New Favorite Park!

Finally we found a park nearby with lots of great sand to play in! Parker loves to dig, and usually it's dirt he digs in, so we like having a park with sand to fulfill that digging thrill without the worms, snails and rusty nails. The only strange thing we've found about this place is that there are rarely any other kids playing there; it is well hidden, but surrounded by a neighborhood and some businesses.

Whoa, where do I start?



Parker loves to pick up and throw away trash!

Down, please!



We had to go back with Dada, too!

Parker invited his friend Ethan to his new fav park and they had a blast owning the place.

More Firsts!

Parker went poo-poo on the potty for the first time this morning! Mama put him on the toilet for his morning pee and he quickly asked for a magazine so she thought maybe he just wasn't ready to go. As soon as he started reading, sure enough a little tinkle started, and then some other suspicious noises and funny faces. Mama was shocked! It might be time to start the potty training in full force. Parker hates wearing a diaper so it might not be as difficult as we fear.

Also, this past weekend Parker got his first haircut from Grandma Munns! Technically it's his third haircut since Mama attempted twice, but this was his first good hair cut. Here are some pics of the momentous occasion (don't worry, I'm referring to the hair cut... we didn't take pics of the poo-poo).

Making some finishing touches

Devilishly happy with his cut!

Special dance walk with Grandma

Just Playing

The last couple of weeks have had a lot of ups and downs with Mama going through some rough patches emotionally and physically. Parker, unfortunately, feeds off of Mama's stress and acts out even more, making everything compound on itself. The weekends are somewhat of a break for Mama as Dada is there to feel her pain and help her keep the little man occupied. Unfortunately, often when Dada tries to take over Parker whines and cries asking for Mama, making Dada more hesitant to step in and making Mama want to pull her hair out.

Mama, giving Parker a fair warning.

Look what I can do.

I see you!

Yes, Dad, I just washed my hair, now stop sniffing it.

Now you did it!

No Mama, we swear we didn't do it.

Mama and Dada have found the best relief is to just get Parker out of the house as he is usually very good when he gets a chance to explore new places. He went buck wild in Kohl's this past weekend and had a blast playing "you can't catch me" with Mama and Dada. He also loves spending time with Grandma and Grandpa Munns and going out to eat... as long as he gets his own meal and the restaurant has lots of things to look at.

On days when it's too hot to even step outside our door without melting, we try to keep the little man occupied indoors in the AC. As long as Mama is nearby watching, Parker will usually play peacefully, so Mama has found it's a good way to catch up on her reading. Sometimes Parker will grab one of his books and sit in the chair next to her and read quietly as well. His latest obsession is lining up his toys.

Lining up cars: Day 1

Lining up cars: Day 2

Lining up cars: Day 3

Lastly, here's a fun video for ya'll to enjoy:

Parker, the Kissing Hair Dresser:

Parker's Language

Parker's first telephone message to Mama and Dada:



Parker has been "talking" a lot lately, but mostly in his own language only he understands. He uses a sound like "ish" for nearly everything. We think he's asking "what's this?", but he'll repeat "ish" even after we've said the word for an item, so we're a little stumped sometimes.

His most commonly used words are Mama, Dada, Grandma (sounds like "mmmama"), Blanket, Milk (sounds like "ik"), Juice, Cheese, Hi and Bye (sounds like "dye").

His latest sounds/words are: "up" - which actually means "oops." It took mama awhile to catch on to that one. She thought he was saying up, but he would never say it when she asked him to say "up," instead he would do his sign for up. It was frustrating for both of them for awhile until mama finally figured out that he meant oops when he was saying up and he refused to verbally say up when he wanted to go up. "Hep" - means "Help." Mama only caught on to that one because he uses the sign for help as he makes the sound. He also makes a ton of animal sounds... for some reason those are easier for him than words. This next video shows him making all kinds of strange noises as he talks to himself, including some animal sounds:



We are still thinking about putting Parker in speech therapy, but we're hoping that he's just a late bloomer and we won't have to put him through all that. It's been a month since his last doctor's appointment, and he has made some progress with his language. If he hasn't made any significant leaps in the next couple of months, we will feel more comfortable that he actually needs it.

Shoe Fetish

Parker loves to put on shoes - especially Mama's. He has mastered putting on his Crocs, but for the most part, he'd rather wear Mama's and Dada's shoes.

He likes sandals 'cause they're easy to put on.

