5 Months

Just a heads up to readers, this post is long. Most of you probably will get board with it, but I write all the details for myself to remember 10+ years from now.

5 months. Wow, time goes by SO fast. Parker is learning and growing every day. He is such a smart boy. There are days that I forget that he actually understands what's going on. For instance: When I get Parker out of bed from his naps when he is hungry (and I don't realize it) and take him into the living room, he starts crying because he knows that food isn't in the living room. But as soon as I walk into the kitchen, he stops crying and watches me make him a bottle or a jar of baby food. It's fun to watch him try to communicate with Matt and I. This month, Parker has tried several different baby foods and his favorites are carrots and squash. He doesn't care for peas too much, but will eat them if he is hungry enough, and he HATES chicken baby food. (I'm not too upset about that one. That stuff stinks!!) We haven't started him on fruits yet, because we want him to acquire a taste for vegetables before we give him the good stuff. :) We did give him a taste of a yogurt creamie the other day, and he LOVED it! But who wouldn't?!

Parker is loving tummy time more and more these days. Every time I lay him down to play, he rolls over (something new this month) within minutes and is laughing and playing with all his toys. He is pretty good at scooting or rolling himself around to get to the toys he wants. It's fun to watch his determined little face as he narrows in on a toy that he wants and tries to figure out how to get it. His hand coordination is getting much better, and he has really improved is motor skills. Parker can now sit for a while without help! He has made a lot of progress! He can sit for a few minutes but he gets tired of holding his body up, so he just bends over to the point that his head is touching his toes, and then topples over to one side. Parker has also found his toes recently. He loves playing with them. It's fun to watch him hold onto his toes and roll from side to side. It makes us laugh every time!

Parker's bald spot on the back of his head is FINALLY growing back in! In the light, I can see itty bitty little blonde hairs. I am sure it is because of all the time he spends on his tummy now, and it makes me excited! As of now, Parker's hair is pretty short on the sides, but is almost long enough for another hair cut on top!
Parker loves making mouth noises. This month he has learned how to push his lips together, like a kiss, and blow. He makes bubbles doing this, and spit flies everywhere. He thinks it's funny. He also thinks the dog is hilarious. One day, we were all just laying on the bed and Parker was staring at the dog. Any time Rosco would move, Parker would start laughing really hard. Definitely one of those moments were I wished I had the video camera. Parker also LOVES to sing. Any time music is on, he will use his voice to the fullest. And as soon as I turn the radio off, Parker stops. It's pretty funny. He also enjoys singing at church. Every sacrament meeting, he joins in, and we get a lot of attention from our ward. Most of our ward is pretty old, so when Parker talks, everyone around us can hear him because it is SO quiet!

Parker is scared of a certain toy. Grandma bought this toy for him and was excited to see him play with it; too bad he hates it.  If you push on the head of the dog, it vibrates while it plays a little jingle. A lot of Parker's other toys vibrate and play music, but for some strange reason, he doesn't like this one. He will be in a really happy mood, but as soon as I put the toy on his tummy while it is doing it's thing, Parker will get the saddest face ever. It is so sad to see, but at the same time, so stinkin cute! He doesn't instantly start crying. It starts off as more of a small pout with his little lip sticking out, which eventually turns into a whimper, and a look at mommy or daddy that says "save me". Poor kid. We are the mean parents that did it over and over to him because it was pretty funny. Definitely not winning the mother of the year. ;)
Recently, Parker has gotten really bad anxiety. We started to notice it about a month ago when my parents watched him for a few hours so Matt and I could go on a date. He started crying as soon as he realized we weren't there and didn't stop crying until he fell asleep. It has gotten much worse since then. We went camping for my birthday, and my dad was taking me fishing (which I haven't done since I was 10, so I was pretty excited) down at the river just 5 minutes (walking) away from the campsite. As soon as Parker realized I wasn't there, he started screaming, so I had to head back to camp to calm him down. He was hyperventilating for about a half an hour before he finally fell asleep. Can you say, extreme? It's been pretty rough, but we are working on it. We try to leave him with other people as much as we can to get him more comfortable with them. I've heard he is really young to be so attached, but what can I say? He loves his mommy! I know it's not a good thing for him to be so attached, but I can't help but feel good knowing that I am missed, and that he loves me.
Bath time has gotten pretty scary at our house. Now that Parker is rolling, he thinks it's ok to roll in the tub too. Bath time is really short and he doesn't like that, but he doesn't like sucking water either. That was a scary day. I was watching Parker play in the bath, and he turned his head fast enough that it was in the water before I could get my hands to him. I heard him suck in water, and I panicked. I jerked him out of the water, which startled him, and had to tip him so the water could run out of his mouth and nose. My hands are on his head at all times in the tub now. They aren't close enough if they are by my side anymore. Lesson learned.

 Overall, it has been a great month, and it seems like Parker is learning more and more every  month. We love our little guy, and enjoy every minute we get to spend together as a family!