Whoa, what a busy time of year! I've been having so much fun. Since we last spoke I turned the big 1, I’ve started dancing like a maniac , I hit up Vegas to see my MeMaw and J-Gramps, I ate my first legit Thanksgiving dinner,  spent lots if time with my awesome Uncle J-Bone, grew about a dozen more teeth (ok, maybe only about 4 more- my counting is still not so good), and attended about 5 different family Christmas gatherings.  I know, I’ve been swamped.  How has the holiday season been for you?

My 1^st birthday was fun. Nothing fancy, just hung out with my Mommy, Daddy, and my favorite brother of all time.  Brandon made a super awesome cake for me all by his self. I think he’s been paying attention to Mommy’s cake making.

Lately, I keep myself busy by playing, dancing, clinging to Mommy's legs (mostly when she is trying to walk around), cleaning the floors and storing my findings in my mouth, and hollering. I'm much more playful now. I like to hide behind stuff and pop out or turn my head away and whip it back (it's my version of peek-a-boo). I can be pretty emotional and sometimes Daddy calls me Drama Bear or Angry Bear, but mostly I'm sporting a big 'ol smile.

It was soo fun playing w/ MeMaw and J-Gramps for a weekend. Mommy, Daddy, Nonny, Pops, and Uncle J-Bone went to Vegas for a very belated birthday celebration for Uncle J-Bone. My uncle was far away serving in the military when we were supposed to have had the original get together.

While I was there I got to go see a huge lion and a cool water show. I even went to this buffet and ate almost all of their fruit!! Yum yum! They are the best and I love playing with and loving on them. I wish I could see them all the time!


I also got to visit Nacogdoches, TX. They have leaves there that are bigger than my head!! I had soo much fun walking through them and hearing them crunch under my feet. We went there to visit family. Uncle Tommy and Aunt Peggy's place is amazing. We played outside a whole bunch and ate lots of yummy food. I'm so lucky to have such a great family!

Of course, I got lots of stuff for Christmas. Actually, my toy box lid wont even stay on because it's overflowing w/ super awesome toys. Thank you all for thinking of me!

Love you guys!

Parker Bear

Walking the line.

This should come as no surprise to you, but I'm a walker now! Still mastering the art, but I've got the general idea down. The past few days I've had a little more confidence in my steps and a little more speed. You could say I'm reaching new heights ;)

Nowadays I like to dance and am starting to really learn to feed myself. Mommy and Daddy have been reluctant to let me feed myself because I like to flail so violently. I guess it's rather difficult to get corn and rice off of the ceiling and out of outlets. Apparently dancing and eating should not be combined.

I usually have a lot to say and want to make sure that everyone in a 3 mile radius can hear me. Mommy and Daddy are working on teaching me not too be so loud. I prefer the shrieking, though.   

My big brother tries to help teach me right from wrong and how to get along. He is sooo smart! I love when he comes home from school. I try and kick my legs as wildly as possible to show him how happy I am to see him since I can't quite express it any other way yet. The best part is he is just as happy to see me too! He is the best.

I bet you are wondering how my very first Halloween went.. well it was so much fun! I didn't care for my costume too much, but I kept it on the entire time. I enjoyed the stroll from house to house and seeing all of the silly people passing by. I had a few fans, but my big brother was the show stopper! I hope I am as cool as him when I get big.

I'm on a mission...

..to stand. Although it won't come easy, I am determined to succeed. Some of the barricades my parents use to keep me in the living room are only built to withstand crawlers. Don't they know that I'll learn to walk soon? The poor fools... it will be so easy.

Once I'm free I can roam around the neighborhood announcing my presence in my most dominant of alpha-male calls. I have been practicing them for weeks - I just straighten out like a board, wave my arms in the air wildly and announce, "I AM HERE. I EXIST AND MY NEEDS MUST BE MET AT ALL TIMES!" Yes.. it will all happen soon.

Aside from plotting my escape and ultimate rise to power, I did a bit of traveling recently. My great grandmother turned 80 this year and so we all traveled to a small town called Hurricane, UT to surprise her during the annual Peach Parade. We entered the parade to surprise her - and boy did it work. She couldn't believe her eyes at first, there were like a hundred grandkids on the 'float.'

Thanks to a bit of structure in my daily routine I have been taking regular naps and have predictable sleep patterns. Some mornings I am super nice and let mommy sleep in until 8am! Daddy especially appreciates my sleep routine because he is very busy now with work and school. I do what I can. After all, I don't want him blowing my chances of a college savings.

My big brother loves playing with me when he comes home from Kindergarten. He is sure impressive with all of his voodoo math-magic and superhuman reading abilities. I can't wait until I start learning cool stuff. In the meantime I will just teach myself that putting one foot on a sturdy object allows me to push myself up onto the couch. Daddy will love that one.

That's the latest. I look forward to updating you again next month!

-Parker Bear

P.S. I've also taken up breakdancing. Yeah, that's right.

HOT new update! No seriously, it's hot out there.

