How is it even possible that half a year has gone by already? I just love that little man so much. Here is a rundown of his 6 month stats:
Weight: 14 lbs. 12 oz. (8% - still my little guy!)
Length: 27 1/4" (79%)
Skills:
Sitting himself up from his tummy
Sitting unassisted steadily
Scooting (so close to crawling)
Holding bottle (when he wants to)
Learned object permanence
We did a little photo shoot on Sunday morning before the heat and storms came through! Hoping to get some more shots this weekend.
Whatcha looking at mom?
And what would a half-birthday be without a half birthday cake? I thought it would be fun to go a bit overboard with this one! We even made the candle shorter and sang "Happy Half Birthday!" He wasn't quite sure what to do with the cake so it just ended up smeared all over his high chair!
We had a super fun play date with Daisy and Isaac. In case I haven't mentioned it before, Isaac was born just 4 days after Parker was. It has been fun and insightful to share in the adventures of motherhood! We have been trying to get together for weeks and finally got a day to work! I was hoping to beat out the heavy rain that was forecasted, but we ended up driving right in the middle of it! We got a little wet, but that just makes it more fun! I think the boys are still a couple month away from truly interacting with one another so they just kind of played NEXT to each other. It is amazing to see how much they have both changed. The top picture below is when they were about 3 weeks old and the bottom one is from today, at almost 6 months!
We took our first family vacation last weekend to Milwaukee. It is quite the drive with a baby, but we have made a couple trips to Nebraska so he has become quite the road warrior! It was a quick trip since our main purpose was to catch the Brewers-Twins game on Saturday, but we had SO MUCH FUN!
We drove out on Friday night and got to hotel about 9:30. Parker must have been a bit mixed up because he didn't go to bed until 11:15, which is really late for him. After waking up we went to breakfast. Our hotel had a great continental spread of hot and cold dishes! Then we headed to the pool! Jimmy likes to say that I take advantage of ALL the amenities when we stay at hotels, but the pool is always my favorite! We got test out Parker's new life jacket for on the boat this summer. He seemed comfortable in it and it kept him afloat!
I love his little board shorts!
We also got to use Parker's new float toy. We are going to have so much fun in this thing!
Then we took a tour of the Miller Brewery. We are not huge beer drinkers, but it's kind of the thing to do in Milwaukee. We got to see the packaging and shipping facilities, the brew house, and the historic caves where Frederick Miller originally stored his barrels of fresh beer. It was a pretty exhausting morning for Parker so we made a speedy departure when it was over.
In the filling and packing area
Not quite sure what to make of all the boxes....
So tuckered out
About 5 minutes later...
After a brief nap and a stop back at the hotel we headed to Miller Park! It is a much different atmosphere than Target Field. They have on-site parking and allow tailgating,which allows Milwaukee's finest to indulge in their favorite pastime for hours before the game even starts! (It's drinking, in case you didn't know.) That fact aside, it is a really neat park. If you are going to have a roof, that is the way to do it! It is the only fan-style retractable roof out there which gives it some fun character. the outfield walls also open up to give a real outdoor feeling. It was also a LONG game again, almost 4 hours. Having a baby along always adds uncertainty to situations, but we made it to the end!
View from our seats
Taking another snooze
We got to see the famous SAUSAGE RACE!
Parker upset when the Brewers tied it up in the 8th
Luckily, in the 11th Plouffe hit a huge home run! It gave us the lead and eventually the win! Parker was very excited about this and couldn't help but express himself!
It was a long game, but a fun one!
I would say this vacation was a smashing success! I can't wait for the next one!
Parker has been on the move via rolling a scooting for a while now. But, in the last week or so he has made a big step towards REALLY moving! One of his favorite things to do is get up on his hands and knees! I find him like this all the time. One of my favorites is when I come in his room in the morning and he is just hanging out in his crib like that. I know this means that crawling is on the horizon.
Right now when he wants to move he puts his face and the floor and does crawling motions with his legs. This usually just leads to him flipping sideways and having rug burn on his nose! (But it is very cute!)
Another fun milestone is that he is sitting unassisted now! It is still a bit wobbly, but he is getting better every day.
He has also become quite the giggler when we can get him going! I got a really cute video of Jimmy making him laugh last week. This little morsel makes it all worth it.
I can't believe almost 6 months have gone by since he was born. Time just needs to SLOW DOWN! I have a feeling that isn't going to happen so I better just keep having fun and snapping pictures!
