Parker's First Christmas

All Parker got for Christmas was his two bottom teeth! That's right...he officially has two pearly whites. He was also fighting some bad chest congestion over the holidays prompting an emergency trip to the doctor on Christmas Eve and a postponed trip to Mamaw's house. Poor baby was just not feeling all that great on his first Christmas. We hosted the Todds here at our house on Christmas Eve and ate brunch with Granmamma and Grandaddy on Christmas Day. Parker was feeling so rotten that we didn't go to Mamaw's Christmas afternoon as planned. We finally made it to the mountains on Saturday and stayed with Mamaw, Papaw and Uncle Kolby until New Years Eve. Below is a slideshow of Parker's First Christmas! We hope your holiday was filled with precious family time like ours was!

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A Family of Three

I am so thankful that this Christmas we are celebrating as a family of three. It is amazing to me that last year at this time Joshua and I were wondering just who was growing inside my slightly pudgy belly. We are looking forward to sharing all our family traditions with Parker this year.
Our great friend, and personal family photographer, Cindy Stansberry took some shots for our Christmas card. As always, they are beautiful!

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Rolling Over!

Parker can offically roll over. We are so proud. He is holding himself up a lot more and tries so hard to crawl!

Here is a quick video clip of Parker showing off his new skill!

One Year Ago Today

Dear Parker,

One year ago today, we found out about you. We took this picture just two days after to send out as our Christmas card to announce you to all our friends and family! I will never forget the look on your Daddy's face when I told him about you. We were both so excited. I can't describe the joy we shared when we heard your precious little heartbeat and felt you kick for the first time. You are almost 4 months old now and you are growing so fast. You seem to do something new every day. While it is exciting to see your personality develop, I want to press the pause button and just stop time for a little while. When I look at this picture, it is hard to remember life without you. You've made me a better person and being your mommy is the best thing I've ever done. I praise God for you Parker Emerson Todd. You are truly a miracle and your Daddy and I love you so much.

Love,

Mommy

O Christmas Tree!

We got our Christmas tree yesterday! Joshua and I have bought our tree each year from a small tree farm in Orchard Hill. So in honor of tradition, we loaded Parker up and set out to find the "perfect" tree. Parker didn't have much to say concerning our search due to the fact he slept the entire time. Nevertheless, we found a beauty and I've been busy decorating today.

Searching for the "perfect" one.

We found it!

Obviously, Parker is impressed with his first Christmas tree. **NEW POST BELOW**

Sweet Kisses

The video below is from right before bedtime one night. Daddy heard commotion coming from the nursery and came to see what was going on. Parker was giving Mommy sweet kisses. Of course when we turn on the camera, he decides to quit and fuss instead. It was bedtime after all! We did manage to get a cute clip though.

Thankful

We survived our first family road trip, or the "Tour de Thanksgiving" as I called it. We went to Mamaw and Papaw's in Rabun County and then on to Knoxville, TN to see the extended family. It was a long haul and a slightly stressful trip, but so worth it because Parker met his great-grandparents for the first time. I will cherish the memory forever of my daddy handing Parker to his great-grandfather. And I couldn't help but get teary as my Nanna held Parker for the first time. I am so thankful for my precious, precious family. I was so fortunate to know my great-grandparents and am thrilled that Parker got to meet his. The Lord has blessed our family beyond description and for that I give Him praise and thanksgiving!

Parker with his great-grandfather Byrd.

Great-grandmother Nanna Byrd.

"Aunt Happy" and Nanna Byrd.

Parker with his great-grandmother Welch.

Parker with his Uncle Larry.

My dad's best friend since grade school.

Daddy and Me

My two favorite boys after bathtime!

We are leaving on Tuesday for our first "road trip" as a family. We will head to Mamaw and Papaw's in Rabun County and then on to Tennessee to see the extended family. Parker will meet his great-grandparents and great aunts and uncles for the first time. We will be in the car for 3 hours each trip. It should be interesting! I can't even wrap my head around what all I will need to pack!!!

Parent Dedication

This past Sunday we participated in the Parent Dedication at our church. Joshua and I dedicated our lives to raising Parker in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in the presence of our friends and family. Our prayer is that Parker will seek after Christ and that his life will be a testimony to His greatness!

For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him. So now I give him tothe Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord. I Samuel 1:27-28

My Child will never....

Don't ever make this statement. One of my biggest pet peeves in the classroom was children sucking on their thumbs or fingers. I thought it was very gross and pretty much shamed kids into kicking the habit. I decreed that my child would never suck his hands; I simply wouldn't allow it. I should have known from the first ultrasound where Parker was sucking his thumb that I would be eating my words. Does my child suck his thumb? No. His fingers? No. His entire fist? Yes. Constantly.

