Happy 10 Month Birthday, Baby Parker!
Height: 29+
inches
Weight: 18+ lbs.
Hair: More and more! It’s hard to remember that P used to be a baldy
little baby!
Diapers: Huggies
Little Movers Size 3
Clothes:
12 month
Health: Working
on tooth number five! Parker also had his first official illness this month:
Croup! He woke up the week after Christmas coughing and sounding like a baby
seal! A call to the doctor’s office and we were armed with ways to comfort
baby, though Parker never ran a fever and was pretty happy the whole time.
Sleep: Little
man has not had the greatest month of sleep (and by turn, neither has mamma or
daddy!). Parker spent most of the month waking up several times a night, most
often screaming. Our poor baby was experiencing teething pain, but even after
that passed he kept his middle-of-the-night wake-ups. Right around his
ten-month birthday, things started to get better though, and we are now back to
sleeping through the night (8:00pm to 7:00am or 8:00am). Parker is also very
consistent with needing a morning nap shortly after breakfast, and an afternoon
nap after lunch. He goes down for every nap so happily!
Diet: Parker
eats three meals (and sometimes a snack) each day, and still nurses four times
(when he gets up, after his naps, and before bed). At Parker’s nine-month
check-up, we got the go-ahead from Parker’s pediatrician to basically start
giving Parker foods that we were eating. It has opened up a whole new world!
Daddy especially is having a ball with this! We started with bites of our baked
ziti, beans from our burritos, beef from our noodle bowls, and carrots from our
stew. New foods this month included grapes, oranges, and waffles. Parker had
his first home-cooked real meal of Chicken Tikka Masala and loved it. I mean,
looooved it. It’s a current favorite still. Other favorites right now include
banana (eaten whole like a monkey), blueberries (cut in half to prevent
choking), any and all citrus fruit, Delicata squash, and anything mommy or
daddy is eating. By the way, little man can eat. You’d never guess it looking
at his lean frame, but two nights ago for dinner, little man put away an entire
orange, a full adult portion of Chicken Tikka Masala, a quarter cup of green
beans, and half a potato. And that was an hour after having a snack of applesauce.
So on his 10-month birthday, we went out to dinner at Canteena Laredo and
decided Parker was ready for the Kid’s Menu! He had a beef enchilada, rice and
beans, and finished more than half the plate!
New Experiences: Santa brought
Parker a big boy car seat for Christmas so little man has been riding in style!
He also (at his insistence) had his first tour of the garage with daddy’s
project car inside. He made a beeline for the garage door while leading the way
“walking” holding daddy’s hands, so of course daddy obliged and showed him
(safely) around. Lately, Parker does not like to see mommy laughing, and gets a
very concerned face, which sometimes leads to crying!
Likes: Cutie
mandarins (baby boy polished off two whole ones on the flight home from Dallas),
swatting at dangling banana peels, watching the clothes dryer, playing his
xylophone, flicking buttons on shirts, examining his own hands, splashing the
bath water, trying to eat electrical cords, watching the fish in the den, being
read to (especially Little Blue Truck, Goodnight Moon, and Where’s Baby?), being tickled under his
arms, riding on daddy’s shoulders, being sung to (also playing Patty Cake or
Three Little Piggies), and catching glimpses of television screens that are on
(we are following the AAP’s advice to limit screen time before age two so
Parker doesn’t see the television on at home, but whenever we are out he is
fascinated when he sees them!).
Firsts: We had baby’s first
Christmas and little man was spoiled with love! Mamma, Daddy and Parker all
wore matching Christmas pajamas for the big day and celebrated with Omi and
Grandpa in from California.
Social: Parker makes a “gee” sound (rhymes with “knee”) when he’s happy,
and has also started doing head tilts when he’s having fun or doing something
he enjoys. He has also babbled complete phrases! Parker likes to help turn
lights off when we leave rooms. He presses the switch and then watches the
light and is oh-so happy.
Milestones: Parker
waved for the first time at 10-months! He had practiced doing it sporadically
the day before, then just as daddy was taking him upstairs for his nap, he
looked at mommy in the kitchen and waved bye-bye! Parker is also standing
holding onto furniture, and “walking” holding onto hands. He is showing the first
signs of “cruising” (walking holding onto furniture) and can take a couple
steps autonomously this way.
Dear
Parker,
Happy
New Year! 2014 will be your first full calendar year, and my it’s going to be a
busy one! You have already visited Texas this year (for Grandpa’s 70th
birthday), and will be headed to California later this month (for Auntie’s
bridal shower). In fact, you have a round-trip flight planned once a month for
the first half of this year! You earned an A grade on the way out to Dallas and
back, so keep it up, little man! You are turning into quite the traveling
buddy! Your daddy and I are having so much fun with you. We live to see you
smile and giggle; our hearts just melt when you give us your precious grins. Your
face lights up with joy when you see your daddy walk in from being at work all
day; it’s the most precious sight. You continue to be quite the observer,
looking at lights, people, windows, and ceilings whenever we are out. You
always get tons of comments on how cute you are, and boy can you ham it up!
Yesterday at Whole Foods you tilted your head back and forth and gave smiles to
all the ladies! We are continuing to sign with you, and while you haven’t done
any signing on your own yet, you understand when we sign “more”, “drink”, and
“milk”. You also get very excited when we mention bananas or oranges in
conversation (so we have to make sure we only say these words if we are giving
them to you!). You have been super close to waving on your own lately and
finally did it today – twice! We can’t wait to see what the next month will
bring, baby boy! You are the light of our lives and we simply adore you.
Love,
Mamma and Dadda
or 
for small batches, but to make larger quantities, I would cook up the fruit or veggie on the stove and then use our food processor to puree. 
. Little man knew exactly what to do with them, though it was his first time picking up something so small. His success rate was maybe one in five, but he was trying his hardest to get them in his mouth! His dexterity improved over the next few days and weeks from the practice, and he perfected his "pincer grasp" in no time! Seven months was also when Parker began "chewing" (is it called "gumming" if you have no teeth??). We followed the puffs with 
(which were followed by Parker's first two teeth!).
(
) since it travels well (we just throw it in the diaper bag and it's good to go whenever). This is Parker's first meal with a buddy! 