What an exciting summer so far - and HOT! II hope it cools down before I start walking, which could be soon! Sitting down cautiously has replaced an earlier, less-refined method I called the "Diaper Torpedo" which consisted of thrusting myself downward faster than gravity can pull. It is more of an art than a science, really.

So I bet you want to know how many teeth I have... and what I have done with them! Let's just say that Mommy's plans for using my crib as a bed later on may have been dashed. Sorry Mommy! What else am I supposed to do with my FOUR teeth? Other than eating of course.

nom - nom - nom!

Guess what else? I'm not all congested and sickly anymore! Maybe my immune system finally got its act together, or perhaps more likely, Brandon is on summer break so no fun new diseases from school! Either way, it is nice to breathe through my nose.. on the rare occasion I choose to. Just kiddin!

Last month I got to travel all over and took three plane rides! I did good on each one. Brandon and I have been to Houston like a thousand times too - Nonny's house is fun! Except for those tiles. I don't know why Daddy likes them so much, I end up stuck in the family room cuz I think my wittle knees would get all red out there!

Now that I am a CRAWLER I have found that my head is strangely attracted to walls. It doesn't happen too often, but sometimes it looks like I just want to bust through when I am chasing my toys. Like my big brother, I learned to crawl at Meemaw and J-Gramp's. Daddy suspects Sparticus gave us secret crawling lessons while no one was looking. We'll never tell...

Time to hone my 'lion' instincts and kill another meal. I forgot to mention I can eat meat now. Duck was good... but I think I'll try fish tonight!

-Parker Bear

I'm not sure if it's been a while since my last post (you know since I have no concept of time), but I have lots to talk about so I figured I would drop you guys a line or two.. at least for as long as I can fight the urge to gnaw on the keyboard.

Recently I discovered this fun little thing in my mouth. I just love to stick my tongue out and flap it around. My Nonny sticks hers out when she is concentrating really hard, but I just do it cause it's fun. At least, that's what Mommy and Daddy thought. Turns out I have a brand new tooth! Mommy and Daddy couldn't tell because my tongue was always out , but one day we were all playing and I grinned really big and Mommy saw it. Everyone thinks it's the cutest little tooth ever.

  For the past couple of weeks I have been practicing sitting up by myself. At first I was much better at headbutting the floor, but I am pretty darn good at it now. Even baths are much more fun since I can sit like a big boy and splash around!! Now that I have mastered sitting up on my own I can focus all of my efforts on crawling!

I have been working on crawling, but man is it hard! I can get up on my hands and knees with ease, but figuring out what to do from there is the tricky part. Usually, I just lunge forward but the carpet is kinda rough on my soft baby skin. I guess I'll just have to stick with "commando crawling" for now.


What I'm about to say may alarm you, actually I have a few things to tell you that might alarm you, but don't worry it's really nothing to lose sleep over. A few weeks ago I had my very first ER visit because of a high temperature. I hadn't been feeling too well for a few days and finally my fever spiked and Daddy had to call my nurse and she said it was best to take me in. Everything was fine, but to make sure the nurses there took a chest xray to make sure my lungs looked ok. They looked great (just like my hair), but the contraption they stuffed me in to see my lungs was crazy looking. If you can pull yourself away from looking at pictures of me maybe you could google some pictures of that pediatric chest xray device (who knows what the technical name for it is).

Also, I had my first EEG last week! It was actually lots of fun and I got to play with a bunch of noisy toys.I had to have that done because within the last couple of months, on occasion, as Mommy or Daddy would be rocking  me to sleep I would start shaking (like I was having a mini-seizure), but they could always stop it by grabbing my arm (which is what my Dr had advised). Early last week I started shaking while I was awake and Mommy couldn't stop it by holding me. I was sent to a neurologist and after looking at my EEG results he said I looked like a healthy little boy. He even said I was more active than most babies he's seen! Mommy and Daddy will just have to keep an eye on me and we'll go see the Dr again in a few months.

Who knew a 7 month old could be so busy! You should all now that I am a very happy little boy. I'm almost always smiling and laughing! I like to talk really loudly and I do have a bit of a temper (which doesn't make for a good combo), but you don't see that very often. I am getting really big (and so is my natural mohawk) and you guys are going to be so surprised when you get to see me again (and I hope that's soon)! I miss you all very much, but I sense a nap in my near future. Sweet dreams.


Love,

Parker Bear

OMG - I've gotten cuter!

It's only been a few weeks since my last post, but we have so much to catch up on! I would have posted sooner, but I have been super busy growing and learning new stuff. I betcha didn't know I can almost sit up all by myself now! I'll touch more on my latest accomplishments in a bit, but first how about a cute picture of me?

A little over a month ago I got the green light from Dr. Briggs (my pediatrician) to go ahead and start eating solids. Mommy thought I wouldn't get to do that until I was a few months older but as it turns out, I loves me some solids! I have had all sorts of new foods like green beans, carrots, apples, bananas, and even peanut butter and shellfish! ..just kidding, I tricked you!! I can't eat those for a long long time because I might be allergic.

