by Rachel | Family Life
Can we just take a moment to process the fact that my 7-month-old baby is STANDING UP in his crib? My brain is having a little trouble with that one.
Zach’s cousin Matt came over today for a quick photo shoot with Parker, so Zach served as his assistant/baby attention-getter while I corraled Sadie in the kitchen. I’ve never seen Parker stand on his own like that before until Matt sent me that photo, and it totally stopped me in my tracks. Who is this big boy and what did he do with my tiny infant?
I have so much to blog about, like Parker’s acting debut on Christmas Eve and our New Year’s trip to Florida. But like everything else in my life, I’m so overwhelmed by it all that it’s easier just to put it off a little longer and catch up on episodes of Parenthood instead.
by Rachel | Family Life
We had an awesome Christmas. When we weren’t taking ridiculous photos of Parker in various holiday attire, we were spending quality time with our families — eating, opening presents, and of course, playing with all of the fun new toys.
Our house feels so much homier now with the new floors, and that was amplified by all the Christmas decorations. I’ll be so sad when it’s time to take everything down.
Parker is still too young to really know what was going on, but he gave us plenty of smiles and humored us by ripping the wrapping paper off a few gifts (and promptly putting it in his mouth). He spent most of Christmas morning napping in Grandma Libby’s arms, but he rallied for round two with my family later on in the day.
We were all very spoiled this Christmas with tons of great gifts from our family and friends. But I won’t lie: I’m the most excited about everything that Parker received! Since I spend most days playing with him, it will be nice to have lots of new toys to add to the rotation.
There’s nothing quite like baby’s first Christmas, and we have so many wonderful memories from this past week. Next year will be a completely different experience with a mobile toddler!
by Rachel | Family Life
Parker made his acting debut on Christmas Eve, and he did such a great job that he was featured on the front page of the newspaper on Christmas Day. Go figure that it took Zach and I thirty years to make the front page, but only six months for our little thespian.
We played Joseph, Mary and Baby Jesus in the nativity skit at Laurel United Methodist Church. We didn’t have any lines or real responsibilities other than walking up the aisle and standing at the front of the church with the various animals, wisemen, and angels (played by children from the congregation).
Parker didn’t make so much as a peep during the entire service; he was way too busy looking around at everything and everyone…while wearing nothing but a diaper and swaddle cloth. I know I’m biased, but I think he made the perfect Baby Jesus. Needless to say, his first Christmas Eve is one we won’t forget!
by Rachel | Family Life
This little elf is officially half a year old! At 6 months, Parker is experiencing all kinds of exciting new things and hitting some major milestones. He checked out wonderfully at his wellness exam: he’s still a little peanut weighing in at just under 15 pounds (6th percentile), but he’s a string bean as far as length goes (76th percentile). The pediatrician is happy with his weight gain, though, and says he is doing great on his own little growth curve.
I’ve been slacking on the weekly blog posts with everything we’ve had going on — it’s been a crazy busy month! Zach and I have been talking about replacing the flooring in the living room, dining room, front hall, laundry room, bedroom, and nursery for YEARS, and we finally took the plunge this past week. Needless to say, it was a big job that necessitated staying at my parents’ house down the street for almost an entire week.
But it was 100% worth the hassle, because the new floors look awesome. It honestly feels like a brand new house! I was so happy when we were finally able to decorate for Christmas and put up our tree this past weekend. My next project is wrapping all the presents that are piling up downstairs, and of course getting ready for our annual holiday party on Monday night.
Now back to Parker. Along with celebrating his six-month birthday, he is also starting to sit up on his own really well (we’re talking minutes at a time!). Just today he figured out how to get up on his knees, so I’m thinking he’s not too far away from crawling. And THAT is a little scary, because I have a feeling once he starts, he’ll never stop moving.
Another “big boy” moment: Parker’s first taste of food! I made an avocado puree, and you can see from the look on his face just how much be enjoyed it. Maybe the next food we try will be more successful.
Tomorrow is my last day of work for the year, and then I have two whole weeks off to hang out with Parker and the rest of my family. Be ready for an onslaught of adorable Christmas photos!
by Rachel | Family Life
This week brought a BIG first in Parker’s life: baby’s first Thanksgiving! I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again — having a baby in our lives makes everything more exciting and joyful, especially holidays.
Thanksgiving is always a pretty low key day in our family. Parker slept through the night and didn’t wake up until around 8 that morning, which was a nice treat for mommy and daddy! We lazed around the house in our pajamas (not surprisingly, Parker had multiple pairs of themed jammies for the occasion) and then Parker hung out with Zach while I baked cookies to bring to dinner.
We headed to our first dinner with my family, hosted by my mom and Joe, where Parker got to hang out with my cousin Steph and my aunt Julie. After that, we made a quick stop at my uncle and aunt’s, and Parker spent some quality time with grandpa Alan.
Our last meal of the day was with Zach’s family at his cousin John’s house. All of the Rambach cousins were there, so Parker had lots of playmates. It was an awesome day filled with family, and as much fun as we had, it felt so nice to come home and relax as a little family of three.
by Rachel | Family Life
From the time he was just one month old, Parker has been a huge fan of his kick ‘n play piano. He’s spent countless hours on that mat, kicking away at the keys to the point where I have every single tune completely memorized. It’s where he first learned to grab at toys, and he perfected his rolls on that mat as well.
Add another skill to that list: he’s working on sitting up on his own with the help of his little piano. He hasn’t mastered it yet, but when I place his boppy pillow behind him, he does a pretty great job staying upright and tickling those ivories at the same time.
It’s so exciting to watch Parker discover all the things he’s capable of, especially when they are musically related! Everyone always comments on his long “piano-playing” fingers; this is just the beginning step on his journey to becoming a little pianist. Hopefully he’ll be a more diligent piano student than I was as a child ;)
