics, I needed to get something up now! Hope he enjoys. :)

The things he says

Thomas makes me laugh so much these days with the funny little things he says. I need to make sure I write them down.

The other day he was eating a popscicle after lunch (he had been a particularly good boy that day). After eating enough of the popscicle to slightly expose the stick, he looked down at it and said, "Hey there sticker! How are you doing? Are you stuck in there?" I had to giggle. He has quite a sense of humor.

Baby baldness

Some people ask, "Did Parker lose a lot of hair right after he was born?" (and I think they think the answer is "no.")


The answer would be, "Most definitely, yes."

Five days old in this picture

The funny thing is, on top his hair is thin, but what is there is really long. It allows us to create a very impressive combover, as is evident in recently posted pictures of him. But when it is brushed straight forward, from afar it looks like a mohawk. I'll have to take a picture of it for giggles. Hopefully his hair will thicken back up a bit!

In the back, of course, he has the usual "baby-pattern baldness," as I call it. Where he lays on his back so much, it has rubbed his hair completely off in a spot. The boy is slightly hair challenged at the moment, but we love him all the same. :)

School days, school days

Today Thomas finished his third week of school. Things continue to go well. He usually doesn't cry anymore, though today he cried at pick-up time for a change. I usually am one of the first parents there, so he doesn't have to wait long (They line the kids up inside the side door and send them out one-by-one as the parents arrive). Today I probably was the 5th or 6th parent to arrive and this just was not good enough, apparently. I was waiting outside the door and when the mom one person ahead of me was getting her son, I heard Thomas start wailing. After that mom got her son the teacher said, "I'm going to send Thomas out next!" and as soon as he saw me he started laughing and said, "MOMMY! You found me!" Too funny.

He keeps telling me that he "had fun at school, Mommy." But I think he has tired of me asking him 20 questions each day when I pick him up. Now if he hears me say anything about school he just says, "Make new friends at school." I'm starting to wonder if perhaps I brainwashed him a bit. :) Just kidding.

This week he (or shall I say "WE") had his first homework assignment.


And here was our finished "quilt square":

And of course I only blurred our last name for blog purposes... Not on the real thing. :)

Thomas did all the work, of course. :) Well, he did enjoy picking out stickers and putting them on! And by the way, I feel terrible that we were not able to include a picture of his California family (Uncle Pete, Aunt Sheena & Katherine). I waited too long to request a picture and couldn't find anything that would work in the small space we had to work with (these pictures are TINY). So I'm very sorry. I toyed with the idea of keeping it with just the grandparents and us, and then decided to throw in the SC family at the last minute. So sorry to you guys to have left you out!

Four months old!

Last week Parker turned four months! I can't believe that much time has already passed. It's crazy. And Parker? Well, he's crazy too, sometimes. But most of the time he is a delightful, well-rested baby. He smiles the biggest smiles and it just melts my heart.




At four months Parker is:

* A pretty good sleeper. He goes to bed at night around 7:15 and sleeps for about 12 hours straight. Since his brother didn't sleep through the night until he was nearly a year old, this is such a welcome change. I don't know how I did that for so long last time because I could not imagine getting up all night now (granted, teething craziness is still to come). He generally takes two big naps a day (the afternoon being the biggest...on a good day he sleeps 3 hours; in the morning maybe an hour or two, but usually we are out so he just naps when and where he can).

* A big boy! He wears mostly 6 months clothing, some 9 months. At his WBV the other day he measured 25.75 inches long and 16 lbs, 15 oz. (Thomas by comparison was 26 inches, 17 lbs, 8 oz.). He is just now graduating from size 2-3 diapers to the size 3s.

* A baby who likes to be held, but not when he wants to sleep. When he is fussy, he likes to be held and then he is fine. I can sit him in my lap, or hold him any way that works and he is content. But when he wants to sleep, he doesn't generally like to be rocked to sleep, which is good for me. We put him down and usually he goes to bed without crying. If he does fuss during naptime, usually I can just go in and rub his back (yes, he sleeps on his belly for naptime, and I even confessed this to the doctor and she was okay with it) and he goes back to sleep.

* A thumbsucker. His brother loved the paci, but Parker is not too fond of it. He much prefers his thumb or any combination of fingers he can jam into his mouth. I'm sure some orthodontist will love us.

* A fan of his mobile and his playmat. He also enjoys the bouncy seat for short periods of time and every once in a while he will tolerate the swing (not nearly quite the fan his brother was). Like I said, he mostly just likes to be on my lap or for me to wear him in any baby carrier. We just got an exersaucer and he seems to love that, but since his head control isn't fabulous, I'm keeping his time in that very short right now (while I'm cooking dinner usually and the bouncy seat won't do!). He also loves for us to read books to him and he gives big smiles when he sees himself in the mirror.

* In love with his brother, and the feeling is quite mutual. Sometimes I think Thomas loves Parker a little too much, but for the most part, they make each other smile. Parker's face will often light up when he sees him. Or if Thomas is loving him too much, he gets a little red in the face. I thought this picture was funny of both of them eating their fingers...


