by Rachel | Family Life
Confession: I was ready to have another baby mere months after Parker was born. Luckily, Zach was the voice of reason and convinced me that we should wait until at least his 1st birthday, and the logical side of me agreed.
We ended up waiting until July, since June was full of birthdays and travel (including Zach’s 10-day trip to Brazil). Those first two months were disappointing, especially since it only took one try with Parker. But I chalked it up to the fact that I was still breastfeeding a couple times a day, and life went on.
In mid-September, I could tell something was up. Parker was refusing to nurse, which was very unlike him, and I just felt…off. So the morning of September 16, I took a test. The second line wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been two years ago, but it was there!
Zach was still at the gym, so I dressed Parker in a “big brother” shirt I had bought MONTHS ago, and we waited for him to come home. When I heard the garage door open, I set up the video camera on my phone to record his reaction — but it was a total fail because he didn’t even notice the shirt! I had to point it out to him, and then I got the reaction I was waiting for.
I was so excited, I could barely focus enough to teach my morning early childhood class. Afterwards, I headed straight to the lab to have my blood drawn; I wanted to make sure the test was telling the truth. A couple hours later, my aunt (who is also my OB’s nurse) called with the results: I was definitely pregnant!
It’s almost as if Parker knew, because that very day he weaned completely. We made it to 15 months, and I would have loved to keep going, but he was done. I had been preparing myself for this day to come, and had I not been pregnant, it would have been a million times harder.
Keeping quiet about my pregnancy was a much bigger challenge this time around. I wanted to tell everyone from the very beginning, but I kept my lips sealed to all but close friends and family. After two and a half months, I am SO relieved that the secret it out!
Next up, all about my 1st trimester. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t pretty…neither literally nor figuratively.)
by Rachel | Family Life
By the time October 31st rolled around, I completely lost count of how many times Parker had already worn his Elmo costume. My mother-in-law bought it at the beginning of September, and every time Parker saw that red fur, he’d beg for it. Needless to say, we didn’t have to twist his arm to participate in a little pre-Halloween photo shoot with Zach’s cousin Matt.
On the afternoon of Halloween, Zach and Parker met up with our friend Jose Carlos and his twin boys to do a little indoor trick-or-treating. Thank goodness they had that option, because we decided it was too cold to go visit our neighbors like we had originally planned.
Zach treated Parker to his first taste of Halloween candy, and that little bit of sugar really got him going (as evidenced by his feat of strength below). All in all, Parker’s 2nd Halloween was a big success for everyone — he slept reeeeally well that night :)
by Rachel | Family Life
It wouldn’t be October without a trip — or in our case, 2 trips — to the pumpkin patch. The first one felt like the middle of August, while the other felt more like late November. Gotta love central Illinois in the fall.
My dad and stepmom joined us for one trip, while Zach’s parents came along for the other. And what a difference a year makes; it was so fun to see Parker running around and participating in all the activities as opposed to just serving as a prop for photos, like he did at last year’s visits ;)
Although he doesn’t look particularly thrilled in this photo, Parker LOVED the horses. He had a blast on the horse-drawn hayrack ride, and has been making horse sounds nonstop ever since. The other highlight for him was the owners’ little dog, who rode along with us.
As for the actual pumpkin patch part? There were wayyy too many other interesting things occupying his attention; maybe next year he’ll have some interest in walking through it and picking out a pumpkin.
by Rachel | Family Life
Ever since Parker learned the meaning of the word, it’s been his go-to. When I come to his crib in the morning, when he sees any familiar person, when he wants to sit in his high chair, when he doesn’t feel like standing…you get the point.
The past few weeks have been particularly exhausting, so of course, Parker has been more needy than usual. Some days I feel like I barely set him down, because if I do, he starts crying. Then he’ll give me those puppy dog eyes, hold out his arms, and say in his cute little voice, “Up?”.
Yeah, he’s got me wrapped around his tiny finger.
I’m pretty sure this recent clinginess has something to do with the two teeth Parker is cutting, and I will gladly take extra snuggles (and bigger biceps) over lost sleep.
Speaking of “up”, that is exactly how Parker is growing. 16 months as of last week. His personality has blossomed so much over the last couple of months, and he is much fun to be with. He has the best sense of humor — he is figuring out how he can make us laugh and becoming quite the ham.
I’m working more hours during the week this year, so the time that I have with Parker is more valuable than ever. Which is exactly why I give in every time I hear that little “up”, even if it means wearing him in the Ergo while I vacuum the entire house. And sometimes, if I’m really lucky, I get extra snuggles as a reward for indulging him.
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker had his 15-month well visit this week, and despite getting 4 shots plus a toe prick, he was a champ. He was pretty chill and let Dr. Phillips listen to his heart, look in his ears, and even take a peek at the molars that are starting to come in.
I always hold my breath a little when it comes time to take all the measurements, because Parker has been such a tiny peanut from the very beginning. He only gained one pound since his 12-month visit, but I wasn’t too surprised considering he is ALWAYS on the move (and still not the best eater).
Weight: 20 lb (12%)
Height: 31 in (43%)
Head: 46 cm (16%)
12% is the highest he’s been on the curve since he was born; hopefully the upward trend continues. The pediatrician was happy with his progress and said he looked perfect, which is always reassuring.
At 15 months, Parker is talking up a storm. He has lots of words, including:
- hi
- byebye
- more
- thank you
- dada
- mama
- papa
- nightnight
- cracker
- milk
- wawa (water)
- bath
- toy
- book
- piano
- lion
- turtle
- raccoon
- duck
- Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar, Grover, Ernie (Sesame Street)
Plus, he can tell me the sounds for dog, cat, cow, pig, sheep, duck, bird, lion, monkey, frog, train, doorbell, and drum. If I ask him to say a word, he will almost always do so, and he is pretty good at imitating without prompting, too.
One sweet little story to end this post about my big boy: last night, Parker woke up crying at around 12:30 (which never happens). I picked him up out of the crib, and he wiggled to get down. He walked over to the rocking chair and pointed to it, so I picked him up and we rocked for a few minutes.
He fell asleep almost immediately, but when I stood up to put him back in his crib he opened his eyes. I thought he was going to start crying again, but instead he just relaxed as I set him down and fell right back to sleep. I like to think he just needed a quick mama snuggle :)
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker has an obsession with all things Sesame Street. He asks to watch it multiple times a day, and when he hears the theme song he comes running and dances along to the music. He knows the characters’ names, and can identify them verbally. So when we found out that Sesame Street Live was coming to our city over Labor Day weekend, we couldn’t resist.
That being said, I had low expectations for how this would all play out. I mean, how plausible was it for a 14-month-old to sit through a stage show, especially one where life-sized characters were singing and dancing around? Not to mention that it would be dark and extremely loud. We agreed that he would either completely love it…or be completely scared out of his mind.
Captivated, mesmerized, entranced: those three words best describe Parker’s reaction. This is a boy who does not like to sit still for longer than a minute, but the only moving he did during the show was from one lap to another. He kept his eyes on the action the whole time, and didn’t make a peep.
I noticed that all of the other children in the audience were just as attentive, which leads me to believe that Sesame Street has these kids completely figured out (or maybe they put something in the air in the auditorium, haha).
I didn’t see my first musical production (Peter Pan at The Muni, an outdoor summer theater here in Springfield) until I was 4 or 5, so Parker has me beat by a few years. I’m so glad we took the chance on attending the show, because he had the time of his life. It was really fun to watch his reaction and experience it through his eyes.
For more mama moments and Parker updates (including an abundance of adorable photos and videos), check out my family blog, www.therambachs.com.
