Big and Tall!

Parker is really working on his standing skills - next step: Walking!

Oh Christmas Tree

Since we will be headed to Oregon for Christmas we decided we didn't need a big tree this year - so we hauled the little fake one out of the storage shed and set it up on one of our side tables. Parker is very fascinated by the ornaments - especially when the lights are on. Luckily we have the tree far enough back on the table that he can quite reach!

Mischief

Parker has a little toy box out in the living room for his toys. The other day I was working on the computer when I heard some racket by the toy box. I walked around the couch and this is what I found - a little boy happy as a clam sitting in his toy box playing. I was curious how he would feel when he realized that he was stuck in there, but about 10 minutes later he was out and playing on the floor again! What a clever boy!

Decorating for Christmas

Parker was very excited about all the new toys there are when Mom and Dad decorate for Christmas.


He loved the Polar Express jingle bell ornament - he especially thought it tasted good!















He helped his Daddy test the lights, and decorate the dog...

He loved the Christmas snow globe that Daddy got Mommy many years ago when they were dating.

Learning to Brush

Parker's tooth count just seems to keep climbing! We are up to 8 now with more due to break through at any time! So, there is no time like the present to learn good oral hygiene...Parker really likes his tooth brush and the bonus is it is a great distraction tool during diaper changes!

Getting Ready to Go To Oregon

Parker is so excited for our trip to Oregon for Christmas! We talk about it every day! He is excited to see all his family and show off his new tricks - especially his Great Grandma Sterr who he hasn't met before!

Our good friend Heather told us about these awesome traveling "high chairs" that you can put on almost any dining room chair - and they fold right up in your suitcase! We are excited to try it out at Grandma and Grandpa Culver's house, but thought it might be a good idea to practice at home first!

Uh, Mom - A Little Help Please?

We recently purchased a couple of baby gates for our home - which has opened up the front room much more for Parker to explore. Today he investigated the dining room table - but couldn't quite figure out how to get back out again!

Hey Mom - Can I Go Play?

Now that Parker can pull himself up to cruise around the room he finds all sorts of new fun things. One of his favorites is to watch his dad BBQ in the back yard. He also takes any opportunity he can to look at the leaves blow around outside - just wait until I can send him out there to play!

Giddy Up!

Parker has recently become very interested in the horse he received from Bob and Lorna when he was first born. Lately he has been petting and standing by his horse, but when Ma Pat was here they decided to figure out how to ride it. Parker was having a great time, even bouncing around whenever Ma Pat stopped rocking to get her to start again - so fun!

The Best Babysitter You Can Get

Parker's Mommy and Daddy had a fancy ball to go to the other night and they were in need of a babysitter. When Ma Pat found out that there was the availability of some 1-on-1 Parker time she jumped on a plane and flew out to Oklahoma! It was so nice for Parker's Mommy and Daddy to spend the evening out knowing that Parker was getting the best possible care at home. And Ma Pat even stuck around a few extra days to hang with the family. Great times!

Teeth!

Parker is a tooth-growing fiend! He sprouted his first two bottom teeth when he was 5 months old and he hasn't stopped since! He now has four top teeth, four bottom teeth, his canines are big and swollen under his gums and all the rest of his gums look like they could sprout new ones any time! Thank goodness we have lots of great things to chew on around here - although we try to discourage chewing on tables or Mommy.

Washington DC With The Best of Friends...

This October we were lucky enough to travel to Washington DC and spend some time with some of our greatest friends! Months and months ago Mandy was talked into running the Army 10 Miler with the Army Wife Network Team (mostly coerced by her friend Tara). Once Parker's Ma Pat and Papa Lar caught wind of their trip they jumped right on some flight reservations to join in the party. When Mandy's friends Andrea and Heather heard that the Bosworth/Culver clan would be making their way to the east coast they both wanted in on the Army 10 Miler action! Well, Mandy and Parker met up with Ma Pat and Papa Lar on October 20th, to be met the next day by Parker's daddy. We spent days sightseeing and evenings with Parker's "aunt" Andrea (who crashed with us in the hotel because her and Mandy couldn't let each other go for even a minute of possible girl time).
Saturday night, the night before the race we ALL met up with Heather, Ram and Parker's friend Cole. Along with "aunt" Tara and Kevin. We had a great dinner together with lots of crazy baby time!
Sunday morning Mandy, Ben, Tara, Kevin, Andrea, and Heather all ran the Army 10 Miler - it was an amazing experience. Mandy was so excited to run with all of her friends, and Heather kept us all in line
There are many more pictures from the trip in Parker's online album, but below is a selection of the favorites.




