by Rachel | Family Life
Good news: I survived my first overnight trip away! And not just one night, but three. I wrote about flying solo as I was waiting for my flight in the airport, and I honestly had no idea how I’d handle the long weekend. But I did much better than expected, and now I know that leaving my baby in my husband’s very capable hands (with the help of grandparents) is no big deal.
I had a fun and productive weekend with my friends and colleagues. We got a lot of work done and managed to have a little fun, too. I got to experience Napa Valley for the first time, and can’t wait to go back again soon. I wrote all about my trip here.
Traveling home seemed to take FOREVER, especially since once I finally landed after two long flights, I still had to drive almost 2 hours home from the airport. When I walked in the door, Parker saw me and got the biggest grin on his face. He toddled over and fell into my lap…it was so cute! I could tell he was happy to see me, but not as happy as I was to see him.
I don’t have any solo trips planned until AMTA conference in November, which is just fine with me. Parker gets to tag along on our next trip, which is coming up in less than two weeks. We will be off to Denver to visit my brother and sister-in-law! Can’t wait.
by Rachel | Family Life
On the morning of Parker’s birthday, we took him downstairs so that he could open up his BIG gift: a brand-new playroom! I’m so happy we caught the reveal on video, although he has since grown much more excited about it than he was that morning.
This playroom has been a work in progress since the day we moved in. We referred to it as the “Bozo room” for the longest time, because this is how it looked originally.
I wrote a blog post about the beginnings of our playroom makeover way back before Parker was born; it only took 15 months to complete this little project! Isn’t it amazing what a coat of paint and foam tile flooring can do to a room?
The last week or so before Parker’s birthday, we spent just about every evening downstairs putting in the floor, decorating the wall with decals, putting together the furniture, and slowly moving in the toys. I took some photos before that last step, so in these photos the room is looking pretty stark. Trust me, it’s chock full of toys now.
It was actually my mom who came up with the ocean theme for the room. I had chosen the wall color last year just because it was bright and pretty, but I didn’t really have a them in mind. Once we agreed on the ocean theme, we ordered the blue foam tiles. Zach found the decals online to complete the look.
My mother-in-law ordered the Carolina craft table from Pottery Barn Kids as a gift for Parker. It comes with two different sets of legs, so there are longer ones for when Parker gets bigger. We also have chairs for the table, which we are storing in the closet until Parker is old enough to use them.
The nautical rope mirror is also from Pottery Barn Kids. I found the frames at Target, and filled them with some of my favorite photos from Parker’s first year. Never did I expect that those photos would be one of his favorite parts of the room!
Here is a close-up shot of the photos. It’s so funny to watch Parker go up to the frames and touch them, and then look at each photo. He is a little vain when it comes to pictures of himself ;)
The wooden letters are from Hobby Lobby. I have added a few more decorative touches to the room since these photos were taken, though I wanted to keep the walls pretty sparse (besides the decals). I imagine one day they will be full of Parker’s art work.
Parker received SO MANY TOYS for his birthday that this room was pretty much a necessity. I love that it is self-contained; there is a door to the downstairs family room that can be completely shut, so when we are playing in the playroom, he almost forgets that any other rooms exist. It’s big enough that we don’t feel claustrophobic, and with all the toy choices, he doesn’t get bored easily.
This summer has been insane so far, and we haven’t had much time to spend at home as a family. After Zach gets home from the World Cup in Brazil (yeah, that’s a different topic for a different day), the plan is to start hanging out in the basement more often. I don’t think Parker will have a problem with that!
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
Turning books into singable stories has been a little hobby of mine since my first music therapy practicum in grad school (almost 10 years ago!). I’ve used dozens and dozens of them in my work as a therapist, and now they are serving double duty in my newest career as a mom.
Parker was gifted an entire bookcase worth of books when he was born, and we have been steadily adding to the collection throughout his first year of life. Just this afternoon I was going through them and realized a baby-centered singable story series might be a great addition to the blog…especially since so many of my music therapist colleagues have recently become moms!
