3m-11m month skills!

2-3 months

Loves to kick his legs in the bath with mommy
01/22 first night in crib!
Doing better with tummy time
01/11 really laughing
01/19 first subermerged bath
Laughing more
Likes to be held like a big boy on your hip
Likes to bounce on your knee
Already trying to lift up to all fours
Got my Bumbo chair
Holding head up well!
Laughed for the first time!
Loves playmat!

3-4 months

Sleeping in his crib like a big boy
Loves the dogs, especially Reese, and Reese loves him
Loves his snail and puppy toys
Likes his Bumbo
Possibly teething - drooling and chewing on everything, but no teeth yet
In 6-9 month clothes!
Doing a little better in the car
Reaching for stuff, pulling into mouth
Rolled over! Both ways in one day 2/3, belly to back first

4-5 months

Loving babywearing
Went to the zoo!
My first lovey - Luna
"Crawling" backwards
Got my jumperoo and love it!
Getting better at grabbing what I want
Doing much better with my bink
Ticklish now!
Tried apples & bananas

5-6 months

4/23 starting to recognize the sign for milk and the Octonauts theme song
Sick again 4/22 :(
First real bath! 4/15
On all fours rocking! 4/14
First night without mommy! 4/13
Sitting up for 10-60 seconds at a time! 4/10
Likes to sleep on his side
Sat in the cart like a big boy 4/3
Growing a sunflower! 4/2
Sick 3/27 - 4/2
Got my highchair!

6-7 months

Loves swinging
Tooth #1 is here! 5/25
Finally taking long naps
Loves frozen banana cubes, walks in his stroller & daddy's hat
Knows and loves "this little piggy"
5/21 two bottom teeth almost here!
Big open mouth wet kisses 5/18
5/13 pulling himself up on your hands!
Reaches out to be picked up
Goes from all fours to sitting and sitting to all fours
Loves music and Reese
5/1 - 6mo visit 16lbs 27" long 17" head
Knows milk
Sleeping 7/3 on a good night!
Sitting up REALLY well

7-8 months

Better in the car!
Last swim class 6/21
STTN! 6/21
Pulled himself up on object 6/10
Conquered "the step" 6/8
First REAL belly chuckle 6/7
Starting to pull himself up on stuff 6/5 (mommy) 
5/31 crawling!!! (7months6days)
Ate a whole peach by himself! 5/29
Tooth #2 5/27
Crawled 5/28
First time in outdoor pool 5/27
Doing awesome at eating!

8-9 months

Officially took two steps 7/24
Loves his water table!
2 naps a day! 7/7
Lots of dirty blonde hair!
Talking more <3 p="">Knows Daddy Mason puppies snacks bink milk and daddy's hat
Loving his snacks and the pool!
Great pincher grasp!
Really fussy week!

9-10 months

Can climb stairs
Loves squeezies and his sippy cup
Possibly allergic to eggplant
Playing more but still likes to put things in his mouth :)
Loves knee rides with Daddy
Knows "cuppy"
Hands you objects
Can put ball in hole on hampster wheel toy
Working on waving and clapping
Can knock and splash
Clicks with his tongue and thinks it's funny when you do
Says dada 8/29
Knows (and loves!) cookies
Likes reading in your lap
Loves watching daddy cut the grass
Loves Goodnight Moon
Knows tv and outside
Knows fishies, walk and light
Waving and pointing a little
Knows froggy, ducky and ball
Loves walking with his walker
Loves chicken, bread, ice cream and baked apples
Drinks out of a straw

10-11 months

"Claps" by patting his knees
First hair cut! 9/14
Loves opening and closing doors
Starting to dance!
Knows touchdown!
Cut tooth #3! 
Sleeping 10+ hrs
9/11 waved to someone!
Knows "fan"
Officially walking 8/31
Likes watching BabyFirst in the morning in bed with mommy
Loves pb&j and breakfast sausage

11-12 months

Says "Tilda"
Gives kisses!!!

Week #4, signature look!

I've been so excited about this week! I really put love into this dress, I'm so excited with how it turned out, and how it fit and photographed on my little model!

This is the Marley dress, named after my friend's adorable daughter.

I knew I wanted an elastic neckline, for a fun textured look. I knew I wanted a "sash", and poofy girly sleeves (tutorial by Dana, of course). When I thought about what would give the dress a "fall" look, I knew cord had to be it. And I LOVE this pairing of colors together.. very fall!

