Parker's 6 Month Visit

Today we had our appointment for Parker's 6 month doctor's visit. He only received one immunization and we will go back in two weeks to get his other vaccinations. So far he is doing well! Thank you Jesus! He is 16 pounds and 26 inches long. She was really surprised that he was crawling and pulling up already. She got to see him in action since he was all over the table and wouldn't stay still! All in all it was a good visit.

She did ask if I had any other concerns and I just told her again about his reflux. The amount, the consistency, the fact that rice and solids haven't seemed to help and he spits those up as well. We talked about prevacid or prilosec in addition to the Zantac that he is already on and I just don't believe that the benefits outweigh the risks for me at this point. She mentioned possibly considering doing an Upper GI on him and we could talk about it at his 9 month visit. Then he continued spitting up in front of her- on me, on him, on the floor and on the table! At that point she seemed to become more concerned and said that she thinks we should go ahead and schedule the Upper GI just to rule out anything that may be contributing to his reflux. So they will be calling and scheduling an appointment for Parker at Children's Healthcare in the next few weeks. Please be in prayer that there will not be any underlying factors causing his reflux and that he will just grow out of it.

Catching Fireflies

Saturday night we had some friends over for dinner and we decided to take the kids out and let them catch fireflies- one of my favorite summertime activities when I was little. This was Braden's first time, so he was really excited! We pulled out the ol' mason jars and headed outside with the younguns! Us grown ups caught the fireflies while the kiddos walked around with the jars.

not so happy about not being included in the fun!

Parker 6 Months

Today my sweet Parker Pie is 6 months old. We go for his 6 month appointment next week so I will have some new stats on his weight and stuff then. Also, after a nasty scare from his immunizations at his 4 month appointment Dr. Miller and I decided that we will be spreading his immunizations out instead of getting them all in one day.

Here are some of the new things Parker is doing:

• rolling over front to back AND back to front



• pushing all the way up



• doing the rocking crawl



• crawling a few steps before falling over



• sitting unsupported for a few seconds before starting the slow descent to the floor!



• watching EVERYTHING that Braden does and cracking up when he sees him



• sleeping in his OWN bed in his OWN room...still not sleeping all the way through the night



• Eating solids- hates peas and peaches, loves avocado, carrots and bananas

Ahhhh....A Taste of Summer

Today I had my very first bite of the summer of a delicious tomato sandwich. If you have never tasted this southern delicacy you are missing out. The bite of the slightly acidic, yet slightly sweet and juicy tomato can only be described as heavenly as far as I am concerned. I consider it a tragedy that I am the only one in my house that appreciates this simple yet complex sandwich to be simply divine! Hopefully Parker will want to enjoy one with me next summer!

Step 1 to making a delicious sandwich is to get a fresh VINE RIPENED tomato. Check your LOCAL fruit stand or your dad's garden....(thanks daddy!)

Step 2 FRESH bread. I cannot over emphasise the importance of fresh bread. This may require an extra stop at your local supermarket, but bread that sticks to the roof of your mouth is mandatory. Also, Blue Plate mayo is a must. I suppose you could use other brands, but to me Blue Plate is the only kind!

Step 3 Smear...yes I said smear BOTH sides your super soft fresh bread with mayo. Peel your tomato and slice right onto the bread...juices and all. Sprinkle with a little salt and fresh cracked pepper and top with the second piece of bread.
Step 4 Cut diagonally and enjoy!

Braves Game

Yesterday the boys and I surprised Brad with tickets to the Braves game. I was really excited because we had a lot to celebrate- Father's Day, Braden's first Braves game and my Dad's birthday all on Father's Day! It was really special being able to spend the day with my all of my favorite guys (with the exception of Parker who stayed with my aunt).

The game was nice since the Braves won and we had tickets on the Golden Moon Casino level which meant we were in the shade the whole time and had access to air conditioning when we needed it. Braden loved being with his Daddy, Palpaw and Uncle Chad and actually payed attention pretty well. He loved the tomahawk chop, but complained that it was too loud....pretty funny coming from loudest person I know!

