15. Rando things on my mind…

1. Last week we enjoyed Taste of Alpharetta with my Mom, Sis and the fam. Boy was it HOT though. Dan had him in the Bjorn, and after an hour or so of that, we took him out and he was dripping in sweat. We stripped him down to his cloth diaper, and he was a happy camper.
2. I love my little boy…every single day, at least once, he looks at me with the cutest smile from ear to ear and squeals with laughter. I will never get tired of that…EVER!  A few weeks ago we decided he was too big for his “baby” tub, and now he sits up in a “big kid” tub. *sniff, sniff*  he’s just growing too stinkin’ fast!
   
   
3. Mixbook.com is my new favorite place to be on the web. Before Parker came along I was a scrapbookaholic, and I thought digital scrapbooks where for armatures. Well, with Parker occupying so much of my time, it’s hard to do a “real” scrapbook because it involves so much more with printing photos, organizing the pages, buying “do-dads” for each page, cutting out words and phrases from magazines to make a “decoupage” type look to the page. That was all until I discovered how cool mixbook is. You can select background, pre-layout books, “theme” pages and “stickers”. It’s been fun creating a scrapbook for Parker’s first year.
4. Parker’s “screaming” phase is over…Yay! He still gets excited and has a screech from time to time, but not near as much as it was a week or so ago, when I thought I was going to go def. Instead, he likes to motor-boat or blow with his mouth like he’s trying to whistle. I’m not sure if it soothes his teeth, or if he just likes making funny sounds with his mouth, but I’ll take it any day over screaming.
5. I think we may be weaning Parker from breastfeeding pretty soon. It’s sad, but he just doesn’t seem interested in it anymore. He constantly pulls off, makes goo goo faces, slaps me a couple of times and then fusses to get off. At first I thought, oh…so he must just not be hungry, but then later on it was clear that he didn’t get what he needed. He would act SO uninterested, but then later would sucks down a bottle like it’s nobody’s business. I would much rather him get the milk that he needs, than him not get enough because I’m wanting to “strictly breastfeed” him. He’s fine with nursing in the morning, and a couple of times during the day, but it’s much more “work” for him than a bottle. He just much rather play than breastfeed. I’ve tried eliminating all the distractions, and it doesn’t seem to matter much. Oh well…my boy loves the bottle more than me… I’m crushed! I will continue to breastfeed in the morning and exclusively pump the rest of the day.  Hmm…we’ll see how long that lasts.
6. I’m really starting to get annoyed by all the “spam” on facebook. I know, I know…you can just click on “friends” and then “status”, but that’s lame. Why can’t people just stop playing silly games and clogging up the home page? There’s just not enough “hide” to go around.  I need to take an FB break I think.  Hello Twitter… I love your simple facade.  Can I type with you?
7. Does anyone else like Glee as much as I do?  Isn’t it awesome?  It was great tonight and I’m SO looking forward to Lady Gaga songs next week!
8. I went to see my gal pal Danielle on Saturday.  She lives in beautiful home in Woodstock and Parker and I loved making the trip over there to hang out.   It was a nice country drive to her house and it reminded me how much I would love to live on a farm…but close to town where I can have my “shopping” fix too.  That’s another blog post though… We had a good time at her place and Parker as usual, loved the change of scenery and getting a chance to make goo goo at a pretty lady.
9. I’m so proud of my brother Spence and his wife Lisa.  They were featured in their local newspaper in Wilmington, NC for their podcast they are doing on financial freedom called Rebound.  You should check it out.  You will be entertained and inspired.  Just got time to listen to one episode?  Check out Episode 24: Eating Healthy on a Budget. That’s one of my favorites.
10. Parker out grew (like almost everything) his cloth-eez cloth diapers, so he got some new kissaluv cloth diapers. I think Parker is really diggin’ them.  They are going to save us a boatload of dough and I’m really diggin’ that.
11. I’ve really been slacking on the working out lately. I’ve been taking the stroller out for the occasional jog, but the gym is a long lost friend. Tomorrow, it’s on.
12. I entered Parker in the YoBaby cute baby contest.  We got a few great “animated” shots of him while eating.  You can go and vote for him here and here! The winner will enjoy a 2k savings bond for college and some green goodies.  How sweet is that?
13. On Thursday Parker is getting his eight month pictures taken by this fabulous photographer who took his newborn shots. I can’t wait!
14. We’re leaving in a few weeks to go on a little road trip. This will be our first trip to see the family. We’ll be heading out to see my grandparents at their farm in Lake Hartwell, my best friend and Dan’s Mom in Charleston, SC, my friend from college and Dan’s sister and family in Myrtle Beach, and my brother, his wife and kids, and my Dad and Step-Mom in Wilmington, NC. I can’t wait to see everyone and I know Parker will LOVE getting all the love and attention from family and friends.
15. Parker isn’t crawling yet, BUT I’ll leave you with some pre-crawling exercises that he’s been practicing with Daddy lately: