Let's Get Physical

April and I have noticed a strange new trend with Parker: he's crazy into stretching. I guess he finally figured out he isn't confined to April's tiny womb any more. He has the biggest stretches all the time and it's pretty cute to watch. Parker makes really cute noises when he stretches, too. Today, he sounded like a pterodactyl once. I should have a photo of him stretching but surprisingly I don't, so this photo of Olivia Newton-John will have to suffice. Parker is WAY better at stretching than she is, but she wins the battle of the leggings.

Do Babies Dream of Baby Sheep?

Parker must have the funniest dreams EVER. Today he had his first laugh but he was sound asleep! It totally caught me off guard because I was holding him, and I knew he was alseep, but he suddenly let out a loud guffaw and had a silly smile on his face. It's pretty funny considering that he doesn't even really know how to control his face enough to make a smile. So whatever he's dreaming about must have been pretty funny. What would a baby dream about, anyways?

Complete With Kung-Fu Grip!

Parker holding onto his grandpa's finger for dear life with a mighty kung-fu grip:

More Visits

Grandma and Grandpa D came down this morning for a nice visit. Grandpa D hadn't had a chance to hold Parker yet since he was in the NICU for a few days at the hospital so this was his first chance to hold his grandson.

As you can tell from all the photos, Parker really likes to sleep. A lot. He's like Snorlax but with less mauling (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snorlax).

Faces of Parker

This afternoon Parker was being particular facey, so I took a bunch of photos in quick succession. Here's a collage of the many faces of Parker Bryant Elliott:

The first and last photos remind me of this:

Don't make him angry. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. That means you, Mr. McGee.

8 Days Old!

It's hard to believe Parker is already 8 days old! Time is definitely flying by, but it helps when we've had a lot of visitors and appointments. Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to call or email or leave comments to say congratulations!

Now that Parker is an old, wily veteran at this "life" thing, it looks as though he's getting comfortable. Just the other day we were saying that we thought he was getting a bit bigger, and it kind of looks like it from this photo:

He's almost back up to his birth weight! Hopefully he doesn't feed April to the Rancor.

Here's a new photo of his wireless foot and blanket (knit -- or is it knitted? -- by Grandma E):

And here's a non-Jabba photo of Parker, bundled up in his car seat, ready for a ride down town:

The Great Escape Artist

So Parker has developed the ability to escape from all kinds of things: swaddling blankets, socks, clothes ... you name it, he can get out of it! It's cool to see the determination in his little face when he's trying to get his arms out of his blankets. It doesn't seem to matter how tightly Garrett and I wrap him up, his arms somehow fight their way out. It's impressive that someone so small who weighs 6 pounds has the strength to get free when he feels like it! Personally, I'm convinced he has a future as some kind of escape artist ...

Smiling And Daddy Impressions

Here's our first photo of Parker smiling! He's a pretty happy baby so far, and is really laid back, which is nice.

And here he is doing his best daddy impression:

One of these days I should actually take photos of him while he's awake and doing stuff!

New Thing

Yesterday Parker learned a new thing -- he figured out how to suck his thumb. Here's a photo (as usual) of him in action. You can still see the little IV marks in his hand! :(

Last Flashback

And since I'm in a flashback kind of mood, here's a photo of April and I on Sunday (Mother's Day!) the day before going into the hospital to be induced. Ahhh, those were the days.

Flashback To Last Wednesday/Thursday

For the ease of consolidation I'm reposting my original thoughts/photos from when Parker was born, which were previously posted at my business blog. Here we go, back to May 17th:

Our baby was finally born last night (16th) at 8:10 pm! He weighed 6 pounds, 5 ounces (which is smaller than we thought he would be). He’s super cute (although we’re a bit biased) and he’s also really good so far — for being only half a day old, he’s pretty laid back and relaxed, especially considering the doctors had him hooked up to antibiotics to make sure he didn’t have any infections (hence the wires and stuff). He’s doing great, and now we’re just resting and relaxing, waiting to take him home so we can start the whole “parenting” thing. Yikes.

And here’s a less wire-y photo from the 17th (the first photo is from the 16th)

And here is the entry from the 18th:

So, I guess I’d might as well rename this blog to “Parker’s Blog”, because I have a feeling it’s going to be filled with his photos. Maybe I’ll have to make a separate one so family members and friends can see what he’s up to, kind of like The Truman Show but with photos. Or like this guy: http://everyday.noahkalina.com/ but a baby. And cuter.

He's going to think daddy looks like this:

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa D:

Another Day Down!

We survived our first FULL day with Parker in the house! I'm sure I'm jinxing us by saying this, but it was a little easier than I thought it would be. Hopefully it stays like this but every parent ever tells me it won't. In fact, they made sure to tell me over and over again while April was pregnant, while we were at the doctor getting checkups, while we were at the grocery store buying groceries, while we were at the hospital giving birth, and while we were just packing up to take him home. Here's a photo essay of what April, Parker and I did today!

It's hard to see but he has little Wolverine snikt marks on his face in the last photo from his crazy adamantium claws. I tried to cut them earlier tonight but it's really hard, partly because they're so tiny and cute, and partly because they're adamantium and they just wouldn't cut and I got scared.

And this might be the best photo ever (for now):

First Car Ride & Jedi Robes

Parker survived his first car ride home from the hospital tonight! We didn't know if he'd cry the whole time or if he'd just sit back and go to sleep, and luckily he went to sleep. It's 12:11 am and this is our first night home alone with him, which is kind of weird. It's bizarre having another human in the house when you're so used to just the two of you. But he's super-cute so that makes it okay. He fell asleep earlier tonight while listening to the sweet sounds of baby-ized Radiohead, courtesy of Uncle Devon and Aunt Tracy (http://www.babyrockrecords.com)! It sounds really cool and is actually pretty soothing. It also helps when Parker is bundled up in his Jedi robes.........I mean swaddled. He looks like this guy, but younger, and without light sabre..........for now.

The Mom Report

This is my first post as a mom and I've got to say, it feels great! I'm doing well after a long labour and we're finally going home tonight. Garrett is an amazing dad and it's great to watch him with his son. Parker definitely looks like Garrett, with his eyes, nose, and even his toes. I called it after the 5 month ultrasound when we saw some 3D photos of Parker, so it's cool to see him looking so much like like his dad. Parker is definitely the cutest baby I've ever seen and although I'm a bit biased, I think the evidence is in the photos Garrett's been taking!

More Visitors!

Today Parker had visits from Grandma and Grandpa E and Aunt Claire and Uncle Shawn! As you can see by the photos he was really happy. Okay, you can't really tell by the photos but I'm pretty sure he was happy.

First Post!

I'm trying to migrate all of our baby info (of which there is a lot) from my photography blog to this Parker-specific blog. Hopefully we can post photos regularly and add stories as he grows up and changes and eventually asks me to borrow car keys. Since I've never used this site before this is kind of a test!