21 Months Old!

Parker Love,

Happy 21 months! It seems unreal that you’re creeping so close to 24 months! 

You are such a boy now... no more baby. Here you are, big boy, matching with Daddy :)

You’ve been a busy boy this month! You are talking a LOT now. You’re able to put together sentences, even five or six words. Example : “Parker go to Mommy’s room?” or “Parker hold keys and get mail?” Any time you ask a question, you end it with this adorable little “mmmmm?” sound. It’s so super cute.

Probably the biggest event this month was you got your FIRST HAIRCUT! It was a much-needed event (see picture below)

You weren't exactly a fan of the whole haircut thing.

You didn't like being strapped to the "chair"

You didn't like the sucker

You especially didn't like the clippers!

But you survived! :) 

Some other things you've been up to this month...

You've really enjoyed playing with Mommy's car keys. You would happily do this for half an hour, if Mommy let you! 

You and your friend Lillian have had some fun times together at church :)

You love hanging out with Andrew. Here you are watching the Superbowl together :)

You love your snuggly --"sug-o-lee"-- as much as ever :)

This is what you call "One Face!" 

One of Mommy and Daddy's new favorite things to watch is your "juggling." You watched Daddy juggle and then wanted to try it yourself. Cuteness! :)

Another new thing is you now sing the ABC's. You used to just say the words, but you've just started singing the tune. You've done this for a few other songs as well. 

Your favorite toy in our room is the number blocks. You like stacking them into a tower. 

You've moved on from Infant Tylenol to Children's Tylenol, which might seem like a small thing... but Children's Tylenol bumps you in the age 2-11 category which makes you seem like such a big boy!

You enjoy reading books by yourself. Actually, you're doing a lot more by yourself... a lot of times when you're playing with toys, you'd rather do things yourself than ask for help. 

You know all the names of the planets and in the right order (wow!). This is one of your new favorite books.

This past week, you've started a new trick... you like to climb into the chairs at the dining table. Though it makes Mommy a little nervous seeing you climb up that big chair, it makes you feel very proud of yourself, which is pretty cute :)

Little Bubby, we love you so so much. We are amazed by you every day--how fast you are growing and learning new things. You are so smart and you learn new things each and every day. Though you have your "serious" moments, you are also such a happy little guy with plenty of silliness. We are so grateful to God for all the joy you bring to our lives.

We love you Parker! 

Love, Mommy and Daddy

20 Months!

Parker Love,

How did we get to the twenties? Time truly is flying by. You continue to be a bright and curious not-so- little bundle of energy.

You’re still in size 5 diapers and we’ve taken out all the 24 month clothes, since a lot of your 18 month clothes are getting snug.  Not sure how tall you are, but you weigh just under 30 pounds. You’re so big, in fact, that we had to turn your car seat around to a front-facing position—such a big boy! You really enjoy facing forward because you can see a lot more, especially Mommy and Daddy in the front seats.

You continue to be a little parrot, repeating just about everything that we say. Some of our favorites: when you drop something on the ground—like a number four—you’ll say “Uh oh, four.” 

You say “no” now, when you don’t want to do something. But it’s a very cute, high pitched “noooo” that sounds more like you’re asking a question than making a statement.

You are becoming more social, especially at church! You're still shy to warm up to people at first, but eventually you come out of your shell. You like playing with Lillian, and I think you are happy to see her on Sundays! 

Your manners continue to improve, as you say “please, excuse me, and thank you” when asked, and sometimes all on your own.

For your snuggly, you say “snuck-a-wee” which is pretty adorable.

You continue to enjoy drawing with your crayons. Sometimes you’ll sit there for a good 15 minutes just drawing on one paper.

Your love for letters and numbers continues. You can sing the ABC song all by yourself now. As for numbers, you can count and identify numbers up to 30! This is especially impressive to Mommy, who teaches kindergarten and still has some five-year-old students that are unable to do this!

We’ve had a few more restaurant outings than usual this month. You do really well when we go out, and as much as we like having Mommy and Daddy Date nights, we also enjoy having you with us. You’re such a champ in the restaurant high chair, content with your books and crayons to keep you occupied.

Singing… Other than ABC’s, you really like singing “Ba Ba Black Sheep” when it’s bedtime.

A few more things: 

You still love Blue’s Clues, which we often let you watch right before dinner.

You really like when we read to you. You'll say, "Read book." and sometimes add "please" on the end. Your favorite books right now are 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?' 'Goodnight Moon' and 'The Very Busy Spider.' 

All in all, it's been a busy month. You're growing so fast and learning so many things each day--we're just trying to keep up! You are sweet and for the most part, you have an obedient spirit, wanting to do the right thing. We love you so much, little Bubby, and we're so excited to see how God continues to grow and shape you into the man he wants you to be! 

