by Rachel | Family Life
We kicked off the week with a quick day trip to St. Louis, where we celebrated cousin Ellie’s 1st birthday. Parker took his second ever dip in the pool — the theme of the party was “Polar Plunge” though the temperature inside was nice and warm — and then he had fun playing with the rest of his cousins.
Monday and Tuesday brought more arctic weather, so that meant more hibernating in the house for us. We finally got out on Wednesday to visit with the other moms and babies at the St. John’s group. Parker got quite friendly with Paisley, one of the other babies who has been coming almost as long as we have. They were so cute, smiling and talking to each other. I love watching him interact with other babies!
Zach has been bringing Parker to my Church Mice music class, so he’s been getting some social interaction there, too. He really gets into the music and even plays some of the instruments like the bigger kids. At this time next year, he’ll be running around and dancing with them :)
This week I introduced oatmeal, which I wasn’t planning on doing in the beginning. But since Parker wasn’t liking any of the other solids I tried, I figured the oatmeal was worth a shot. Lo and behold, he has done pretty well with it! He still turns away from every spoonful I offer, but eventually will take a bite. He ended up eating a few tablespoons, which is more than he’s eaten of any other food. Progress!
As I type this blog post, we are in the middle of yet another winter storm…so I guess we’ll be doing more hibernating over the next few days. At least Parker has some friends here to keep him company.
by Rachel | Listen & Learn Music
This week as I was cleaning out my iTunes library (in an attempt to free up some space on my computer’s hard drive…I’m almost out!), I came across this little gem.
I wrote Who’s Jingling Now? right around this time last year as part of my early childhood music class curriculum, but for some reason I never got around to sharing it with you. Better late than never, I suppose.
A few of the objectives I had in mind when I wrote this song include: taking turns, individual play, listening skills, group cohesion, and both fine and gross motor skills. The song is meant to be used in a group setting, and provides each child in the group an opportunity to be the “featured” player.
I purposefully left out directions for playing a specific way (up high/down low, fast/slow, etc.) because I like to use this song as a lead-in to more structured instrument play. The expectations are not too high for a child who is just starting to get comfortable playing in a group and being singled out.
by Rachel | Family Life
When I took over as Head Mouse of the early childhood music class, Church Mice, I was a music therapy intern in St. Louis and commuting to Springfield on the weekends. I was not married, and I was what seemed like a million years away from thinking about children of my own.
Fast forward 7 years: I’m still the Head Mouse, and there’s a new little mouse in the circle. MY BABY! I cannot fully explain how surreal it is to see Parker sitting amongst the rest of the kiddos, playing instruments and smiling and having fun.
What’s even more surreal is watching Zach (my husband) and Parker play together, just like the rest of the families in the group. When we started thinking about having a baby, and even moreso when I was pregnant, I tried to imagine this scenario — but the reality is so much sweeter than anything I envisioned! The fact that they are bonding through my music just makes my heart swell.
At one point, Zach sat Parker right next to me. He had the biggest grin on his face, watching and listening as I sang. I couldn’t help but grin right back at him. I try not to play favorites in any of my groups or classes, but it’s a little hard not to in this case ;)
Church Mice has always been one of the highlights of my week, but having my family there brings a whole new level of enjoyment. I know there will come a time (hopefully in the distant, distant future) when Parker is embarrassed by my singing and playing, so until then I am going to soak up these moments, being his musical idol.
by Rachel | Family Life
This is quite possibly my favorite age yet. Parker is still an infant — he’s little and needy and still nursing often — but he’s also showing some signs of becoming a “big boy”. And as bittersweet as it is to watch my baby grow up before my eyes, it’s also pretty awesome.
He’s so happy; he’s really a sweet, good-natured boy. I can make him smile just by making a silly face or doing a funny dance, and he giggles every time he lays eyes on Sadie. He LOVES his grandparents and his sitter, Greta, and just about everyone else he meets.
At 32 weeks, Parker still wants nothing to do with solid foods. I have tried many different kinds, both homemade and store-bought, and even “puffs” were mostly a no-go. It’s kind of baffling, because he puts everything ELSE in his mouth without a second thought. I’m trying not to get discouraged, but it’s hard when I hear about other babies eating and loving solids. We’ll just keep trying and hope that one of these days, he changes his mind.
Parker has been babbling for quite some time, and right around Christmas he discovered the “ba” sound. Ever since, it’s “bababa” and “bubba” (which happens to be our nickname for him) 24/7, but recently he has added a new word: MAMA. Not “mamamamama”, which has been around for months; just “mama”. He looks so proud when he says it, probably because I clap and cheer and attack him with kisses every time :) He has been playing around with “da”, so “dada” is probably not far behind.
We’ve been going a little stir-crazy inside, and I am so ready for winter to be over. I miss our walks in the park and even just being able to go outside, but it has just been too cold. We spend a LOT of time playing with toys (and the toy bin itself, haha), practicing crawling and walking, and finding other ways to pass the time around the house. Even this homebody is getting bored!
But we do have a couple trips to look forward to in February. We are heading to Florida not once, but twice; the first is for my NICU music therapy training in Orlando, and then the following weekend is Marco Island for Zach’s company trip. It will be so nice to escape the frozen tundra for a few days.
by Rachel | Motherhood
I’ve held a sleeping baby in my arms every day for the last 7.5 months, usually multiple times per day. I’ve taken dozens of pictures like these: of his perfect little lips, his chubby little fingers hanging on to my shirt. Sometimes I try to transfer him to his crib, but other times, I just stay put and let him sleep on me.
Every day, the thought crosses my mind that I’m one day closer to a time when I won’t hold him like this anymore, and that makes me really sad.
I know we have a lot to look forward to as Parker gets older, but I don’t want to forget any of these precious moments. They are far and away the best moments of every day.