I love the super fun pockets.. I kind of "wung" those, the ruffle was a little top heavy, so now I know why you never see those on top of pockets ;) But I still think it came out cute! Without further delay, the Marley dress..

Week #3, Mad for Plaid!

It's week #3 over at Project Run & Play, and this week's theme is "Mad for Plaid"!

To be honest, my first thought was ick. I hate plaid! But after browsing Joanns once or twice, I actually found several plaids I loved!

Then to come up with what to make. Nothing I could think of seemed original. So I decided to stop trying to be different, and just make something that my little boy could wear... so that's exactly what I did.

I wanted to make him a shirt he could wear for the holidays, but I didn't want a collar. So I opted for this cute "mandarin" style button down, from the tutorial I found here. I *mostly* followed her instructions, and I followed my machine's manual (and also some helpful tips from Dana here) to make my first buttonholes ever! Piece of cake! 

Without further delay.. the Parker Plaid Button Down! (With removable bow tie.)

Week #2, candy inspired!

Cutting it close! Week #2 of Project Run & Play comes to a close in just a few hours, and I am finally FINISHED with this thorn in my side dress.

I've learned a few things (isn't that half the point of the Project?) during this creation..

1. Not all white cotton is created the same. This fabric was a WITCH to work with. Ugh. Never again.
2. There's a fine line between colorful and LOUD/clown/cheesy.

I strayed from my original sketch a bit, but still stayed true to what I was going for... The theme was candy and I immediately thought SKITTLES! Which sounds fun, but in terms of "wearable" clothing.. it was harder than I thought! I wanted it to be bright and colorful without being too cheesy.. I *think* I walked the line pretty well.. here is what I came up with.

I knew I wanted to do a couple things with this dress - a faux Peter Pan collar, "poofy" sleeves, and a rainbow "belt".

My original sketch had buttons, but it looked way too clown-like, so I opted for an adorable tube ruffle instead.

I left the zipper exposed because, let's be honest, when it's bubblegum pink, how can you hide it? (I buy all my zippers from zipit on Etsy!)

My original sketch also had "confetti" on the skirt.. little circles of rainbow fabric.. I decided halfway through that it would be cheesy, and in retrospect, it probably would have been. I was going to add pink bias tape to the sleeves and hem, but honestly, I ran out of time! Instead I opted for a pretty pink thread, for a nice detail. I think it has the right touch of color without being too over the top. Honestly, I'm glad it's done. This was my LEAST favorite sketch for this season. I'm not super thrilled with it, but again - I learned a lot! And for me, that's half the idea of Project Run and Play.. that and sewing super cute things for our kiddos.

I used Dana's (www.danamadeit.com... just love her!) tutorial for puffed sleeves (here), and her tutorial for the circle skirt (here). I made my own pattern for the top from a t-shirt of my stepson's.

So, there she is! Not so much a labor of love... but I think she came out pretty cute. Taste the rainbow!!

My new obsession!

 Soo... Project Run & Play is the coolest thing ever! I was so amazed by the talent last week, and this week I'm even more impressed!  The theme last week, week #1, was "project remix", where they gave us a pattern (the Oliver & S Popover Sundress) and we had to make it our own. Some people did not stray far from the pattern, some went so far out that you couldn't even remotely tell what it started as! I feel I stayed somewhat in the middle. I was NOT happy with the fit, on my adorable little model.. but, excitingly, I'm having a little photo shoot on Sunday, and I'm going to hem the dress and get some great pics of my friend's adorable daughter in it.. can't wait!

A (very) little bit about me - I started sewing a bit when my Grandmother gave me her sewing machine a few years ago. I made some Green Hornet shorts for my stepson (and matching ones for his Moose!), a Transformers pillowcase, etc. Then when I got pregnant, the sewing bug hit me hard! I started sewing everything and anything I thought I could handle. Changing pad covers, quilts, diaper/wipes cases. Once I had my son, the sewing definitely went to the wayside! But after a few months, I picked it up again. But this time, I started selling my little creations to friends, and friends of friends. I started a little business of baby items was doing pretty well! But I got bored with baby things, I wanted to make clothes! And so I tried a few things. I made a lot of mistakes (uhm...still do!), but I LOVED it. I'm learning all the time, of course, but it is SUCH a sense of accomplishment whenever I figure something out, and especially when the finished product actually looks good lol.