But the high heels are his favorite and he thinks he looks very pretty in them.

Watch him walk the runway!

There's a First for Everything!

We've had quite a few firsts this week. Parker went to his first concert on Tuesday, which happened to also be Dada's first show with Noon on Sunday. Parker was thrilled and sang and danced the whole time. He only got annoyed when Mama wouldn't let him on the stage.

Later on Tuesday, Parker went pee-pee in the potty for the first time! We haven't started the full potty learning process yet, but since he has been asking to sit on the toilet for a few months, we finally bought him a little Elmo seat that goes on the toilet so he could sit comfortably. Parker loves it. We only pull it out when he asks. He sits on it and reads his guitar magazines. Tuesday night he sat there for over 10 minutes and had 4 tinkles! He has gone two more times on the potty over the last few days... Mama still isn't convinced he's ready to be fully potty trained though.

Parker has also decided this week to start doing somersaults. We're not sure where he picked it up, but we kinda caught one on video. What a silly boy!




The last thing to note is that Mama has picked up running again to de-stress after a long day with Parker (let's see if she can keep this up). The first two times she went out she couldn't get up the big hill in their neighborhood without walking, but the third time, on Tuesday, she was able to jog up the whole thing for the first time and was quite proud of herself. She was able to do it again on Thursday night so maybe she's getting stronger! Let's just hope she doesn't injure herself doing all this. *knock on wood*

Renal Ultrasound

Parker had his renal ultrasound done today. He was not a happy camper during the process, of course, but he was happy that he got a monkey sticker afterwards! He was tired after being held down for so long and took a good morning nap (but then no afternoon nap... what's a mama gotta do?). The doctor's office called a few hours later, which made Mama a little nervous because she wasn't expecting to hear anything for a couple of days. It turns out one of his kidneys does still have a potential problem because it is enlarged. He is being referred to an urologist where we'll get more information. For now, Mama and Dada are just trying not to worry and feel that probably this is something relatively common and if it had been 30 years ago before ultrasounds were around that it would have never been discovered and he'd go on through life just fine never knowing... after all, he does pee like a race horse so things seem to be working correctly! Will post an update when we have it.

Playing Piano

Parker still loves playing piano. He likes to jazz it up a bit and be very soulful. He is the next Norah Jones... or so he says.

Video 1: 4 months old
Video 2: 5 months old
Video 3: 17 months old

Year and a Half!

Parker is a year and a half today. He and Mama met his new doctor today at his 18 month wellness check up and they both liked her a lot. She was very patient with Parker and he hardly fussed at all when she checked his ears (whew!). He usually screams like he's being tortured. Parker is growing well. He is just above average for height and just below average for weight. He is still gaining weight, but not as quickly as he is growing. He grew three inches in two and a half months!

Mama mentioned to the doctor that Parker had been grabbing at his diaper and whining over the last couple of days and tossing and turning a bit at night and the doctor checked him out and found the tiniest little yeast infection on his testicles. He's been itchy down there, poor little guy! He just finished taking antibiotics for another ear infection, so the good bacteria that keep the yeast down are probably low right now.

The doctor was a little concerned that Parker isn't using as many words as he used to when he was between 11 and 12 months, but believes it is only because he doesn't have to use them since he knows a lot of sign language. She recommended that Mama and Dada try to teach him one word a week using the same method as they've been doing with the sign language, which is to not let him have what he wants until he says it and deal with any ensuing tantrums. If that doesn't work, she gave Mama a referral to a free community organization that helps with speech therapy.

The last thing to report is that the doctor wanted a run-down of his health history and Mama mentioned that he had fluid in his kidneys in utero but it had been resolving on its own. Because Mama wasn't sure if he had ever had an ultrasound after he was born to verify all the fluid was gone, Parker's doctor decided it would be best to have a renal ultrasound done just to verify that all was completely clear.

Otherwise, Parker is doing well... all he has to do now is sleep better! No more excuses after this yeast infection clears up!

Storytime

Parker and Mama have been attending storytime almost every Wednesday at the Laguna Niguel Library. Mama thinks Parker has a little crush on the storytime lady, Tracy, as he insisted on giving her a kiss goodbye one week. Here are a couple of pictures of them together (Austin and his nanny are in the background). Parker is usually very good about participating for the whole half hour, but that's mostly because Tracy mixes up the books with some finger play songs and music time, where she brings out fun noisy instruments for the kids to play. That's Parker's favorite part, of course!