Bath Time

Now that Parker's a bit bigger, we've switched from his old skool bath seat that looked like this:

To a new "bath ring" that looks like this:

It actually works really well, because he can sit without falling over now (and even if he does start to tip, he can balance himself on the ring). It's nicer for him, too, because he can play with stuff. He got some bath toys for Christmas and he loooooves chewing on them. Here are some photos from bath time tonight, while he enjoys a good book about seahorses:

Swimming Class!

Today was Parker's first day of swimming class! We weren't really sure what to expect but it's more like splash-around-in-the-pool class. It's also pretty funny to see all the parents with their babies (all of which didn't seem to be scared or upset at all). I didn't want to take my camera because I didn't want to be the creepy old guy taking photos during the baby swim class (and I also didn't want it to get soaked) but it turns out I totally could have brought it and it would have been fine. So although there aren't any photos of Parker splashing around today, we'll get some next week. In the meantime, here are some pre-swim and post-swim photos.

These are Parker's swimming diapers. That way, when you take him out of the pool, his pants don't weigh 3000 pounds.

If you look closely you can see his two little toofies sticking out from the bottom. That's right. I said toofies.

Parker sporting one of his new jackets from Christmas! It was crazy warm out today and all of our snow is melting.

It's funny what makes babies crack up. The other day April was sweeping the kitchen floor and she was narrating as she went along, going, "Sweep... sweep... sweep... sweep..." and then she saw a cookie for him on the counter and she went, "Cookie!" Now when ever we want to make him giggle we just say, "sweep sweep sweep sweep sweep COOKIE!"

I don't remember what he was eating... I think it was a combination of meats and vegetables (hence the look on his face)

More Christmas Videos

Here's a video of Parker and I early in the morning while everyone else was still asleep. It's kind of dark and hard to see, but this is him trying to figure out how to crawl. He's getting closer, but still can't really figure out what to do with his arms. Now he gets up on his knees and rocks back and forth a bit, and then goes back down on his tummy. He also does a bit of squealing, and some sort of swimming movements while he's on his tummy. It's a long video so it might take a while to load.

More Nana Hats, Now With Ear Flaps!

Here's the latest hat that my mom made for Parker, and it comes with a little scarf as well. It looks pretty funny because of the ear flaps and chin strap, kind of like he's wearing a little baby helmet or something. Happy new year, everyone!

Edited to add: I just showed the photos to April and she thought it looked like he was wearing a Star Wars helmet or something! Ha! Get Parker some camouflage and a speeder bike and he's ready to fend off the Empre.

Brockville Christmas

Whew, the updates are way overdue but we've been super busy all Christmas! Here are some photos from our Christmas in Brockville. Next year Parker will have a new little cousin to play with!

And here are two more photos that Claire took when we put Parker outside in the snow. He wasn't allowed to come back inside until he shoveled the entire driveway.

Hi Terry!

Edited to add two more photos:

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).