Mommy has finally been given approval to work from home! It took over a year, but her work just couldn't deny it any longer. She is the best that they've got and so they had to let her start working from home. She can't work every shift from home, but a few times a week she'll get to. It sure is nice for her not to have to drive in to work and to have all of our home's conveniences at her fingertips.

Brandon and Daddy are getting ready to finish up school. Brandon doesn't seem so busy but Daddy has tons of schoolwork to do all the time, and he has some major assignments due in the next two weeks. We are all excited for summer to come so we can spend a lot of time together. I also heard a nice rumor that Brandon and I will be spending some time in Utah to visit Meemaw, Pawpan, and Spartacus! I haven't met Spartacus yet but Brandon tells me that he is a really cool dog that is very nice. I can't wait!

As for me, I have been spending a lot of time practicing grabbing things. I get a lot of practice when Mommy holds me because she has a lot of hair. I also work out by holding on to her hair as tight as possible and pull to work my biceps. I also try to stand as much as possible each day to work out my leg muscles. I need to prepare for all the running I am going to do in six months!

My big brother cut his hair a few days ago! He has a 'feauxhawk' or something. Daddy and I were hoping that Mommy would let him have a real mow-hawk but I guess we'll just have to wait until I am old enough. We all really like his new hair though, although it is much harder for me to grab onto now.

Well it is getting late and I should start acting fussy to get attention. I don't want Mommy and Daddy to start slacking!

Good night everyone!

-Parker Bear

P.S. Here are some great new pictures!

And so it begins...

Hello World.

It was tough but I finally developed enough coordination to type. My vocabulary and college-level grammar comes naturally. Just one of the many perks stemming from my bountiful genetic inheritance. So.. where should I begin..?

I guess I'll start from the beginning. I haven't quite figured out how I got there, but my earliest memories are from inside of Mommy's belly. It was a warm and safe place. I spent most of my time sleeping and practicing breathing but would occasionally test my leg strength and the elasticity of Mommy's skin with a few strong kicks. I was quite the night owl as well! I loved to kick, punch, and twirl around at 2am when Mommy was trying to sleep.

By Fall of 2010 I began to notice that Mommy's belly wasn't quite as roomy as it had been before. Also, I began to spend a lot of time upside down for no particular reason. Little did I know that my days of freeloading inside of Mommy's belly were numbered.

On November 11th, 2010 at 11:11am I was suddenly engulfed in bright lights and went through the strangest experience! One minute I was sitting there perfectly content in my warm and cozy home, and in the next I was being passed around between a bunch of nurses who were weighing, measuring, and monitoring me. It was pretty scary and I cried a bit, but after they finished I got to see my mommy!

She was just as pretty as I had imagined, and more! I already knew the sound of her voice but hearing it in the open air was wonderful. I just sat there staring into her eyes as she held me in her arms. I felt safe again.



My first time to be held by Mommy!



 Shortly after I was born I was visited by lots of family and friends. They all loved my blue eyes and how tiny I was (I was only 6 lb 1 oz back then). I wanted to spend more time looking at everyone but I was pretty tired so I went to sleep. I slept for a long time, only to be woken up for the occasional bottle, change, or shot. I didn't like shots one bit but I know that they are good for me.

I have always been a pretty good baby. I am told that I am a lot like how my big brother was when he was a baby. I don't fuss much and love to see people and smile. I am really laid back but I do have a temper sometimes. I try to give plenty of warning before I get upset though.

As of this post I am 4-1/2 months old and have already grown to over twice the size I was at birth. I am getting really good at reaching out for things like keyboards, Mommy's hair, and my awesome lion toy. Mommy and Daddy are trying to teach me to hold my bottle. What a bunch of lazies! Just kidding. I have to hand it to them - they have lost a lot of sleep ever since I was born so maybe they deserve a break :)

Just hanging out with my lion toy. Taking it easy.

These days I spend most of my time making loud noises and staring at my hands. Sometimes I grab my feet and try to see if I can get them into my mouth. I also practice rolling onto my stomach and then to my back. Rolling gives me some mobility, but I never seem to end up where I want to. I haven't figured out how to crawl yet but I may just skip that stage altogether. I like standing much more than being on the ground, and with my natural leg strength I may just decide to walk first. 

I also spend a lot of time each day smiling and laughing with my family. Daddy has always been good at making me smile and laugh and Mommy and Brandon get some good laughs out of me too. I love playing with them. In fact, when I hear Mommy or Brandon talking I just have to look around for them! Daddy not so much.

I really like playing with my big brother too. He is so good with me and loves to make me laugh! This one time he was like "Dooo-doooo dooo!" and I was cracking up! It was hilarious.. I guess you had to be there, but man that was great. My big brother is the BEST!

Hooray teamwork!

 Brandon can't wait until I get bigger so I can play Legos with him and even video games. He is doing his best to teach me what he knows but to be honest, a lot of his training goes right over my head. I don't know what the A button is! I barely know how to type on a QWERTY keyboard!

So you have to enter the third door to fight the dragon?

Well I would love to write more but my little fingers are getting tired and I'm pretty sure I just pooped. I better let Daddy know to come change me.

I'll write again soon everybody! Adios!

Aaahh, sleep.