Love, Mommy and Daddy

19 Months Old!

Parker Love,

Nineteen months old! You’re creeping closer and closer to that two-year mark. This past month was busy, especially with the holidays. Also, you just keep busy in general. Playing with your meat jars, for example, is a favorite pastime of yours. :)

Quick stats: Not sure about your height and weight, though you’re definitely taller! You can now reach the doorknobs, and instead of opening doors that you’re not supposed to, you are really good at closing all the doors in the hallway (after seeing Mommy and Daddy close doors). You’re still in size 5 diapers. Some of your 18 month old cloths are getting a bit snug.

This month you got to visit lots of family with Thanksgiving and Christmas. You really enjoyed playing with Mia over Thanksgiving break. She adores you, and you are starting to learn how to play and interact with other kids, so the two of you had a nice visit.

Some new things this month...

You had your first taste of ice cream at Leatherby’s! First of all, this month is really the first time we’ve consistently gone out to dinner with you (three times in one month!) and you've really enjoyed it. You like looking around at all the people and decorations. You especially liked Leatherby’s because of the ice cream! When you first took a bite, you weren't quite sure what to think, but after a few seconds, you quickly made the sign for “more!” J

You've learned the “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” song, which makes you laugh. Along with that, you and Daddy have created your own “nose” game:

Just a few days ago, you started saying “Maw-me” for Mommy’s name, instead of “me-me.” Also, you sometimes say “Da-dee” instead of just “Dee” for Daddy’s name. It was super cute hearing you say our names the “right” way, but we’re going to miss the old way too. Just another sign that you’re growing up!

Speaking of talking, you've started speaking in short sentences! You often put together two or three word sentences, which makes communication a lot easier for you and for us.

For an early Christmas gift, Mommy and Daddy bought you an ABC train. You love it, and we are so pleased. It’s a fun new way for you to expolore your letters. On that topic, you continue to LOVE letters and numbers. You are constantly counting and saying your alphabet. You can now count to 20 and say your entire alphabet in correct order. Wow. Slow down, smarty pants!

You've learned how to say "read book" when you want Mommy or Daddy to read to you. Some of your favorites this month "This Old Man," "Dinosaur Numbers," "Peek-a-who?" and "Big and Little." The last two books mentioned are books you can also "read" out loud by yourself! 

A new favorite for you: Blue’s Clues. You could sit and watch Blue and Steve for hours if we let you. You seem to understand the concept of looking for the blue paw prints, and often point out when you see a clue.

Something we've rediscovered this month: you are not a fan of green beans! You never liked the purees but this was the first time you tried whole green beans. Definitely a fail.

You are really good at saying, "hello," "goodbye," "love you," "night night" and giving hugs and kisses. You also can blow kisses too, so you've pretty much mastered all the standard greetings. :o)

You and Jack continue to be buddies! He makes you laugh all the time (though probably not intentionally). 

One BIG thing that happened this month was that we found out you are going to have a little brother! Baby boy #2 arrives in May, and we are so thrilled for you to have a little brother to play with (well, not right away, but eventually he can play with you.) You are going to be such a great big brother, little man!

We love you so much and we're so thankful for the little man that God created you to be. We're very excited to see what God has in store for our family in the New Year!

All our love,

Mommy and Daddy

The big one-eight!

Parker Bubs,

You are 18 months old! Somehow, when we weren't looking, you made it through half of your second year! 

You continue to bring joy to our lives each and every day. You are on the go all the time. As soon as you wake up, you're counting or saying your ABC's in your crib (you can say your ABC's all the way to letter "f" and count to 11). 

Some stats:  at your doctor appointment, you weighed 27 pounds and are 33.5 inches tall. You are still in size 5 diapers, and all of your clothes are 18 months, some even 24 months. 

You LOVE Scout! You've always liked your stuffed animal, but there's also a cartoon and you'd watch it 3 times a day if we let you. 

You and Jack are buddies! He makes you laugh. :) You really enjoy "playing" with him, which, for now, means patting him on the head or back and sitting on him. :)

Here you are, giving Jack a treat. He's so gentle and careful with you. :)

You continue to LOVE letters and numbers. I'd say 75% of your playtime revolves around numbers or letters in some form. 

You also know colors (red. orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, white, brown, black and gray) and some new shapes (besides circle, square, oval and triangle): rectangle, trapezoid, pentagon and octagon!!!!

Here you are saying letters in your crib:

We brought your activity table back out (it's been in the garage since your birthday) and you are enjoying it all over again! You especially like "making music" so you can dance.

Speaking of dancing, you and Mia had fun dancing in front of the tv the other night. :) 

((((video to come!)))

"Me-Mote" (remote)

 You blow kisses now! And you make a cute "mu-wah" sound. ;) You also say "hi" and "bye" and do a little wave with your hand. 

Some more cuteness...

You still have a fascination with hats! 

Little Bubs, we love you so much and we're so proud of the little man you're becoming. You are a sweet boy who loves to learn... we just hope that we can keep up with you! We are so thankful to God for the precious gift of YOU.

Love, Mommy and Daddy