It was definitely a special day that I will remember for a long time!

Cheeeeeese!

Everytime Braden says, "Cheeeeeeese" this is what happens....
and

Summer Lovin'

This morning I was outside playing in the sprinkler with Braden and I started thinking about things that I love about summer.

• fresh veggies from the garden



• longer days (I hate when it gets dark at 6)



• not having to wake up at 5 am



• Brad with a tan- HOT!



• playing in the sprinkler with Braden



• working on my tan



• anticipating the beach- 4 weeks!!!



• the smell of food on the grill



• the smell of coconut suntan lotion



• laying out by the kiddie pool!



• blooming flowers- without my sinus issues



• fresh seafood- oysters in particular- YUMMY!



• flip flops



• not wearing any makeup except lip gloss



• lemonade (I know I can drink lemonade any other time, but it just seems perfect inthe summer)



• riding with the windows down and the sun roof open

What is your favorite part of summer?

That Look

Anyone want to interpret this look for me?

Driving I-20 at 2 am

I am exhausted. Period. I remember being tired with Braden, but this is an all new tired. It is not from just lack of sleep at night, but Parker is also not on a nap schedule during the day. I don't really see myself as the type of drill sergeant parent who lives by her kid's schedule. However, from my experience with Braden schedules create routine and routine creates a feeling of stability and a feeling of stability creates a happy baby and an even happier mommy!

Since I am still nursing Parker I hadn't really pushed a nap schedule and at night I just feed him whenever he gets restless since he is sleeping in a co sleeper by our bed. And it was working...until the past few weeks when he stopped sleeping 4-5 hours at a stretch and began getting up every 2-3 hours and waking up and not falling back to sleep. Plus he won't nap in his co sleeper or crib during the day so unless he falls asleep in his car seat and sleeps when I get home I have to carry him around and I can't get anything accomplished.

This week has been the worst with sleep. Tuesday night I fed Parker at 1:15 and I had to get up and change him since he wet through his diaper. I got him back down at 1:45 and Braden woke up throwing up at 2 so Brad and I didn't get into bed until 5:30 the next morning. Wednesday night Parker slept in the co sleeper until 1:30 then started crying every time I tried to lay him back down so I ended up putting him in bed with me which meant I got NO sleep. This takes us to Thursday night. Parker wakes up at 1 I nurse him hoping he falls back asleep- he does not. Brad rocks him and gets him to sleep- until he lays him down. This goes on until 2 am and I decide I will put him the car and drive him around to try to get him in a deep sleep (I am not a fan of this idea- we did it with Braden when he was a week old and have not again, however I didn't see a lot of other options at 2am). That takes me to driving up and down I 20 at 2am trying to get him asleep, which finally happened after 30 minutes until I got home and he woke up!

With that said driving I 20 at 2 am has gotten me to the place where my mind is made up that it is time for Parker to start sleeping through the WHOLE night in his OWN crib in his OWN room. The only reason this happened with Braden was because Brad said it was time to get him out of our bed when he was 5 months old. So with Braden I did a lot of research on different sleep strategies and we decided on the Ferber method...let them cry 5 minutes, then soothe, but don't pick up, cry 10 mins. soothe but don't pick up and so on. Well, I had the hardest time listening to Braden cry and if it weren't for Brad I would have gone into get him. But he cried through the first 5 minutes, then I soothed him and he stopped crying on the 9th minute of the next cycle and has been sleeping through the night ever since.

So my mind is made up. We WILL try it starting Wed. night (I don't have to go back to work Thursday) and I WILL be strong! But here are my hurdles.

• I am still nursing Parker, but I think that he should be able to last through the night without eating (I think it is more for comfort during the night at this point anyway)



• I am still swaddling him at night, which I won't do for safety reasons when he is in his own crib in his own room for safety reasons since he can now roll over.

So any and all mothers with any advice or ideas, I am interested in listening.!!!!

Braden's Last Day of School

Braden had his last day of school last Thursday. This year Braden was really excited about going to school each day and playing with his friends. He loved show and tell, centers, and computer, sometimes liked art and was not a fan of music and movement! He really loved his teachers Ms. Glenda and Ms. Julie! I am hoping thar next year will be exciting for Braden as well.

