March Journal Entry

Outside my window:

There is actually sunshine and the snow is melting...I am shocked!

I am thinking:

That I am so proud of my hubby who just received a letter from the Dean of his Department letting him know that he made Dean's List again! I cannot believe all that he does to make sure that I get to stay home with Parker like I wanted: working all the time, going to class, getting his homework done, and still finding time to snuggle with Parker, Deacon and I.

I am thankful for:

So many things. Everyday I am thankful for Parker. He is the sweetest boy and has been such a blessing. I am thankful for my amazing husband...but I already went into that above...we don't want Trav getting a big head over all these compliments (hee hee). I am also thankful for my friends and family who keep me centered and grounded.

From the kitchen:

Tonight we are having steak (marinated in Jack Daniel's Marinade of course...is there any other way that tastes soooo good?), fried potatoes, mushrooms sauteed in butter and a little soy sauce, and rice...I can't wait! Leaving steak in a marinade for a couple days is always so hard...you just want to cook it and eat it right then, so hard to wait!

I am wearing:

Sweatpants and a sweatshirt...my usual mommy uniform. Who wants to get up and down, up and down all day in jeans??? They are way too constricting for that! Plus, now that Parker is eating oatmeal and rice cereal during the day, it is way too messy for me to wear nicer clothes!

I am creating:

Nothing at the moment, but I think I am about due for a project before I go stir-crazy!

I am going:

To the Tri-Cities next weekend. Travis needs to go meet with the Benton County Sheriff to set things up for his summer internship on Friday, we are headed to Yakima on Saturday and Parker is spending the evening with Nonni Donna and Papa Kev-O, then headed back to Cheney on Sunday.

I am reading:

Nothing right now, I have been pre-occupied by other things and have yet to finish my book. I have been almost done with it for quite some time now.

I am hoping:

That life gets easier for my friend who is going through a trying time. I hope she finds comfort in friends and family and also in God. There are few things that can really provide comfort at a time like this...it will just take time and a lot of prayers.

I am hearing:

Deacon growling because someone pulled into the parking lot...he is so crazy! Our little rescue will growl at you with his tail between his legs, while you are petting him...so strange!

Around the house:

There isn't really anything that needs to be done. Except maybe vacuuming...which I do about 3 times a day because Deacon sheds during the winter and not in the summer...he is confused.

One of my favorite things:

I have an ice cream obsession. Travis and I always have sugar cones in the cupboard and ice cream in the freezer. It is a sin that there is no Baskin Robbins in Cheney!

Some plans for the upcoming month:

Birthdays! My mom's birthday is on the 22nd and Trav's is on the 24th. So exciting!

A picture thought I am sharing:


This picture cracks me up. He was concentrating so hard on those toes and sitting like a big boy. It pulls at my heart strings.







No matter how I put him in his crib he always ends up on the other side pressed up against the edge and his rainforest pals! I try putting him all the way up against the other side with no luck at all. Only 4 1/2 months and already stuck in his ways...ugh...so much like his daddy!

oatmeal, rolling, and a heavy heart

Well, to our surprise the other day, right when Travis was on his way out the door for work...our son decided to just roll over! (tummy to back) It was so exciting. He had yet to do it again until tonight. Again, he did it just once, and then that was it.

We also gave him oatmeal starting yesterday, since the rice cereal was such a hit. He likes the oatmeal even better than the cereal. That was a pleasant surprise! Now we are doing oatmeal with his breakfast bottle, a plain bottle, cereal with his dinner bottle, and then his nighttime bottle. Yes, our 4 month old has decided that he only wants 4 feedings a day now! Pretty soon we will get to start him on the yellowish orange veggies...yum.

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I have a very heavy heart today as I received some very devastating news the night before last. My dear friend Ashley and her husband Luke unexpectedly lost their daughter Madilyn Joy. Ashley was 36, almost 37 weeks pregnant. This is the kind of news that makes you sick to your stomach and makes you wish there was some way of turning back time so your friends would not have to experience this kind of pain. The doctors are still unsure as to what caused this sudden loss. I ask that you keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they start the long and difficult process of healing from this loss.

our little man...is not so LITTLE anymore!