About a year ago I sent a text to one of my best friends, Julie. All it said was "Guess what?" Of course she guessed correctly that I was pregnant! After a little small talk she let me know that she too was expecting! We had gotten married within months of each other 2 years earlier and now we were expecting our first babies within a week of each other. Even though we live miles apart, it was an amazing blessing to share that journey with Julie. As soon as we found out that I was having a boy and she was having a girl, they were betrothed! Ava was born 15 days early and Parker stole her due date! We have been eagerly awaiting the first time they would get to meet and play together. That day finally came! Julie was home visiting and we were lucky enough to steal an evening with them. Ava is such an amazing little girl! I can't wait to watch her and Parker grow up "together."
And what kind of mom would I be if I didn't capture this moment? Hope you enjoy these as much as I do. Save the date for June of 2034 or 2035...It will be the party of the century!
First meeting...Not quite interested yet
Playing together!
Parker made sure to dress up for his big date! (Who knew it would be impossible to find black baby pants in April?)
This is one of my favorites!
Learning to share
The beautiful babes and me!
All 3 in this one are beautiful babes!
Ava kept reaching towards Parker, it was so cute!
It was such a fun night and we can't wait to be together again soon!
Parker got a bit cranky yesterday afternoon so I never got around to doing a 5 month photo shoot, but hopefully I will get a chance this week! I did take a couple pictures tonight since he is officially 5 months today! The city planted a new tree in our front yard as part of a big road construction project. We have dubbed it the "Parker Tree" and decided it would be great for his pictures tonight.
Today is also a significant day because it was my great-grandfather's birthday. He would have been 112 today. That seems like a long shot to reach, but he did live to be 102! The significance of this is that Parker's middle name is Emory, just like my great-grandpa's was, but he went by Emory. I can't wait to tell Parker about him. He was a really fun guy to be around and talk to. When you've lived as long as he had there were plenty of stories to share. I hope Parker has the same appreciation for him as I do even though they never got to meet.
At 5 months now, he is starting to do some fun new things too (in addition to what I shared in my last post!) He has is squealing, but only rarely, I think it is just the best when he does that! He babbles a lot, which is fun too. Sometimes it is hard to tell if he is distressed or just playing and having fun. He is getting closer and closer to sitting up too.
He is also starting to really interact with his toys and with people. His favorite toy of the moment is the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Puppy. It teaches all sorts of things and sings songs. He will lay on the floor forever just squeezing all the buttons (maybe not intentionally yet) and chewing on it's ears. He is becoming more aware of his surroundings and loves to turn around and look up when he is sitting on my lap. It seems like he is learning that there is a person behind him and he wants to know who is there. He also tries to look back when he is laying on the floor, it is quite cute.
I am sure there are a bunch of other new things too, but it's hard to keep track of them all sometimes.
It is amazing how time can get away from you so fast, especially when you have a baby! Just wanted to give a quick update of the some of the happenings at the Herrmann house!
A few weeks ago (the same day as our Twins game) the ladies at my work threw a shower for Parker and I. He got so many fun toys and cute summer and fall outfits!
Super cute jungle cake
Look at that spread!
Parker had fun with all the ladies that came out. He got a bit cranky at the end, but it had been a long and stimulating day after a 4 hour ball game and a party! Thank you so much to all my friends at work, we really appreciate your generosity!
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Parker has also been working on some new skills! He has officially figured out where his bottle is supposed to go. He has recognized it for a while, but recently started grabbing for it and bringing it to his mouth. He tries holding it himself, but doesn't quite have enough coordination yet and it usually falls out pretty quickly.
He has also become quite the little mover. He has never been one to stay still, but now we are realizing that true mobility is probably coming a bit quicker than we thought. He is always rolling and prefers to be on his stomach. He also likes to pivot and turn himself from side to side. We usually keep him on a blanket upstairs because we have hardwood floors, but it's fun to let him play on the wood or tile because he can easily turn himself and even pull himself forward a bit. The picture below illustrates just how much he can maneuver! He started on his back head towards the bottom of the picture in the middle of the mat. He managed to roll and turn himself between the arches, get out and turn again...Sometimes this kid just amazes me!
That's the update for now. He is going to 5 months old tomorrow so I may have to attempt a photo shoot this afternoon! I hope to have some more fun pictures to share soon!
