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.

Ugly Doll

The other day I saw some Ugly Dolls (which I have always thought were pretty cool) so I picked one up for myself Parker. It's super soft and has little arms, legs, and ear-things that he can chew on in his never-ending quest to fit things into his mouth. The Ugly Doll is called "Big Toe", I guess because he's fairly toe-shaped. Here's a pic of the doll (real ones with Parker coming soon)!


Edited to add more photos.

The showdown.

More Random Photos

Here are some photos from the last few days:

Bundled up because it's getting colder!


Pensive (yet chic) Parker.


Happy Parker! He looks like Rocky, ready to get in the ring. Except for the giant smile; I don't remember Rocky smiling and being cute towards Ivan Drago (although that totally would have caught him off guard).


I think this shirt is cool because it has drums on it, and I used to play in a band (or two, or three).

Be Cool, My Babies

April is in Toronto all weekend so it's just the boys hanging out! Here's a photo of Parker dressed in his beatnik turtle-neck (although he doesn't have much of a neck, really). All he needs is a little black beret and a single lit candle and he would be ready to groove, baby. It reminded me of this classic Looney Tunes cartoon. The fact that this cartoon is even available proves that everything ever can be found on the internet. Cool, man. Cool.

PHOTO!!!!!

Hmm. I had problems merging the YouTube video with a photo, so here's the photo in a separate post.

Peas are gr055

Today we fed Parker some mushed-up peas! Mmmm. Sounds appetizing, doesn't it? It looks even worse. I took a pretty funny sequence of Parker taking a few bites and making some sour faces, so I'll post a slideshow later on tonight hopefully. I don't think he really liked it judging by the photos, but we're going to try a few more times!

As mentioned, here's the link to the slideshow. If you look closely (actually, you don't have to look that closely) you'll see a bit of fear in his eyes. Maybe some shock. Perhaps a bit of revulsion. Mmmm, peas.

http://www.garrettelliott.com/peas

Parker Bear

I think a lot of parents tend to call their kids Bear, although I'm not sure why. For us, we started calling him Parker Bear because he used to make little bear-growling noises that were super cute, and then it just sort of stuck. It's kind of funny referring to him as "The Bear", and I tend to insert "Parker Bear" into songs all the time (ie. "Ooo eee ooo I look just like Parker Bear. Oh oh and you're little Parker Bear"). If he grows up foraging for honey and trying to hibernate, I take full responsibility. Here are some photos.

5 Things We've Learned About Babies

1. Parker is happiest when he's well-rested. Sleep = good times for all. We've recently been fairly strict with his sleeping and napping schedule because we want him to get into a routine and be able to sleep on his own without interruptions or distractions. We've been rewarded with 13-hour sleeps at night! Best baby ever!

2. After you have a baby, a small rift opens in the space/time continuum, causing you to be late to every appointment you try to keep. For some reason, if you say you'll be somewhere at 10 o'clock, you don't get there until 10:30. We now operate on baby time.

3. People are super nice to you when you have a baby (this also applies to being pregnant). The other day I was at the bank with Parker, and an older woman was walking by and Parker went, "Yeeeeeee!" and smiled at her. She stopped in her tracks and went, "Oh, hello there!" with a big smile and it looked like it made her day. People love babies. Especially cute, happy ones.

4. The simplest things are the most entertaining. He doesn't really care for TV or fancy stuff; he's more interested in licking our faces, or smiling at himself in a mirror. It's pretty easy to keep him entertained and distracted. The same goes for us, too -- Parker can do the simplest thing (like just lay there quietly) but we stare at him and just watch him do stuff. He's pretty entertaining.

5. Poop stinks. Okay, so we kind of already knew that. But you don't REALLY know until you're faced with the daunting task of disposing a loaded diaper. The Diaper Genie is quite possibly the best invention ever (followed closely by GPS, and then basketball).

Hereare some photos (but not of poop). This is Parker's new game with Mommy. It's called "Row Row Row Your Boat". They both sit on the floor facing each other, and as Mommy sings the words, they kind of sway back and forth a bit. He seems to like it!

Elliott Boys

Here's the Elliott boys being cute.

Well, one of us is being cute, anyways.

Random Observations

1. For about two (or maybe three) weeks, Parker was completely obsessed with rolling over. Every time we would put him down on his back to play (he has a little play mat thing that has been in a few photos in the past with Sheepy and Buggy and other y-named friends) he would try so hard to roll himself over, straining and grunting and breathing hard. He could get his hips across, but could never figure out what to do with his arms or head. He finally figured it out last week and you could totally tell he was super proud, because every time he would roll over he had this huge happy smile. He rolled over at the drop of a hat, spinning to his tummy every time we turned our heads for two seconds, like a ninja ready to strike (but using cute smiley faces instead of shurikens). He even taught himself how to do little baby push-ups and was able to push himself backwards a bit using his arms. So, now that Parker has figured out how to roll over, he's completely dis-interested in it. It's funny how laissez-faire he is about the whole thing, like rolling over is something for 4-month olds, not 5.5-month olds. If we put him on his back, he just stays there, all content knowing that he could roll over.......if he wanted to. But he doesn't. Even though he can. It's kind of funny because he tried so hard to figure it out, and now that he can do it, he doesn't care.

2. His real-boy hair is coming in. He had a mohawk when he was first born, with a strip of pretty thick, reddish-coloured hair on the top of his head. It seems to have fallen out (or maybe dispersed? His head is a bit bigger now) and thicker hair is growing in. It feels cool to rub your hand across his head.

3. He's waaaay better at standing now. If we tried to balance him on his legs before, they would crumple into a pile of cute mush. Now he bounces up and down a bit and can hold himself up (with a bit of support) for a while. We think the Exersaucer that April's mom dropped off has helped a lot. As soon as he can balance on two legs, I'm totally teaching him how to dunk a basketball.

4. Eating with daddy is much messier than eating with mommy.





5. Parker somehow manages to get cuter and cuter every day. Awwwww. :)

This was a long post! Hi Tiffany!