So anyways, this week's, week #2's theme is "candy inspired". I'm still finishing up my look.. hoping it turns out. I tried a lot of new sewing techniques with this piece. And I was NOT afraid of color, let's just say that!

The look I'm most excited about is week #4 (week #3 is "mad about plaid"). I just bought my fabric today, they had EXACTLY what I wanted. So. Excited.

I'm also super excited about my photo shoot on Sunday.. and nervous.. mostly nervous, but a little excited.

So so many pics and fun things to come!!

(P.S. This blog has been SO many things.. I'm excited for it to now become a "look at the cute schtuff I've sewn" blog!)

Yay!! Week #1 Pattern Remix!

Finally!! Time to share the dress I've worked hard on the past few weeks. First, this post will be really basic since it's from my mobile phone..no internet here in the new house yet. Hopefully within the next day or two..then I will come back and edit and add links.
For now, here it us, bare bones... Project Run and Play, pattern remix, Oliver & S popover dress... Here is my take!!
Changes I made:
-Doubled the width of the yoke, I wanted to show off the little birdie fabric.
-Added a piece and two buttons to the bodice/yoke
-Added width to the dress, losing three A line and gaining some body
-Added length in order to create a bubble skirt
My very last minute adorable model was a tad too small for the smallest pattern in this dress, but my other girlfriends were busy, and I only had her for the one visit, so it's a bit long on her. Oh well, still cute and she didn't want to take it off, so that's always good to hear!
Next week is candy inspired, can't wait!! I'm already amazed by the talent of everyone, can't wait to see what the designers come up with!!

Test!

Testing posting from my phone :)

Testing..testing.. is this thing on?? Ahem. Knocking the dust off... No, but seriously, I can't even just laugh it off and say, "Oh, I've been a bad blogger!".. I seriously just plain haven't blogged at all since I had Parker! I've spent every moment with the kid since he was born, and let me tell you.. he is very high need! He's 10 months (and 5 days!) and he still demands every single second of my time, at all times. Phew. And when he's napping, I'm trying to clean or sew! I opened up a teeny tiny little shop.. fb.com/PlanetParkerShop ... right now it's mostly baby items (bibs, Boppy covers, etc.), but I am moving more towards clothing soon.. and so excited about it! That's actually why I'm knocking off some of the dust over here.. I'm sewing along with the designers over on Project Run and Play! So fun, I'm really excited! It's kind of like Project Runway, but for kids clothes! All of the designers competing are really great, so inspirational. It will be fun to sew along with them each week and see what everyone makes! So stay tuned... week 1 is "pattern remix". They gave us a cute little sundress pattern, and we have to kind of, make it our own. This was really fun! I am having a little model come over this week and try the dress on so that I can hem it. Can't wait to see it actually on a little girl! I already can't imagine topping this dress with any of the other weeks. It's just. So. Pretty. Can't wait to reveal it, at the end of this week!! :)

My business!

Planet Parker
Handmade baby items, check it out!

1-2 months!

1-2 months:

Your hair is growing back!
You have gorgeous long eyelashes! (From Daddy)
You love when Daddy "gets" your legs
Love when Daddy takes your socks off
You love when Mommy wears you - you fall asleep!
First Christmas!
Trying to laugh
Sleep in Mommy's bed!
Love to sleep on you side
Getting better at tummy time
Starting to sneeze like Mommy!
Trying to put your binky in your mouth
Trying to reach for things
Pretty good sleeper - 4-5 hour stretch
Wearing 3-6 month clothes
Love your binky
Love Baby Einstein
Love your room - especially your changing table (and the lights and picture collage!)
VERY smiley in the morning!

It's oh so very hard to blog still! Between taking care of him and the house, and napping when I can - I'm beat! I don't know how some people do it.

I take tons of pictures of P and am very much enjoying being his Mommy! He's 2 months 2 days old as I type this and he just laughed for the first time! Such a miracle and a blessing he is.

0-1 months

I want to do something like this:

(Found on Pinterest somewhere, a long time ago.)

0 months:

We are so glad you're here!
8lbs 3oz of adorable baby boy.
Your first night home was great.
You're eating like a champ!
You poop more than we ever expected!
You have a head of gorgeous dark hair.
You hate being naked.
You make a goofy sound in your sleep like you're laughing.