On the 20th, we went to Parker's 4-month doctor appointment. Dr. Carson said that he is doing GREAT! His eye, although still goopy, is showing no signs of infection, so as far as that goes he is set! Thanks Dr. Liz for getting him started on drops so quickly! He is now 16 lbs. 5 oz. (90th percentile) and 26 in. long (also 90th percentile). We can't believe how much he has grown since last month. He is now sleeping about 11 hours at night, and we love it! He does new things all the time and we are anxiously waiting for him to start rolling over...he is just SO CLOSE! He also got some shots at his appointment. I am always amazed how well he does with these. He cries for just a couple seconds and is over it. We are also so proud and we hear other kiddos in other rooms screaming and ours is giggling right afterward! I am sure that this will change as he gets a little older, but here's hoping! After his appointment Parker and Mommy headed to the Tri-Cities for a weekend visit! We missed Daddy a bunch! We got to go to the hockey game and it was a blast. On Saturday, little guy and I headed to Yakima for my friend Ashley's baby shower. It was fun to see Ashley and get to share some of my "new-mommy-wisdom" haha, yeah right! After the shower we headed back for another hockey game! Parker was so funny and once he got tired would cry and get the saddest look on his face everytime the crowd got really noisy! We couldn't help but laugh. On Sunday, it was nice to just relax and hang out with my mom. I have missed her so much. Then, we headed back to Cheney in the afternoon so we could spend time with Trav when he got home from work. We really missed him, and I think he was really missing his little buddy after not seeing him for a couple days. It is so sweet. Parker is absolutely obsessed with Trav in the last month. Every time Trav enters a room and Parker sees or hears him he is compelled to stare and giggle. I love watching them together too. Parker just laughs and laughs. His laugh now is a very high-pitched squeal. Sometimes I think he is fussy, when he is really just laughing or concentrating. It took me a week to get used to his new noise and realize he wasn't actually being fussy. Here are some pictures from the last couple weeks!

Parker has started to grab his toes and tip over. It is so funny to watch him roll back and forth!

We have started giving him rice cereal in the afternoon and he is doing pretty well with it!

We always have a bib on him now because of his constant drooling from chewing on everything. I keep checking to see if he has any teeth coming in...none yet!

He is so close to rolling over...I always have the video camera close during his "tummy time."

I love his little polo shirt...so cute!

We just love him so much and he is getting so big so fast. Here is a little video of him "screaming" aka laughing and talking while playing on his activity mat last night, it was hilarious. He was doing it so much before I brought out the camera, but you get the idea!

Happy 4 Months Parks!

I cannot believe that my baby boy is already 4 months old!
These last 4 months have just flown by...but they were all equally wonderful. Parker is so big now and I can't wait to see how much he weighs and how long he is at his 4 month well-baby appointment on Friday. It seems like we were just bringing him home from the hospital. I remember how nervous I was to bring him home...I was so scared that I was going to do something wrong and that I wouldn't know how to do anything right. At first you are all nervous and concerned about everything...then 4 months goes by and you are able to totally roll with the punches. The words "oh well" are used a lot now! He is doing so many new things now and I can't believe my eyes sometimes.

Some of this past month's accomplishments are:

• finding his feet
• 
• lifting himself up when on his tummy
• 
• playing in his new ExerSaucer
• 
• almost rolling over (he gets all the way on to his side...then can't get any further quite yet)
• sitting up (assisted...he's still a little too small to do it all on his own yet)
• passing a toy from one hand to another
• sleeping 11 hours at night (Mommy & Daddy love this one a lot...but he started sleeping through the night at 6 weeks...so we are not surprised that he is a great sleeper now)
• we tried some rice cereal from a spoon the other night...and he did pretty good!
  
• he is talking so much more now and making all sorts of noises
• mastering the spit bubble-raspberry noise
• his giggle is soooo infectious...it is more like a high-pitched squeal and it is hilarious!
  

A special thanks to my mom...aka Nonni Donna...for coming up this past weekend to babysit while Trav and I went to dinner and a movie.
It was a great break and we loved having you! She also brought up a new ExerSaucer for Parker! It is so cool and has so many fun things for him to play with. It is also nice because he can stand, rather than lay all the time. Thanks Papa Kev-O and Nonni Donna for the huge new toy. Travis affectionally calls it "the monstrosity!" Parks loves his new toy so much! I think he was getting bored with all of his other ones! It was so great to get to spend a whole day with my mom, going shopping and having lunch. I have missed her so much...especially in the last several months. I can't wait for June when we will all be in the same city again! I get to see my family again this coming weekend.

After Parker's appointment on Friday, we are headed to the Tri-Cities then to Yakima on Saturday for my friend Ashley's Baby Shower. We are all so excited to welcome baby Madilyn Joy Jaeger into the world at the end of March! It was fun to be pregnant at the same time as my sister, then my other sister (sorority sister) found out she was pregnant! What a blast! I hope that Madi and Parks will be great friends growing up. I can't wait to see Ash this weekend, it really hasn't been that long since we last got to catch up, but it seems like it!

Just some extra pictures (mostly for my dad who only checks the blog for the pictures, so he probably didn't even read this little blurb!)