by Rachel | Family Life
Back in 2007, Zach and I attended his first AAA awards banquet in Chicago. Last weekend, we went to our EIGHTH banquet in a row, and for the fifth time, he received the “Agent of the Year” award. Pretty amazing, my husband.
Zach’s parents have been coming up with us for the last few years, and we usually spend the day in the city eating lunch, going shopping on Michigan Avenue, and then hanging out at the hotel before the banquet. This year it was a little too cold to be outside with Parker along for the ride, so Libby and I hung out at Watertower while Zach and Steve met up with some of Zach’s friends to watch basketball games.
After we got to the hotel, we got ready for the banquet and then kissed Parker goodbye — he stayed with Grandma Libby in their hotel room while we had a date night at the banquet! It was so much fun. The entertainment was dueling pianos, which was a fun change from the comedian they usually have, and then we stayed out with our AAA friends for a little while after the event ended.
I love our nights in as a family, but it was a nice treat to have an adult night out. The next step will be having Parker sleep over at one of the grandparents’ houses…I still have yet to spent a night away from him!
by Rachel | Family Life
As of this month, Parker has been an outside baby for longer than he was on the inside. And even though my pregnancy seemed to fly by, I still find that hard to believe. How did that big boy ever fit in my belly?
Parker is actually still on the little side for his age. At his 9-month wellness visit a few weeks ago, he weighed in at a little over 16 pounds; that’s 5% for weight. But he’s 66% for height (go figure) so maybe at some point he’ll even out. He’s still nursing full-time, and I’m continuing to introduce new foods with hope that he will eventually come around to eating them.
March has been super weird, weather-wise. We went to Marco Island at the beginning of the month and ended up cutting our trip a day short, since a huge snow storm was expected in the Midwest and we didn’t want to get stranded trying to come home. It didn’t end up being nearly as bad as predicted, luckily, but it was a bummer having to spend one less day in Florida.
Then there were a few days that felt more like early summer, which we took advantage of by getting some fresh air. The St. Patrick’s day parade fell on one of those days, and we ended up walking in it. Parker had a blast!
Today I woke up to snow on the ground, which honestly didn’t even faze me at this point. Longest. Winter. Ever. But at least technically it’s spring now, and April is less than a week away. I foresee many stroller walks in our future. Get me out of this house! Otherwise I’ll be driven by boredom to keep taking selfies with Parker.
Check out the black and white one…do you see what I see? Two teeth, both of which made their grand entrance within days of each other. Teething really is as bad as they say it is. But we made it through those rough few days (and sleepless nights), though I’m not looking forward to the next round.
by Rachel | Family Life
I spend my days chasing after a crawling, standing, wannabe-walking baby boy who is becoming less and less of a baby every week. The bigger he gets, the more I try to savor his infancy while it lasts.
Things like wearing him in the Ergo when we go out, holding him in my arms just a little longer while he naps before putting him in the crib, even enjoying (rather than complaining about) our 3 am nursing sessions — because all of that will be over too soon. Sniff, tear, hiccup.
Some of Parker’s favorite big boy things to do these days: pulling ALL the books off his bookshelf, crawling at the speed of light, sitting in the front part of the cart at Target, and trying out new finger foods (he still refuses to be spoon-fed).
He is such a happy, curious, and expressive baby. His personality has really emerged this past month, and it has been so much fun to discover what makes him laugh and smile the most. Everyone who meets Parker and spends time with him comments on what a good boy he is, and they are right. There’s a reason I call him my angel doll :)
by Rachel | Family Life
Zach and I have never been big on Valentine’s Day, so I wasn’t expecting any sappy gifts this year. But he totally surprised me with something WAY better than chocolate or flowers: adorable Valentine’s photos of Parker. I found them waiting for me on his dresser, which completely made my day.
SHOCKINGLY, we got another snowstorm that day, which meant we were housebound (the theme of Winter ’14). Later on in the afternoon, I saw a few students whose parents were willing to brave the terrible weather, and then we celebrated Valentine’s Day with my mother-in-law, who had brought some gifts over.
We went over to my parents’ house for a Valentine’s dinner, and then were back home and in bed by 9 pm. Just another wild night for us crazy kids ;) It’s hard to believe that there are just a couple holidays left before Parker turns 1, which means we are almost out of “firsts”.
by Rachel | Family Life
There we were, in the St. Louis airport Starbucks across from our gate at 5 am, when I leaned over and whispered to my husband, “I think that’s Pokey LaFarge!”
“Pokey LaWho?” was his response. But he encouraged me to go over and say something to him, so I did (with baby Parker in tow). I was right; it was indeed Pokey, and we had a nice conversation about how I’d seen him play in Springfield a couple years ago.
To answer Zach’s question, Pokey is a musician whose style is a blend of mix of early jazz, string ragtime, country blues and western swing. He has a very unique sound that had me hooked immediately; in fact, his song “La La Blues” inspired me to write my own La La Song.
At the end of our conversation, Pokey came over to where we were sitting and introduced himself to Zach, and they ended up having a ten minute conversation and soccer and travel. Before we left to board our plane, Pokey gave us a copy of his new CD. I think Parker is already a fan ;)
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker turned 8 months old this week, making this his “golden month” birthday. Guess how we celebrated!? By going out on our first dinner date since August! Parker got to spend a couple hours with Grandma Libby, so he was a happy camper too :)
That was definitely the highlight of our week, because otherwise it hasn’t been very exciting. I’ve been fighting a bad cold for almost two weeks now, so between that and the terrible weather, February got off to a rough start.
Taking sick day selfies is a good way to pass the time when we’re stuck inside! Words can’t even begin to describe how ready I am for spring: for health, warmer weather, sunshine, the chance to go outside. I’ve had it with this winter.
Luckily Parker is in good spirits despite his stuffy nose and cabin fever. He doesn’t seem to mind the daily rotation between his crib, my arms, high chair, various baby apparatuses, and the floor for playtime. As long as I’m giving him my undivided attention 90% of the time, that is.
Parker’s latest discovery is the video monitor next to his crib. It has lights on it so that we can see him in the dark, and he enjoys getting nice and close when he wakes up. I looked at the monitor on my phone the other night and just about had a heart attack…I wasn’t expecting to see this:
This baby cracks me up! He is so inquisitive about everything and is already quite the little explorer. He is pulling up on everything and has no fear, which of course completely freaks me out. I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg.
