Raspberries

Here's a video of Parker doing the raspberry thang. His eyebrows crack me up -- they're super expressive and always seem to be moving around. After the first few noises he made, I made a face behind the camera and made some noises, too, and his reaction is pretty funny.

Testing Out His New Teeth

Over the last few weeks, Parker has been busy growing teeth. He now has two little stubs on the bottom that will eventually grow into baby teeth. Here's a video of him and I eating breakfast the other morning. This is the first time I've posted a video so I'm not sure how it will look (or how fast it will load). We used Claire's camera to record an AVI video, so it might not translate very well into this Blogger format...

Parker and Mommy

Parker loooooves mommy.

Parker Drought

I haven't posted any stories or photos in a while, so here are some quick ones before I type up a few new posts in the near future.

Best Diaper Rash Cream Ever

When Parker was first born, one of April's co-workers (thanks, Kent!) gave her a jar of Lunar Eclipse diaper rash ointment, saying that it worked really well for him and he wanted to pass along his secret formula. Even though we didn't have to use it very often at first, once we started to notice a bit of redness on Parker's bum, we tried out the ointment and it worked like a charm! So far it has been a bit of a miracle product -- it takes any redness away over night, and we've used it on his bum and on his chin to prevent the drool from causing a rash. We get ours from the natural foods section of Loblaw's grocery store. It sounds like herbal hocus pocus, but it works for April's co-worker and it works for us! If you're having problems with rashes, we recommend Lunar Eclipse diaper rash ointment.

Contraband Walker!

Here's a photo of Parker in his illegal walker! The first day we were in Dresden he was kind of hesitant, but by Saturday he was doing laps around the house!

Even though they're outlawed in Canada, they seem like a pretty good idea to me. We watched him go from tentative and unsure to a crazy walking machine in less than a week!

Babies At The Table

Here are Parker and Connor at the table, waiting at the table for a nice Christmas dinner of Cheerios (for Connor) and some form of mushy fruit and vegetable (for Parker). It's funny watching Connor because he's a bit more dextrous than Parker and he picks up his Cheerios individually to eat them.

Parker On The Train

Here's a photo of Parker on his first train ride ever when we went to Dresden for an early Christmas! We thought we'd try the train because it would give Parker a chance to hang out and relax and not be strapped into a car seat the full time. It turned out to be really convenient and easy! Parker was able to sit in his car seat and look out the window or hang out with mommy and daddy and play. We would definitely recommend that anyone going on a long trip with a baby consider the train. It's a bit more expensive but way more convenient.

Cousin Connor!

Here's Parker's little cousin Connor, who is two months older. They had a fun Christmas together!

Merry Christmas!

Parker wishes everyone a very merry Christmas!

(Hi Nana, Papa, Abuelita, Grandpa, Devon, Tracy, Connor, Claire, Shawn, Nathalie, Ally, Caroline, Scott, Gemma, Melissa, Tim, Elaine, Katie, Steve, Naomi, Nicole, Jennifer M., Tiffany, Michele, Steve, girls from Wedding Bells, and anyone else who might be reading this!)

Read All About It

A little while ago I posted about how the first season of Sesame Street wasn't really cut out for kids today. I wonder what that reviewer would say about Read All About It? Parker is still a bit young, but I remember watching this show on TV Ontario when I was in grade 3 and 4; in fact, we did a whole unit on the show in grade 4 for some reason. If you have some time to kill and want to watch a bizarre (but somewhat educational, I guess) show, check this out:

http://www.broszkowski.com/tv/readallaboutit/readallaboutitdownload.html

The photo of Duneedon (the main villain) in the background is enough to creep you out before you even hear his weird laugh.

From The Vault...

Here's another photo from the vault that I forgot was on my computer. Who are those crazy kids? This was taken the night of our Arts '02 formal. April and I both lived in the same building -- there were five different apartments with five people in each. Her house of five girls was in the front, and my house of five guys was in the back. Who knew random neighbours could make such cute babies?

(I think our landlord secretly knew. Hi Nancy!)

Adventures at the Mall

Today Parker and I went Christmas shopping for Mommy, so she had the house all to herself for a few hours. Parker picked out some pretty cool gifts for her, so I think she'll be happy. It's funny hanging out with a baby at the mall -- as we wandered around, I noticed a lot of other babies but they were all with their moms! I was the lone father daring to elbow my way through throngs of weary Christmas shoppers. Luckily Parker is pretty much the best baby ever, and he was happy and cheerful the whole time. It's funny how social he is: when ever someone would go, "AWWW LOOK AT THE BABY!!!!" he'd light up and give them a huge smile. Parker totally knows how to work it.

On another note, Parker recommends Radiohead's new album In Rainbows. When ever I listen to it in the car with him he goes right to sleep. A true sign of a killer album.

Parker Meets Santa!

Warning: these might be the cutest photos ever. Every December there's an event in Amherstview called "Light Up The Season" where kids can play in the park, gorge themselves on free hot dogs and hot chocolate, see Santa, and check out the lights in the park. In the last few years April has been volunteering on their committee and has helped run different booths, but this year we were there as parents! I took photos for the event, and here are some super cute photos of April and Parker all bundled up for their meeting with Santa. Thanks again to my mom for the awesome snowsuit! Parker was super comfy and warm!

