New Toys!

We had our MOPS swap last week.  Although I can't imagine that there is a single thing left that we don't currently own, I brought home a few new toys for Parker.

Turns out I'm a total sucker for any sort of toy that we had when I was growing up (guess I'm nostalgic that way).  Although on our ring stacker, the orange ring was flat, I think the dog got to it one too many times.

Have I mentioned that everything goes in the mouth?  If Parker isn't trying to pull Darcy's fur, he's trying to eat it, or more often, some combo of that.  You'd think Darcy would learn & give him a wider berth.

Parker has started sitting!  He prefers rolling, so it never lasts very long, but he is doing it for longer periods of time now.  I think we're in the "glory stage" of baby growth right now, Parker's big enough to sit & entertain himself, but he's not yet mobile (although he can make some distance rolling when the mood strikes him).

7 months!

Our little boy is seven months already, I can't believe it!

Parker loves to roll.  His current trick is to roll as far has he can until he crashes into something (wall, couch, you name it) and then wail until either I rescue him, or he remembers how to roll the other direction.

He does not like the sun (what little he's seen of it so far).  He sneezes whenever the sun gets in his eyes, just like his Mama.

When we're out & about he loves to just watch all the coming & going and seeing what everyone else is up to.

...and he loves his Sophie!  Or really anything he can put in his mouth.

Parker's had a rather rough cold the past few days.  But when he's not coughing and fighting sleep, he's still a really happy baby.

He's learning to sit up on his own.  But he really prefers to be either rolling or held so he can stand up.

He also loves his solid foods!  He will actually sit in the high chair and cry (with tears) while he waits for us to get his 2nd and 3rd courses ready.  Here he's sporting a natty collard greens goatee.  So far he's showing a willingness to eat greens that far exceeds his Mama & Daddy's.

Parker also loves to put anything & everything in his mouth.  Anytime he moves his body, he leads with the mouth, which is always open, waiting for new experiences.

All in all, he's a pretty fantastic little guy and we are so lucky to have him in our lives.

I wouldn't mind if he slept a little longer at night, but I still can't deny that we have the easiest baby ever.

He's also growing!

As of yesterday, he's 15lbs, 9oz.

That puts him in the 5th percentile for weight, we're on the upswing!

Something is not quite right here.

Keith is usually in charge of getting Parker ready for bed.  This usually involves an all-out silly tickle fest that cause me to wonder how anyone could get to sleep after it.  But get to sleep we do, so what do I know?

So... what did you do this weekend?

umm...  I read a book...

Or Two...

Or maybe three...

Okay, I'm exaggerating.  I finished the third one today.  I would have finished it yesterday if a certain someone had been willing to nap longer than 10 minutes at a time.  He's been much more accommodating this morning.

Mary handed this stack of books off to me last week, and although I'm sure I could have found a more productive use for my time, I couldn't put them down until I'd devoured the whole stack.  This is a highly disturbing, but equally compelling story.  Can't say these would go in my to-read-again book pile, but they certainly held my attention.

Catching up

A few random photos from the last week...

Friday morning, we met Dianne and Eric (with Joshua & Nora) and Kelly (and Fiona) at the zoo.

Dianne was able to get her baby fix in, it should hold her for a few weeks at least.

Our friends gave us this bib, at the moment it makes a nice dress.  At least we don't have to worry about his clothes getting messy at dinner.  The sleeves are so long that Parker's hands never quite make it to the cuffs.  So, when he tries to suck on his fists, he ends up chewing on the elbow or so.

Saturday morning Keith put together our new baby gate.  Because of the way our stairs are designed, we had to order an extra-wide gate online, and Keith will still have to do some creative construction to get it installed.  Parker had a great time watching.

They spent several hours entertaining each other, so I had time to work on a new project.  It's just in the starting stages, I'll have photos once it's done.

Today's Project ~ Save my Sweater

I have a lovely cashmere sweater that I love, but it has a small moth-hole in a rather conspicuous place.

It's been sitting in my closet for months, waiting for inspiration on how I can cover it up.

Today, I remembered the drawer in my jewelry chest filled with sparkly brooches I've received from work.  It's not total inspiration, but it's a start.

Step 1: Fix the hole.

Not perfect, but the whole point is to cover it up.  At least this way it won't get worse.

Step 2: Wait for inspiration...

I have an old ivory colored cashmere sweater that is beyond saving that I thought I could use for trim.  I also found some Ivory grosgrain ribbon.

In the end, the most simple option, ends up being the best:

Or maybe this one:

or this:

Actually, I'm not really sure.  The thing is, although I love a nice embellished top in theory, once I put one on, I feel kind of ridiculous.  So, I don't know, the old green sweater may end up back on the top shelf awaiting more inspiration, but we'll see.

Zoo!

There was a brief break in the rain on Saturday. so Parker & I took the opportunity to head to the zoo.

It was overcast, but fairly warm (for March), so a lot of the animals were out & about.

My little bear had a great time.

Ten on Ten ~ Parker's Day

I've recently started following the blog of a girl at church.  She has stated the "Ten on Ten" project:  once a month on the tenth taking a photo an hour for ten consecutive hours.  I thought I'd give it a try this month, so here you go, our day in pictures:

Indestructibles

My friend Kerri gave Parker these books when he was born.

They claim to be Indestructible, chew proof, rip proof, non-toxic, and 100% washable.

Previously, Parker wasn't interested in these books (or any other, for that matter).  But I pulled them out again today to see what he thought.

I think he's a fan.

Of course, they don't claim to stay "like new" once Baby's had his mitts on them.