August

Parker loves grabbing the spoon and making a mess!

So then we take a bath... Parker James loves his bath seat.

He has already mastered the "you're so annoying, mom" look.

Now a video of Parker's latest skill...

This kid is all over the place now. Before this video he crawled the entire way out of his bedroom (to follow his mama, of course!) then crawled to the gate, pulled himself up, and then started shaking it. That's his latest trick: shaking things. He likes to be pulled up to a standing and then he grabs hold of something and gives it a good shake.

The crawling and pulling up has been so exciting to watch. It all developed so suddenly. Once Parker figured out how to get on his hands and knees it was only a day or two before he started crawling. It's still not high speed crawling, but he can get where he wants to go. And I still won't let him crawl around downstairs (on our hardwood floors) because once in a while he still loses energy or his balance.

At first all the crawling was helping tremendously with Parker's naps and sleeping. He must have been exhausted because he was taking long and regular naps and waking up only once at night. Well, now he's figured out that he can crawl to the side of the crib and pull himself up on his knees like in the video. He would do this at the start of every nap instead of going to sleep. Aye aye aye.

7 months

here's P with one of his favorite things

We're sick! Blah. Parker got his first cold this week. I guess I should be grateful he went seven months with nothing, but it's been sad to see the little guy all stuffed up. He is so squirmy and wiggly he wouldn't let me suction out his nose or wipe anything away. Nursing was difficult at first because he couldn't figure out how to breathe and eat. He already seems to be getting better but of course I came down with whatever he had. So now I'm hurting.

During all of this I decided to paint our master bedroom. Quite the project considering I can only make progress when Parker is napping. Each nap I would do a little bit more and now, five days later, I only have a small section left. Meanwhile the room is a disaster but the end product should be beautiful. I'm very happy with how it is turning out... and Jake likes it too.

Parker is now seven months old. Still no crawling or teeth, but he's just now starting to prop himself up on all fours and push forward only to face-plant on the carpet. He can army crawl/roll to get what he wants. Usually he sees a cell phone or remote control that he wants. He also has a walker that he zooms around in. He can pretty much get anywhere he wants to go in it... baby gates are the priority this weekend! Also on the agenda is lowering the crib mattress. He has been very eager to pull himself up on things. At this time he still needs help to fully lift himself up, but I'm sure he'll figure it out soon. He's also infatuated with Roxy now.