Parker Disguises

Here's your friendly neighbourhood Parker spinning webs and fighting crime in his Spider-Man and Friends sweatsuit.






And here's Parker doing his best Emperor impression after his bath with mommy: "Oh, I'm afraid the deflector shield will be quite operational when your friends arrive."



We actually have a blue towel that looks a lot more like the Emperor but I took the green-towel photos instead (in case any truly 133t fanz point it out).

It Must Be The Shoes

We don't put shoes on Parker very often (his feet are still pretty mushy and it's really hard cramming shoes on!) but here's a photo of the shoes that April and my mom got at the One Of A Kind Show in Toronto last weekend. Slip them on, tighten them, and you're good to go.

More Nana Hats

My mom made two more hats and sent them to us a few weeks ago because a friend of mine wanted to buy them! Before I give them to her, though, we had to make Parker model them. The black one is a bit too big for him and the yellow one is way too small.........and also for a girl.

But we made him wear it anyways (you can see that he doesn't look very impressed).

Corporate Takeover

I was doing random Google searches (yes, I'm just that cool) and noticed this:

http://www.parkerelliott.com/ ! Apparently Parker's name is a company. Parker even has his own corporate logo!




Parker Elliott consists of seasoned professionals with wide and deep experience in accounts-receivable management and third-party collections. We work with clients large and small-from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies.Our collective experience on both sides of the client-supplier relationship gives us a unique perspective. This depth and breadth of experience truly sets us apart from the competition and enables us to be a partner, not just a vendor.Parker Elliott's corporate headquarters and call centers are located in Newport Beach, California.

Weird.

Drinky McDrink

Here's Parker drinking like a big boy from his own little glass. He's been watching April and I drink water for the last few weeks, just staring.....watching.....learning.....and waiting. We finally just decided to give him a glass and see what happened. He reached out for it immediately and tried to drink! He usually ends up with quite a bit of water on himself (hence the towel) but it's still pretty cute to see.




Also, here's a photo of Parker chewing on a wooden spoon.

Parker's New BFF

Kathryn and Kerry came for a visit on the weekend and it was great to see them again! They both lived with April in University and now they're working in Toronto. Here's a photo of Parker and his new BFF Kathryn. As previously mentioned, Parker loves the ladiez.

Winter Part 2

This would help Parker track down bounties for the Empire, but if only it could keep him warm, too......

Winter?

I don't really check the weather forecast so I never know what it's going to be like outside, and I had no idea it was going to be winter when we woke up today. I had to take April to the train station at 7:30 am so she could meet my mom in Toronto for a trade show thing, and it was cold and icy! Luckily my parents sent Parker a snowsuit to keep warm last week, and it looks like it got here just in time. It's pretty cool because you can pretty much just drop your baby into it and zip him up -- there aren't really any belts or waistbands or other difficult things to manoeuvre, and the little hands and feet have extra fabric that folds over and covers them up so you don't even need mittens or boots! Here's a photo of Parker getting ready to brave the wintery climate:

The hood is a little bit too big for his head, but he fits every where else! And after we got home this morning, it was time to practice sitting up without any support. As you can see, Parker thinks this is pretty fun:

Sesame Street For Adults Only?

Okay, so this entry isn't about Parker, but I thought it was interesting enough to post. I came across an article sort-of reviewing the season 1 DVD release of Sesame Street, and what they have to say ain't pretty. According to the article, season 1 (which came out in 1969, way before my time as an impressionable youth) is just not suitable for kids today. When I saw the headline I was kind of surprised but I guess the writer makes some pretty valid points. Sesame Street was pretty bizarre at times, and what was socially acceptable in the 60's and 70's isn't necessarily as acceptable today. At least funky bass lines in jazzy pinball montages will always be acceptable.

Photo Comparison

Here's Parker on June 24th with Superman for size reference:

And here he is last week:

And here are two photos of his crazy orange hair:

Another Checkup

We took Parker to the doctor today for his 6-month shots, which is always fun. And by "fun" I mean "mildly traumatizing". Actually, just like the other times, Parker was really cool with the needles. He cries a little bit but then he's okay. According to the measurements, he's now 28 inches tall and just over 20 pounds! Gigantor baby!

Osh Kosh

Here's Parker losing to The Sleep (but then waking up with a stunned look on his face). Look at how long his eye lashes are! If they're like mine, they'll end up getting tangled all the time and it's really annoying.





And here's Parker putting on a show in his new Osh Kosh B'Gosh overalls! His new thing is to stand when we hold onto his hands a little bit. He loves standing on my lap, which is pretty cute (and it looks like he's got a little Michael Jordan tongue-action going on in these photos while he's concentrating).

Parker vs. The Sleep

For some reason, Parker didn't nap at all today! He went the whole morning and afternoon without going to sleep, which is pretty rare for him. Usually we'll wake up and have breakfast and play a bit, then he'll take a nap. Then he'll wake up and we'll play a bit more (or maybe go do errands) and then he takes another nap. And sometimes he takes a third nap in the afternoon if he's really tired and there's room before his bed time. But today he just refused to sleep! He ended up kind of loopy and goofy in the afternoon, which was funny to see -- he was cracking up at the weirdest things (and his laugh is super cute). He eventually fell asleep on mommy in a chair in the basement! Parker definitely won the battle vs. The Sleep today, but normally he succumbs pretty quickly.