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
Zach surprised us with tickets to see Sesame Street Live at the Prairie Capital Convention Center over Labor Day Weekend, and as much as Parker LOVES Sesame Street, I wasn’t sure which way this would go. I figured he would either love it or be scared to death of his beloved characters in life-sized form. Luckily, the former was true — Parker had what we are pretty sure was the best day of his life.
The excitement began before we even walked through the door. Parker couldn’t get over the fact that Elmo was on his shirt, and kept pointing to him. He knew something was up, maybe because we were all so excited. He practically skipped up the sidewalk and into the building.
The first thing Parker spotted was this Count sign, holding $8 Elmo and Grover balloons. We practically had to tear him away to go inside the auditorium.
And you better believe that he was a proud owner of one of those $8 balloons at intermission, thanks to Grandma Libby. As much as he loved the balloon, it didn’t come close to his sheer amazement as he watched the show.
This child has the attention span of a knat, yet his eyes didn’t leave the stage once. Not a peep, and the only moving he did was from lap to lap without looking away from the action.
I’m pretty sure that Zach, his parents and I enjoyed this experience just as much as Parker. Seeing it through his eyes was so special — it was definitely an afternoon to remember.
I wasn’t sure how Sesame Street on the small screen at home would hold up after seeing the live version, but luckily Parker is still a fan. Just hearing the theme song throws him into full-on dance mode. I suppose there are worse things he could be going gaga over than Elmo (or, Memmo, as Parker lovingly calls him).
by Rachel | Family Life
Out of all the ways that becoming a mom has changed me, turning into an extrovert is the one I didn’t see coming. I guess it makes sense, though; spending most of my time at home with a toddler leaves me craving adult interaction now more than ever.
Over the past year, I’ve made a few great “mom friends” through the baby group at St. John’s Hospital, swim lessons, music class, and through mutual friends. I really look forward to playdates so that Parker can have fun while his friends while I get in some grown-up conversations. Win-win situation.
Most recently, a few of us met up at Ergadoozy, which was a huge hit! There were tons of toys to play with, things to climb, and slides to go up the wrong way. An added bonus: the nice long nap that Parker took when we got home.
He’s at the age where he can participate in a lot more activities, which will be great for keeping us busy throughout the week this fall. Last week we attended our first Funshop class, which was quite the experience! There were SO many things to take in and experience that I think it was a bit of sensory overload for Parker, but he had a great time.
We also tried out the Little Gym, which has a “gymnastics” class for toddlers. It was so funny watching Parker run wild all over the big mat and dancing to the music. He was completely terrified of the gym equipment until the very end of the class, when he decided to try out the little balance beam. Of course, when it was time for everyone to come back to the mat (where he had been the entire class), Parker refused to get off the beam. Typical :)
Swim lessons start back up on Saturday, so our schedule really is going to be chock-full. We have to get all of our fun in before winter hits, especially if this year is anything like last. Until then, we’ll be getting out and about as often as we can (and taking plenty of long naps as a result!).
by Rachel | Family Life
It has been a ROUGH weekend in the Rambach household. Zach was out of town, and it is Murphy’s Law that something always goes wrong when he’s away. This time was no exception — my poor baby Parker got sick for the first time ever.
It all started the day Zach left, which was Thursday. After work, Parker and I went over to my parents’ house for dinner. My stepsister was home with my niece, Annabelle, and baby nephew, Alec. Parker and Annabelle are a dynamic duo, and spent most of the evening chasing each other around the house. My mom noticed that Parker felt really warm right as we were getting ready to leave, so I took his temperature as soon as we got home.
Sure enough, he had a fever of 102. He wasn’t crying or acting uncomfortable, so I wasn’t too worried yet. My mom, on the other hand, was much more worried than me and insisted I call the telenurse. She basically told me to monitor him and call the pediatrician in the morning if his fever persisted and he had other symptoms.
Parker slept fine, but when I picked him up out of his crib on Friday morning, I realized he was burning up. He still had a fever of 102, and wasn’t acting like himself. I called the pediatrician’s office, but they didn’t want to see him unless his fever persisted for 72 hours. So I attempted to give him some Tylenol (most of which he spit out) and just tried to keep him comfortable.
Parker had no interest in eating breakfast, though I did get him to drink some milk. Mostly he wanted to just lay on my lap or on the couch and watch Sesame Street. That is sooo unlike him — this kid never sits still. We went for a walk around the neighborhood, but mostly just hung around the house the rest of the day.
I had to play a gig that night, so my in-laws came over to stay with him. They said he didn’t seem to be in a ton of pain, but he was still not interested in eating and had started tugging on his ears. He cried and whimpered in his sleep throughout the night, so neither of us slept well. I brought him in bed with me early on Saturday morning, and this is how pathetic he was. Poor baby.
He still had a bit of a fever and was really upset, so it was off to Prompt Care. Not my favorite way to spend a Saturday. That was a two-hour ordeal involving lots of waiting, screaming and crying, and two people holding Parker down so that the doctor could look in Parker’s throat, ears, and administer some drops. I wanted to cry, seeing my baby so miserable.
While we were waiting for the results of the strep test, Parker passed out from sheer exhaustion. Luckily, it wasn’t strep, but it was an ear infection. The doctor prescribed an antibiotic, so off to Walgreens we went.
Later that afternoon, my dad and stepmom came over to hang out with us. Parker was starting to feel better, thankfully, and did eat some yogurt and crackers. He slept much better at night, too — 12 full hours! My mom came over in the morning so that I could go grocery shopping, and then Parker and I laid low the rest of the day. I’m glad the weather was dreary all weekend; at least we weren’t missing out on being outside.
By Sunday afternoon, Parker was almost back to his old self. He was still more cuddly than usual (I’m not complaining about that!) but he was eating a little more and not tugging at his ears as much. The sun even came out after dinner, so we went for a walk before bedtime.
I’m really glad Parker’s first illness wasn’t anything serious, and I am so grateful he has stayed healthy for this long. Hopefully we don’t have a repeat of this weekend anytime soon (and Zach better bring me something good home from Vegas, since he got to miss out on all of this!).