Parker 4 Months

This is a little late, but 2 weeks ago Parker had his 4 month check up complete with the ever dreaded immunizations. Parker is now 24.5 inches long and 13 lbs 14 oz. Parker sis really great and was cooing and giggling until the shots! This was my worst experience with immunizations. We expected Park to be cranky and sleepy, instead he was lethargic for 24 hours- staring off into space if he wasn't sleeping. We ended up taking him to the ER and after talking to Dr. Miller we are going to spread all of his immunizations out to see if we can figure out if it was one immunization in particular or a combination of them all. Please pray that we do not see a side effect like this again and that there will not be any long term effects that occur from any of his immunizations.

Here are all of the new things that Parker has been up to:

• He is rolling over from his belly to his back!



• He has started eating rice cereal and some veggies (sweet peas, squash and sweet potato)



• He giggles and coos all the time



• He loves watching Braden



• Parker had his first taste of bubble gum antibiotics thanks to a nasty double ear infection



• We are still trying to get a nap schedule figured out (any tips/ideas?)



• His favorite toy is his exersaucer

Hmmmmm...

Baseball

OR

Football?

Easter Parade

Each year Braden's preschool has an Easter Parade and each of the classes wears some sort of hat or mask and walk in a parade and then meets up with their parents in the fellowship hall for cookies. Last year Braden refused to wear his mask and also refused to walk in the parade so I was a little nervous when I went to see him in the parade this year. However, he was such a big boy! He wore an Easter Bunny mask even though the class was wearing jungle masks (I like that he has his own ideas about things!) and he was walking with his class in the line. As soon as he spotted me he started saying , "Hey Mommy. I'm walking in the parade Mommy." It was so sweet and then we enjoyed cookies together after the parade. Braden was so excited about being a part of the parade this year and it made feel so happy to see him having a great time with his class.

Braden and Parker's Dedication

Several weeks ago our church had a Sunday designated for baby and toddler dedications. It was a really special time for Brad and me to be able to dedicate both of our boys to God with our family watching. Our prayer is that we will be parents who will lovingly devote our lives to our children teaching them about God's unconditional love and grace.

Boy, Oh BoyS!

We have LOTS of boys in our family....in fact we don't have any girls at the moment. Easter with all boys is quite an experience!

Tonight while I was editing some Easter pictures I couldn't help but giggle at the expressions on their faces! Such characters!

Promise to Update Soon!

Well, it has been another March of sickness. This year all v of had the flu for over a week and now I have a sinus infection and ear infection. I have so much to update about- just need to get to feeling better.
Here is what you can look forward to:
- Parker is growing! Can't wait to tell you all about it
-Baby dedication
-I am going to attempt to potty train Braden next week (lots of prayers please!)
- My birthday

Happy Birthday Dr.Seuss!

Cat in the Hat and Thing 1

A Fish Named Ruby

Yesterday Braden and I went to the store to pick out a birthday gift for his friend Micah's 3rd birthday. Braden wanted to get Micah a fish and the little fellow suckered me in to buying one for him too! Braden picked out a blue fish for Micah and he chose a red fish for himself. When we got in the car I asked him what he wanted to name his fish and he said "Darby, you know like on Nemo." I thought it was funny since the fish on Nemo is named Dori! I told him that when I was in college I had a red fish named Ruby and thn he wanted to change his fish to Ruby. It is really funny because he says Ruvy!

Snow 2010

Well it happened again!!! We had another big snow in little ol' Covington, Ga! They cancelled school on Friday in anticipation of the snow, but it didn't actually start snowing until 2:00 Friday afternoon. I had pulled all of the blinds up so Braden could see it and he was running around the house saying, "It is snowing- really snowing at MY house!" He was so excited! When Brad got home later that afternoon they bundled up and played.

Waiting on Daddy to come home so he can play in the snow!

I hope that's not yellow snow!!!!

Hoffman Family of 4