Parker continues to get cuter every day...how is this possible? He is such a little character. He can say just about anything now and is combining words together. The longest phrase he has said so far is "Thank you for lunch!" Almost brought Joel and I to tears...it actually did bring Joel to tears! :)
"Oh nuts!" Much to my dislike this has become one of Parker's new favorite phrases. Joel taught him to say this because he thinks it is so cute when he says it. I, on the other hand, can think of better things for him to say. He can tell that Joel loves it and so he says it 20 times in a row...he can tell I don't like it so he says it 20 times in a row.
We have Parker's big boy room all ready!!! He loves to go in there and lay on his new bed...I am a little nervous how riled up he gets when he is on it...it does not seem like he will sleep well if he is that excited! We are hoping to try out moving him in there soon.
Parker has made some big steps lately that have put my mind a bit more at ease about the transition of the baby's arrival. 1. Bathing and teeth brushing is going a million times better now. No more tears! 2. Instead of hitting my stomach he now lays his head on it, shares his blankie with it and kisses it. A few of my friends have recently had babies and when he is around them he loves them and touches their heads gently! 3.We also have been working on making him be more independent by not carrying him around as much, making him climb stairs on his own and encouraging playing by himself more. He is doing fabulous with these changes too! His favorite thing is to read books. He will sit in his room for 15 minutes at a time "reading". He chatters away like he is actually reading the story.
Parker got his 4 eye teeth in November! We are excited more teeth are here but it took a fussy month for them to all break through!
Parker had some firsts this month as well. 1. Band Concert at ZCS which he loved! He was clapping and dancing on the seat and was a bit distracting to those sitting close to us, but it was fun to see him experience something new. 2. Chuckie Cheese!!! We headed there with the Gritters and despite it being 100 degrees in there it was really fun! Parker is at the age where he doesn't really know about toys moving so he was just happy to sit on different rides...we were too! We only spent a few $$ and had over an hour of entertainment. Parker was mesmerized by people playing the basketball shooting game...Joel was too...Joel had to play it until he beat the high score! There was a kids' football game that Parker enjoyed and actually did really well at! With our tickets we were able to get 2 packages of Smarties!
I feel like I can't do an update without talking about Parker's latest shooting abilities! He is now almost dribbling a basketball...he can do 3-5 dribbles before the ball loses height. He also has taken a big liking to the hoop in the basement. He can make several shots in a row and now is trying to shoot from farther away (he made a few shots standing 6 feet away) and doing lay ups! Him and Joel can shoot hoops together for over an hour! It is really fun to watch them interact in that way! Parker rebounds Joel's balls and brings them back to him so Joel has no complaints! In addition to shooting he has been working on kicking the ball a lot and can now run and kick it at the same time with great accuracy!
The highchair has been put in storage because one day Parker decided he no longer wanted to use it any more. We didn't have an alternative chair for him yet so we had him sitting on towels until we got the chair. It is a little messier but he is really enjoying it an does a great job! His skills with using utensils has greatly improved as well. Most things he is able to eat solely with a fork and spoon!
Parker said his first prayer by himself this month! "Dear Jesus. Thank you for Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa and Grandma. Amen!" Wow! There is something about him praying that gets me every time. He continues to remind us to pray at meals and before bed...not that we forget but he is just so on the ball!
His 18 month doctor's appointment went better than ever too. This was the first appointment he did not scream bloody murder the entire time...same with his last haircut! I did a lot of verbal prepping days in advance so he knew it was coming and what to expect. I also had a sucker that he got in the car if he did well. I thought this was a visit without shots which I highlighted to him but then there actually was a shot he had to get which made mommy a liar! Ooops! He continues to be a string bean...75th% for height and less than 30th% for weight!
