It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

I've always enjoyed Christmastime, but with a new little one, it makes Christmastime even more exciting. I've had fun dressing Parker up in cute Christmas outfits, and thought I'd share some pictures of him with you. That are just too cute!

Playing under the Christmas tree!

Camp Life Lately

Sorry, it has been awhile since I last posted. I just thought I would catch everyone up a bit. Parker has been growing and developing so quickly lately. Ever since he hit the three month mark, he has begun to be able to do a lot more. To start with, he started grabbing at his toys and of course, everything he grabs heads straight toward his mouth. I think Parker is teething. He's been drooling, chewing on anything and everything, and when I actually see his gums without a little tongue covering them, it looks like the area in which the first teeth come through is swollen. He hasn't been too fussy about it so it might be some time before they actually come in. One of his biggest milestones he has reached is turning over, first tummy to back then back to tummy. He still doesn't roll over consistently, but occasionally he will get turned over. Parker has also learned to sit up on his own. I stay close to make sure he doesn't fall over. He stays up well leaning forward on his hands. Paul and I are just so proud of him!

About a month ago, Parker started physical therapy for torticollis (sp?). Just so you know, torticollis is a condition in which the neck muscles on one side are weaker than the other which causes the baby to tilt his head to one side. Since their skulls are still forming, their heads become misshappen. Physical theraphy stretches and strengthens the weak muscles so Parker will turn in both directions to even out his head. The very first PT session was hard. Parker screamed while the therapist was stretching him, not because it hurt. Since then I try my best to make sure he is asleep during therapy which helps the therapist get good stretches in.

At the beginning of November, Michael, Mollie, and JB came to visit us on the way to one of Mollie's college friends wedding showers. It was great to see the cousins "play" with each other. I'm sure they are going to be great friends growing up.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Bethune this year with my side of the family. We enjoyed a relaxing day and a yummy meal with family. Parker also got to experience his first Black Friday shopping. I prayed for a bubble of germ blocking protection over Parker and me since I knew we would come in contact with a lot of people. Our first stop was Walmart at 5 am. With Parker sound asleep in his carrier, I politely bumped people out of my way (there were no buggies at the front of the store). Thankfully, in all the craziness, the Lord sent me a buggy left abandoned in one of the aisles. I got the things I needed with the help of my family. We were done shopping by lunch time. That's the one nice thing about getting up at the crack of dawn, you get done early.

It was late in the day when we took this. That's why we look so rough!

Parker's First State Fair

On October 17, 2009, Parker had his first trip to the SC State Fair. It was a cool, windy day so we had to bundle him up. He was so cute! He slept most of the day, but I think he enjoyed what he was awake for. The State Fair is a Camp family tradition and this will be the first of many trips to the State Fair. Here are a few pictures of our day.

All warm and snuggly.

Checking out the roosters which made Parker upset. We are raising him well. Go Tigers!

Letting Babies Cry It Out...Worth It

I may be premature in writing this so I hope I'm not jinxing (spelling?) myself. After weeks of letting Parker sleep on me or in his swing, it was starting to take its toll on me. I knew I was beginning to create a bad habit. Parker would start crying when I would lay him in his bed and in a few minutes I would pick him up and put him in the swing during the day to nap and at night either on me or in the swing. I did this mainly because I wanted to get things done around the house and I needed the sleep and it was just easier to do this. However, soon, I was getting frustrated with him sleeping on me. I did it mainly to get sleep but yet I didn't sleep well because I couldn't get comfortable. Also, I didn't want to let him cry it out because I felt so bad about it. But something had to change. We went to a friend's house who has a 5 month old and she told me about this book, Baby Wise. It's about creating a schedule that helps your child have predictability that in turn makes a happy baby who sleeps well. I must admit I was a little weary. I like routine but I'm not into the whole "at 9 exactly, he must eat" deal. However, that was not what it was about. It was more about routine with flexibility. It also mentioned that since I was starting this approach late I would have to endure some crying. I felt confident armed with this new information. I was not being a bad parent. Instead, I was doing what was best for my child in the long run. The first day was rough. I endured hours (not all at one time) of Parker crying. I kept myself busy reading another book on children and sleep to keep my mind off of the crying. However, today, the second day, things are looking up. I put Parker down for naps when he first showed signs of sleepiness and with only 5-10 minutes of whimpering, he was asleep. Tonight I put him to bed for the night left the room and when I sat in the chair to read my book, to my surprise, I heard nothing. I was so shocked that I had to peek in on him to make sure he was breathing! We still have some kinks in our routine to work out, but I'm committed to stick this out. I must say it is worth it to endure a little bit of heart wrenching crying in exchange for some nice sleep, both Parker's and ours.

I made a Moby!

Parker has been in a "I want to be held mood" lately, and I haven't been able to get hardly any housework done. Since I like things to be clean and in place, this was driving me crazy. The sling I had was not working out for me since Parker has gotten bigger. So, I did a little search on Moby Wraps, and I wanted to try it out. They are kind of expensive, around $40 plus shipping, so I found out how to make one. It's not that hard since it's one long piece of fabric. I just had to hem the raw edges around it. I am a novice when it comes to the sewing machine and had trouble (not sure if it was me or the machine). I ended up making one that looked quite awful and turned out to be too short. I had cut off a half of yard because I thought 6 yards was too long. I have now learned you really do need 6 yards of fabric. But now I have 2 handmade Moby Wraps, one that fits and one that doesn't, for only $9! I'm happy. Parker's happy. Now I can get my house clean.