* A talker. He "chats" quite a lot, as far as baby cooing and such goes, that is.

* Not a bottle lover. He used to take bottles here and there without problem. Lately, not so much. It doesn't matter if he is starving, if you give him a bottle it just makes him really, really angry. We are working to remedy this quickly! His brother went through a similar bottle strike, so hopefully Parker will grow out of it too.

* Losing all his hair. I'll have to share photo evidence of this later, but wherever he lies down, there are always hairs left where his head once was. The other day I saw a picture of him shortly after birth and I couldn't believe the difference.

A few more pictures for fun:

Parker loves his hands. Loves to play with them and eat them. And this explains why he usually has a scratch or two on his face (I can't seem to keep his nails short enough)Here he is playing with them a little...


Trying to get the hand to the mouth...


Apparently he is a fan of Michelle Obama. :) Here he is, practicing his best "fist bump" (that is what she calls it, right?):


Perfecting his future "senior class picture pose" perhaps?


Not the best photo of the brothers, but a photo nonetheless. Sometimes Parker gets a little annoyed with Thomas getting all in his face and his personal space. This is his best annoyed look...


It's so hard to believe how quickly these boys grow. I'm so grateful to be their mother and there's nothing I love more than being the "Mommy." These boys are my heart.

Loving lawnmowers

My computer died, so my time on here has been limited (my laptop died, we still have a desktop). The 4-month update is still forthcoming, but until then I meant to share this picture from last weekend (taken by my phone, but still a decent quality, I think).
Thomas loves to go to Lowe's. I generally don't mind taking him because I can bribe him into good behavior in the store (not as easy in other shopping venues) if I promise to let him ride the lawnmowers. And usually, he wants to ride every.single.one. Not that they move, of course, but he loves them all the same. He is such a boy!

Of course, one of these days we will have to beg him to ride the lawnmower (to really, actually cut grass!), but maybe if we keep grooming the love now, it will stay? Wishful thinking, I'm sure.

And a quick aside... Thomas did great at school on Thursday. It was his fourth day and the first time he had not one tear! Hopefully the progress continues. He told me, "Thomas had big fun at school. Met knew friends. Sang songs." Life is good.

Coming soon to a blog near you...

In a world where breaks don't come by quite often enough, this mother is recognizing that she is already nearly two days late on her son's four month update. However, it's going to have to wait at least another day. So coming soon, Parker's four month pictures and update. Until then, this will have to do...


(And in case you are wondering, I purposefully smeared our last name that is on the blanket...in the picture, not on the blanket.) :)

And as an aside, this just about sums up any attempt at getting a good picture of both boys together. But hey, at least they are both smiling.


Now that Tropical Storm/Hurricane Hanna seems headed on a path less threatening to us, hopefully I can find some time tomorrow to do a proper update.

Another generation of buddies

One of Trey's lifelong friends is Brian, whom I believe is three months older. I actually met Brian shortly before I met Trey because we had to suffer through the same crazy class my sophomore year at the College of Charleston. Now than Trey and Brian have families of their own, it's funny that Brian's son is about three months older than Thomas, and his daughter is two months older than Parker. I swear we didn't plan it this way!

Brian and his family spent some time at Sullivan's Island this past week and invited us to come out and visit over the weekend. We took them up on their offer and brought our merry clan over on Saturday morning. Silly me, I didn't get one picture of the babies together, but I did get some of Thomas & John.












Checking out an airplane flying overhead...


I thought this was the sweetest...


I hope these boys can grow up to be lifelong friends too. And maybe next time we'll actually remember to snap a shot of Parker & Anna Pierce.

Brian & Leslie, thanks for inviting us out. We had a great time and hope to see y'all again soon!

Morning at the park

The week before Thomas started school I took the boys (while Trey was out of town for work) to my parents' house for a few days. The boys enjoyed their time with Nannie & Papa, and I enjoyed a little extra help. Unfortunately it seemed Mom & Dad were both working overtime so we didn't see them as much as we would have liked. But because of the overtime, Nannie was able to take off one morning to hang out with us. We decided to venture to the local state park, Santee Canal State Park.

Thomas & Nannie enjoyed checking out all of the "animals" on display in the interpretive center:


And then we headed out to the boardwalk and trails in search of nature. :) Nannie & Thomas found a little turtle enjoying the warm sun:




We stopped by the house to play a bit under it and in the surrounding yard. When I was little we used to go there sometimes for family reunions and just to wander around (before it was a state park). It was kind of odd (in a neat way) to now watch my son playing where I played at his age...


Of course, the house and property looks so much better now than it did back then!

Mom snapped a quick shot of me and the boys (I promise Parker was not about to fall out of the wrap as it may look here!):


And of course if there is water within reach, Thomas must touch it...


Thanks Mom/Nannie for spending the morning with us. Hopefully next time you won't have to go back to work and the weather might be a little cooler. And maybe we'll bring the stroller so the walk is a little easier!