One of my very favorite books in Parker’s collection is one that he received for Christmas from my mom. It’s called I’ll See You in the Morning, and it made me cry the first time I flipped through it. The story is sweet, the illustrations are lovely, and best of all, it makes for the perfect singable story.
Singing this book has become a part of our bedtime routine, and I’ve started sharing it with other moms too. We have quite a few “going to bed” books on the shelf, but this one is definitely our favorite. What’s yours?
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker has always been a charmer, but based on his birthday party, I think it’s safe to say that he specializes in small groups rather than large crowds. As more and more people arrived and showered attention on him, it was clear that the birthday boy was feeling more than a little bashful. But the straw would break the camel’s back a little bit later.
We went all out with the nautical theme to match his nursery and new playroom (more on that coming soon!). So naturally Parker dressed the part in a sailor suit as the guests arrived. But before long, he made his first wardrobe change into swim attire so that he could join all his friends in the pool.
My mom and stepdad went above and beyond by not only hosting the party — which included opening up their pool to a gaggle of babies and toddlers! — but also preparing almost all the food. The spread was pretty fantastic. My mother-in-law contributed with fruit and desserts, and my mom’s friend Terri created the awesome cookies. I’m not much of a chef, so I stuck to decorating and making sure everyone was having a good time.
Parker made the rounds throughout the party, but spent the majority of it chilling in the pool with his buddies. He loves his friends! It was so cute watching them interact in the water. Parker looks like such a little peanut next to them (though to be fair, he is the youngest by several months).
The weather was beautiful…a perfect day for a pool party. It was fun watching everyone splash around and have a good time. That is by far the most people ever to swim in that pool at once.
After we filled up on hot dogs, hamburgers, pasta salad, and lots of other yummy food, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday”. Parker wasn’t thrilled about sitting in his high chair, and it only went downhill from there. He burst into tears as soon as everyone started singing to him, and wanted absolutely nothing to do with his smash cake.
I smiled for this photo, but inside my heart was breaking for my overstimulated, overwhelmed, overtired little buddy. I rescued him from the hot seat a few moments later, but not before Zach dangled him over his cake. I’m sure you can guess how I felt about that!
At that point, the 30+ person crowd began to thin out and Parker had a chance to chill out. He opened a couple gifts, including a pair of Air Jordans from his friends Augie and Charlie. Pretty fancy!
He also got his very own personalized soccer jersey, which of course Zach put on him immediately. One of my mom’s gifts to Parker was an engraved Louisville Slugger bat with his name and the Cubs logo. I think Daddy was much more excited about it than Parker :) Parker’s cousin Mason helped him open the rest of his gifts.
I’m so grateful first and foremost to my parents for hosting and doing all the hard work involved with throwing the party. The rest of the grandparents (especially my mother-in-law) helped out and made it such a special event. So many of our friends and family traveled to Springfield to help Parker celebrate; we are super thankful for the great company and of course, all the awesome gifts Parker received!
After the party was over, we loaded everything up and took our exhausted one-year-old (!) home to get ready for bed. Needless to say, he slept VERY well that night. We all did, actually. It was a wonderful day, but I’m glad first birthday bashes only happen once.
by Rachel | Family Life
After almost two years of taking weekly photos, we’ve wrapped up our latest project. The first was my pregnancy series, and no one was happier to see that end than Zach and I — finding a fruit that corresponded with the baby’s size became more stressful each week.
But the “52 Weeks of Parker” series coming to a close was a little more bittersweet, and for obvious reasons. Getting Parker to pose for his weekly photo was no easy feat in those last couple of months, but somehow we managed to pull it off.
For the most part, Parker was a good sport and played along with us. We got some pretty cute shots, and I know we will treasure the photos that show his growth throughout the first year. But the best photo of all is the very last one: it says loud and clear, “ALL DONE!”
I had the photos printed and then hung them up for everyone to see at Parker’s first birthday party (more on that coming soon). I also made a little video and recorded a special song to go along with it. Watch the video here.