Tagged by Papa Lar after our trip to the Capital












The tired foursome post race.








The whole Army Wife Network Army 10 Miler Team!









Dancing with Aunt Heather before the race (Cole was hanging with his daddy and some friends in Virginia).













Parker's first "inking" of an Army Wife Network tattoo.












Out to dinner with the group - Parker shares his Ma Pat with his friend Cole.





"What?"











Good times with good friends.

"Parker, this is how we eat Big Boy food out at dinner."

"Cole, I prefer table."

Parker's daddy at Arlington National Cemetery.

Parker meeting Aunt Andrea for the first time! He loved her!

Photo op with Papa Lar and Ma Pat.

Family photo.

WWII Memorial with Papa Lar - this is Mandy's favorite DC spot.

Attitude outside the National Archives.

The Stand and Shake

Parker is loving that he now knows how to "dance" - even without music!

Daddy Play

And We're OFF!

Yes, it is official. The crawling has begun!

Trying to Crawl

Parker has been trying REALLY HARD to crawl lately. He has a couple of friends: Joselyn (10 months) and Tyler (8 Months) who crawl circles around him and I think he is a bit jealous. So, here is one of the latest examples of his attempt.

The Babbling Has Begun

Today Parker decided to start to talk - in Parker speak of course. He has been gunting and squealing and all sorts of other noises for a long time, but today the babbling began. Of course, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get it on video!

Peek-A-Boo

While we were in Oregon Parker's Uncle Jim taught him how to play Peek-a-Boo! He LOVES his Uncle Jim! We had never heard him laugh so hard before!

May I have a bite please?

Our pediatrician recommended that we start to see if Parker is ready to try some real food. Well, turns out that the kid has an appetite. We are just doing rice cereal for about a month, but it is an interesting adventure!

Rattle Play

Our amazing "Uncle" Bruce and "Aunt" Lani sent along this rattle a few weeks ago with an adorable set of overalls. We have been putting these toys in front of Parker for a while to see if he will grab them and play. This rattle and these keys are the only things that are light enough for Parker to grab and shake himself. He is very proud of himself when he realizes that he is the one making all the noise!

While Daddy is Away...

The month of April brought a big challenge for Parker and his Mommy because his Daddy had to go away to Wisconsin for the ENTIRE month - literally from the 1st - 30th. BUT, we were so lucky because Mommy's dear friend Heather came to visit with Parker's new friend Cole! Cole is about 6 weeks older than Parker and so it was oodles of fun watching the two interact! We captured some funny videos of the two boys hanging out together. The entire weekend consisted of hanging out around the house, walking in the stollers, and even a trip to Meers for some awesome hamburgers! We had such an amazing time! Thank you so much to Auntie Heather for coming - the next trip will have to be to the East Coast to visit you!

Having a little chat...

Parker showing Cole he can roll over like a big boy!

A chat in the yard - Parker kept grabbing Cole's ear/hair!
















Chance loves the babies - and Cole thought he was soft...

Learning the Bouncy

We usually don't have the rainforest attachment on Parker's bouncer because he didn't really have any interest in it, but the other day I decided to try it out again. After just a few tries he figured out there are some cool things he can do with this thing!

The Never-Ending Thumb Quest

I have recently discovered that there are these wonderful ball things attached to my arms that I can suck on. Unfortunately, I can't quite get the whole thing in my mouth.

Then I figured out that sometimes if I time it just right I can get a piece of it in when I trick it to come out of the ball. This makes me very excited. Unfortunately, I can't always keep it out of the ball and it sneaks back in. This makes me frusterated!

So, sometimes after a very frusterating time of trying to get that suckable thing out of the ball at the end of my arm, my mom will help me out and give me this other suckable thing that makes me happy. One day I will figure out how to keep that other suckable thing out of the ball, but until then, this works.

The Illusive Smile

A little over a week ago Parker started to give me little smiles and grins. Then one day he progressed from his grinning to what can only be called an Elvis lip curl! Apparently he was going to work this smile thing from one side of his mouth at a time. Now he will look at me and give me a whole open mouthed smile, but this definitely happens on his terms - most often right after a diaper change!
I tried to capture the evolution of the smile through photos - we will eventually get to smiling on demand!