1 month:

You lost all your gorgeous hair on top!
You love your Soothing Sounds Giraffe.
You love your swing/vibrating chair.
You like your binky...sometimes.
Going out of the house is challenging.
You had your first bottle!
You're getting so big! Over 10lbs now.
You had your first Thanksgiving!
You don't fuss at all during diaper changes.
You LOVE to eat!
You grunt a TON in your sleep, and when you're pooping!

Parker is here!!

What a wild ride it was! Here is my birth story, complete with TONS of pictures.

Sunday night was horrible - I was up all night itching. I had had 2 blood tests come back with elevated bile acid levels (indicating obstetric cholestatis) but apparently since my itching was on and off and sometimes tolerable, the doctor didn't think that it was too much of a concern. But when I saw him Monday and told him the itching was bad, he decided since I was 39 weeks on Tuesday, baby was a good size (estimated 9 lbs) and my levels were somewhat elevated, that we could induce. He checked me one last time and I was still 2cm and about 50% effaced. He stripped my membranes again and I had some light contractions and discomfort for the next day or two.

He set the date for Wednesday, 10/24. It was surreal from that appointment on... Like, omg, it's really happening. Everyone was super excited, especially both Grandmas. Doug and I went home and finished up cleaning, packing bags, etc. And settled down for our last two nights as a (mostly) two-some! 

Wednesday came and it was crazy. I was so excited yet nervous. We finished up some very last minute things, like buying celebratory cigars for Doug and my brother, and took my last chalkboard picture!

We got some dinner and headed to the hospital. When we got to the hospital Doug dropped me off at the door and I sat on a bench and waited for him to park and come meet me with our stuff. It hit me then - holy cow, we're not leaving this hospital without a baby!!!! 

We checked in around 7:30pm and got settled into our room. I got my super fancy gown on and was so excited!

From then it was a waiting game. They placed the Cervidil around 9pm, so I had to stay in bed until 11pm. Doug and I watched tv and hung out. They removed the Cervidil at 11pm. I was still 2cm and contracting painlessly every 7 minutes. I hadn't been on Friday, so this was most likely from the doctor stripping me on Monday.

The next morning they came in and started the Pitocin. I was nervous about that, but it didn't really do *too* much. Contractions were still a good distance apart and bearable. 

See how happy I still am? lol

My mom and Doug were with me by then. Suddenly the doc came in and said he was going to break my water. I was not ready for that! But alright, here we go! THAT'S when things got fun. First, it was blood tinged. But they didn't seem too worried. I was able to be up still, so I did some work on the yoga ball. Suddenly my water started REALLY gushing. Like, none of us believed that THAT much liquid was inside of me LOL. It wouldn't stop coming out. It was everywhere. The floor was soaked. It was comical but uncomfortable lol. Doug, my mom and I got a lot closer that day haha.

Very soon after, my contractions went from bearable to OMFG I'm going to die, make them stop. I couldn't handle them. I was begging God and crying and couldn't breathe and couldn't talk and was absolutely in the worst pain of my life. I begged for the epidural. 

That took a little bit of time. Felt like forever, but probably only a half hour from me asking to me getting it. The anesthesiologist was training someone and having her do it. I was ready to be like OMG just DO IT already, ugh! Because he was like walking her through it. It was hard to have a contraction while they were placing it. 

So, epidurals in. I feel relief. For a while. 

(Me sleeping during epidural)... Isn't my Fiance great lol..

I fell asleep for 45 minutes and woke up to feeling it on one side. They came and topped it off. Fell asleep for another 45 minutes and same thing. They came and topped it off again. They checked me at some point and I was 6cm 80% effaced and baby was at -2. His head wasn't coming down. I was getting upset at that point because I knew that if I dilated and effaced all the way, and his head came down - they'd have to turn down my epidural for pushing because I couldn't feel or move my legs and I was very scared about pushing through the pain. 

The doctor came in at about this point and said hey, you gave it the old college try but basically his head isn't coming down and we should c-section you. I was like okay! lol... I had had a feeling from the beginning that I wouldn't be able to get this large baby out. And after 24 hours of misery, I was fine with just getting him here and safely. 

See? I'm thrilled that I'll meet my son soon!

Things moved quickly after that. Doug got his scrubs. 