My "Oldest Child's" Sermon Notes

These are Paul's notes during our "Jubilee of Encouragement" services. This is what it says:

My Son Parker

crys

makes babie (yes that's how he spelled it) noises

farts while preacher speaks

And, yes the scribbles are Paul's too.

What I've Learned So Far

I can't help but think about those commercials "A baby changes everything" when I'm looking at my beautiful boy. It is so true having a baby changes your life completely, of course for the better. I've learned a lot of things in these past 6 weeks and thought I would share some. 1. I really am selfish (sin nature at heart). Taking care of someone who is completely helpless means you have to put yourself aside sometimes. 2.There is no such thing as a "short trip" into the store when you are taking a little one with you. 3. Always carry a diaper bag with you wherever you go, even if it is a "short trip" into the store. 4. You can't spoil a baby. In fact I'm tired of people telling me I will spoil him if I pick him up when he cries. He's an infant. He doesn't know how to manipulate me. All he knows is he has a need and I'm the one to fulfill it. 5. Having a baby makes you fall in love all over again. 6. A messy house is okay as long as you have a happy baby. 7. God really did plan a family to have both a mama and a daddy. I could not do this without Paul. 8. Infant carrier car seats are a pain in the rear (or I should say back) to carry around. It's easier to just carry the baby! 9. Baby swings are a gift straight from heaven. 10. A sleeping baby is more interesting to watch than a tv show. 11. Having a baby makes you loose your memory. 12. Life pre-baby seems like it never existed.

Parker Meets JB

During Labor Day weekend, we took a trip to the Upstate to visit Paul's side of the family. This was the first time Parker and I got to meet JB. JB looks just like his daddy, Michael. We also got to see Paul's cousins and their children. We really enjoyed our time with the family. I wish we could see them more often.

Sorry this picture is sideways. I don't know why because it was the correct way in the file but downloaded this way.

Cousin JB wasn't happy about playing with Parker at first.

Raising A One Month Old From a Fathers Perspective

Parker is one month old today. It is amazing how much the little guy has grown in a course of four weeks. As a father who works at church, Chickfila , and fights within himself to find time to be at home, realizes every time he sees his son, he cannot miss out on any time to be with him. I am a father first, a pastor second, and third, work at Chickfila. I can not sacrifice my family for the sake of ministry and work. It is awesome however to know how God always makes a way for being able to live life following the call of Christ. Parker has definitely gotten heavier and more chunky which is a good thing. He has taught his daddy to learn to be more servant hearted toward his mother. Sometime I do try to get out of changing diapers some, and having to hold him all the time, but when your wife comes home and says, " Here, he's yours" means he probably has worn his mother out that day. I know and understand she needs a break and some room to breath, but she does enjoy being a mommy. I enjoy being a daddy, still sometimes don't like being woken up so much late at night but don't mind helping. I however have found ways of connecting to my son. Just changing a diaper should be exciting by making sure I can change him before he would spray me by some chance. I have learned to know it is not Paul and Kellie anymore. When going some where it is how's Parker and mommy first then sometimes am asked how I am doing. Then comes the fun job of when going on vacation away for a few days, you get the fun part of packing. I like to carry the least because you always know with us you are going to be bringing something back. Ah yes, the times when ever you arrive at your place of destination mommy and Parker get out and get inside while Daddy is unloading the care and no more help comes it is just you and the luggage. Any way there are other great things to come. This month has been exciting and fatherhood continues to be awesome.

Parker's First Trip to the Beach

This past weekend we took a small trip to the beach. My sister and her family had a house for the week at Garden City. We went for a few days to get away and for a much needed escape from the house. Parker enjoyed his time with his cousins, Hannah and Cayden. Hannah told me she wants another cousin. I told her she would have to wait awhile for that one. It was nice to get a short time away. Thanks to the Blankenship family for invite us to come. Here are some pictures from our trip.

New Baby = Germaphobic Mama

Although I have always been aware of germs, I have been leaning toward the germaphobic side since Parker was born (and not to mention the swine flu pandemic). Parker and I have been safe in our home so germs from the "outside" haven't been much of an issue until today. I had to take Parker to the doctor because he had a bad diaper rash that had begun to blister. The doctor gave him a prescription so we went to a drug store that also has a little diner in it to get it filled. It was close to lunch time so we killed two birds with one stone. We had just walked into the drug store when this lady who was on her way out walked by and said in a baby voice "let me see that baby". As she said this, I saw her hand reach out toward my 3 week old baby who has not had time to build up an immunity against the germs on her hands. As I saw this, the thought of karate chopping this woman's hand off went through my mind. Luckily, I think the woman took the hint of my body language and the look on my face and walked off without touching my child. I'm seriously thinking about making t-shirts for Parker and me that says something about not touching for when we do have public outings.

Parker at home

Play time led to nap time.

Parker was fussy so I put him in the sling. He went right to sleep. I caught the tail end of a smile!

Daddy time!

Parker was really interested in this elephant.

Hannah was very excited to meet her new cousin.

Coming home for the first time after 5 days in the NICU.

To home we go!