Roll Over

During her spring break my cousin Abby came to visit Parker and I. One of the days that she was here I was going to show her how much Parker hates "Tummy Time". I got out his gym and put him on his belly. He immediately rolled over! I was shocked because he had never done that before! I turned him back on his belly and he just grunted and did it again! By this time I was laughing hysterically. He did this routine about 5 times before I told Abby we should get the cameral and capture it on film...he decided to indulge us with a few more roll-overs!

Parker's First Girlfriend

Parker's daddy had to spend Easter in Wisconsin for training, so Parker and I spent a lot of time with our friends the Crooks.
Kevin and Tara have a beautiful little girl, Chloe. Even when Parker was in my belly Chloe talked about him a lot and wondered when "the baby" was coming out. Now that he is out Chloe believes that she and Parker can communicate on a level the rest of us can't. Whenever Parker fusses or makes any noises Chloe will run up to him and say things like "baby ok? Yes, baby ok". She also decided that the reason that Parker would stop crying would be when Chloe would lay with him. She spent a large part of the weekend laying with Parker, napping with him, or even holding his pacifier for him while he laid in his boppy. Apparently Parker is already quite the ladies man.

Ignore the Advice of the Well-Meaning Idiots

I have to admit I heard the phrase "Ignore the Advice of the Well-Meaning Idiots" on one of my favorite shows The Real Housewives of New York City, and thought to myself how many different situations that phrase applies to! I think that this phrase is valid more in raising a child than in any other situation. How many times does someone come up to a relative stranger and give their "invaluable" advice just because you happen to have a child with you? The most recent situation in which I encountered this was when I posted a picture of Parker in a sling on Facebook - the people came out of the woodwork! I was a bit surprised at how many people messaged me or called me to ask if I had heard about the sling recall. Do I live in a hole? No, I had heard. And of course, no - our sling was not part of the recall. We were given one of the fancy hippiesh slings from my friend Whitney that have all the great sling benefits like putting your kid right to sleep when they get all snuggled in there. I completely recognize the loving and concerned thoughts of all of those people who brought the recall to my attention, but I couldn't help but smile every time I got a new message or call.

Adding to the sentiment of today's blog title was the most impressive "well-meaning idiot" advice I have received yet which came from the nice handyman from military housing who came to fix our kitchen sink. When he asked if Parker was "sleeping though the night yet" I told him we can go on 3-4 hour stretches so far. His response was: "Have you put cereal in his bottle"...well, no Mr. Handyman, first Parker doesn't take bottles and it would be hard to administer cereal via the "avenue" he currently receives food, and second he is not even 6 weeks old! When I told him how young Parker was he informed me that his kids were having cereal from just a few weeks mixed in their bottles and they slept great. Well, thanks, I will keep that in mind, but I think it might be a bit early....Well-meaning indeed...

Adventures with the swing...

So many parents had told us how "valuable" the swing is...even the Happiest Baby on the Block doctor talks about the wonderous swing. Unfortunately Parker HATED the swing! He screamed bloody murder when we put him into it!





As you can see from the first two photos, a little unsure on why he doesn't like it, but sure nonetheless. Then I think I figured out the answer - for whatever reason he doesn't like the motion!







This might change, but for now he just goes in it and we put it on vibrate and he settles...we will see what happens!

Ma Pat and Pa Lar

We were very lucky to have Parker's Ma Pat come out to stay with us for the first 3 weeks of his life. Mom was able to take some time off of work to be here with us as Ben and I adjusted to life as new parents. She helped us with "baby hand-off" because I don't think Parker was put down at all in his first 2 weeks of life, and she also helped us so much around the house so that we could really only focus on our little man.



Dad kept his original plans and came out to see Parker on the 22nd and stayed for a week. He had a lot of Grandpa time with Parker, but only "when he wasn't moving around" because Dad didn't like it when he got squirmy. So, Parker took a lot of naps with Pa Lar.






On one of their last days we took Mom and Dad to an Oklahoma classic Meers for hamburgers. It was Parker's first day off the military post in his whole life and he celebrated by sleeping the entire time. We enjoyed some tasty burgers!

We were very sad when both Pa Lar, and a few weeks later Ma Pat left, but we were so thankful for their visits!