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.