Him and my mom packed up all of our stuff. I got wheeled into the OR. I had gotten a surgery dose of the epidural, so I wasn't feeling any pain but was very nauseated. The anesthesiologist was GREAT. So kind. He gave me something for the nausea. I was so excited but then when I hit the OR I got a little nervous. Sooo many doctors. No one's really talking to you. They're just kind of prepping and you're like omg I'm going to have surgery. So they did their thing and put the wall up and I started shaking uncontrollably. Soooooo annoying. The anesthesiologist got me a warm blanket which helped very slightly. They started cutting which didn't hurt but you can feel stuff going on which is very weird. I didn't really expect that. They cut me pretty much from hip to hip because I'm so tiny.

Doug came in then. I locked eyes with him and was so excited and nervous. Thank gosh he has pretty eyes! TONS AND TONS of tugging and pressure. Very very very odd. I remember the doc saying something about the placenta being slightly detached and that's what caused the bleeding when they broke my water. I got slightly worried. All of a sudden, IMMEDIATE relief - like a 10 lb weight off your stomach. And some tiny tiny little cries! I looked at Doug and was just like omg omg omg that's my baby!!!! The cries were so quiet and little, I asked if he was okay. Someone said yes. They brought him over to get cleaned up and weighed, and I told Doug yes, go be with him, I'm fine. They held him up for me to see, which I only slightly remember, but I remember being again like, omg that's MY baby! They announced he was 8lbs 3oz and I asked if he had 10 fingers and 10 toes and someone said yes. Doug took some pics and they wrapped him up and then came and sat by me and was holding him and I remember thinking that I hoped I never forgot that moment. Doug was gazing at him so lovingly and it was just BEAUTIFUL. 

Then the anesthesiologist gave me something to help me "relax"... Finally the shaking stopped. But now I was sooo tired. I honestly didn't care about anything lol. I was like oh sweet, I had a baby. Hm. Haha. Apparently now Doug handed baby back, they finished up my surgery and I got wheeled to recovery. I don't remember much.

I guess my doctor went and talked to my mom and Doug, and said that if we had waited any longer, it would have been VERY difficult to get him out of my pelvis - he was definitely stuck. Doug said that the top of his head had like a raised up circle on it - like a little Jewish cap. So I'm glad they took me to surgery when they did! Poor guy was not coming out any other way.

After about an hour they brought him in to me and I breastfed right away. He latched and sucked like a champ. This was skin to skin special time, which I had been looking forward to for so long and Doug was desperately trying to get me to stay awake but it was almost impossible. They took the baby back to the nursery so I could sleep, and Doug went home to sleep since there was no place for him to sleep in the recovery room - all mommy/baby rooms were full. Baby boom apparently! After about 3 hours I woke up and asked them to bring him to me. While I was waiting, I went on Facebook and thank Gosh Doug had uploaded a picture. I just stared at it for the half hour I waited for them to bring him to me. This was that picture.

Finally they brought him to me and I was just overjoyed. Finally a mommy!

Breastfeeding didn't go as well the next few times, but after a few attempts and visits from the lactation consultant, he became a pro! Even after a csection, my milk came in after only 48 hours. He's a good sucker haha. 

Doug came up the next morning and we had lots of visitors in the hospital. He got down to 7lbs 7oz which the pediatrician was happy with. Healing the first day or two after surgery was rough, but got easier each day, just like everyone said it would. Doug has been great doing stuff around the house. I basically just take care of the baby and he cleans and cooks and takes care of me. A girl could get used to this. 

Parker is doing amazing. Breastfeeding is very easy, he sleeps well and I wouldn't even say he cries - just fusses a bit when he's naked or if he's hungry. I've taken 1 billion pictures lol. I love playing dress up with him. OH and he's covered in hair! Like a werewolf lol. And has the longest feet/toes ever. I'm thinking he'll be tall. His hair is dark and his eyes are dark blue, I see some Mason in him and Doug sees some me - his nose and lips. I just think he looks like himself. I feel like I know him best and do things the best for him. I thought I'd ask Doug a lot but really I've taken over for him a few times! He peed on the nurse right after birth lol. And has peed, pooped, sneezed and puked on Doug within a five minute period haha. He's so fun and it's truly amazing. Worth all the pain and every tear I shed. I've never been happier!

And now here's some photos!! 

Think this was the first one I took of him:

First pic of me with Parker.

Baby feet!

Love this one.

Uncle Alex holding his nephew!

Grandma with Parker!

Goin home! 

First car ride!

Finally home!

Daddy is so happy! Parker was born 2 days before his birthday.

After his first sponge bath:

This one's from today, 5 days old, on his due date!

Life is good!