12 Weeks Old

I can't believe Parker is 12 weeks old! He is beginning to "talk" a lot more. It is almost like he is carrying on a conversation with you. He is also holding his head up a lot more, especially when he is on his tummy. You have to watch him now because he can scoot around in a circle and will eventually roll over to his back. I'm not sure if he is meaning to roll over, but he is!

Below are some new pictures taken by Cindy Stansberry of Stansberry Photography. She does an AWESOME job. She and her husband Daniel are some of our best friends here in Griffin. We are so thankful for their friendship. Check out more of Cindy's work at http://www.stansberryphotography.blogspot.com/

Happy Halloween!

Here is Parker the dragon! I've been calling his costume a dinosaur for weeks, but I was informed by the nice lady in line to get our picture made that he is a dragon. Dinosaur, dragon, whatever...HE IS STINKING CUTE!!!

Two Month Checkup

Today Parker had his two month check-up
and you know what that means....
shots.
Parker was very brave and only cried for about one minute. Here he is showing off his cool band-aid. Don't worry about his bellybutton. He has an umbilical hernia which should resolve itself by his first birthday. It doesn't bother him, it just looks weird. Two Month stats: Weight 15 pounds 15 ounces Length: 25 inches
He is off the charts....literally!!!

**NEW POST BELOW**

Parker's New Friend

Parker has discovered his left hand. It is his new best friend. I refer to his best bud as "Lefty Handy." He is always pleasantly surprised to see him. He even "talks" to him on occasion. I've tried to explain to Parker that Lefty will not talk back, but Parker still tries to strike up a conversation. So far, Parker has shown no interest in meeting Lefty's brother, Righty Handy. He glances his way, but remains loyal to Lefty for the time being.

As you can see, Parker is more interested in what Lefty is up to

than a cute photo op with Mommy.

Mamaw and Papaw Time!

This weekend Mamaw and Papaw came to visit! It was so wonderful to have them here. Parker loved playing and snuggling with them. Here are some pictures from our time together. I am so thankful for my precious family and cherish every moment we spend together...more so now than ever. The weekend went by way too fast. And yes....I stood crying in the driveway watching them leave.

Blooper

Parker has been smiling and "talking" a lot lately. It seems we can never capture it on camera though! This video had so much potential. I just knew it was going to be perfect to show off Parker's new tricks. It turned out to be a cute blooper! Hopefully, we will get a good video of Parker talking soon!

French Pajamas

For the past three years, Joshua and I have visited our missionary friends Patrice and Julia Niveaux in France. They are currently ministering in a church outside of Paris. We love spending time with them and their boys! Parker made his first trip to Paris in March, he just didn't know it. I was three months pregnant at the time. We went shopping during our visit in Senlis (an elite town outside of Paris) and we stumbled upon a children's boutique. Everything was so adorable and I decided to buy a pair of pajamas. For those of you that know me well, you know that I'm not that good at math, so exchange rates are beyond my mathematical ability. Euros look like monopoly money to me! Anyway, I ended up paying like $50 for these PJ's! What was I thinking buying white? Obviously, I had no idea I'd have a baby with reflux! I think Parker looks "mignon comme bouton"...which is french for "cute as a button!"

We Made It!

Today was my first day back at work. Mrs. Ann (Granmamma) is keeping Parker here at our house. We are so blessed to have her help. I wasn't worried about Parker at all because I knew he was in good hands. That doesn't mean I didn't miss him like crazy or that I didn't call three times just to check on him! When I got home, Parker and I had some snuggle time. As you can tell from the picture, we were both happy to be back together again! Now Daddy and I will be fighting for "Parker Time" in the afternoons and evenings!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I woke up this morning to my boys singing Happy Birthday! What a sweet way to start my day! Parker decided to give me a "special" present. As he was nursing, he had a "blowout." This has happened before, so I wasn't too alarmed. I didn't feel anything seeping through his diaper, so we continued nursing. Then....I burped him. When I put him on my shoulder and started to pat, I realized my hand was wet....with poo. Somehow he had managed to get poo all over his back. It is like the poo went up instead of down. As I'm staring at my hand pondering just how he managed to get poo on his back, Parker projectile spits up all over me and the pillows. So, we take a break from nursing to clean up. As soon as I remove his diaper, Parker pees in my face....and laughs. Now we are both covered with every body fluid imaginable. So, while Daddy cooked Mommy a birthday breakfast, Parker took a bath. While Parker snoozed comfortably, I piled up the laundry and couldn't help but think that my birthday presents from here on out will be "dirty." Flowers pulled from the yard with the roots hanging down, bugs and critters in a jar, a sticky "prize" from the cereal box, and finger painted pictures. I can't think of anything I would want more.

How can you be mad at this face?!

Rainy Day

We woke up to a very rainy day here in Griffin. Parker is getting better, but is still congested and coughing up stuff. He is VERY clingy. Daddy is home on Fall Break and is loving Parker's "clinginess." They've spent the morning snuggling in the recliner. What a perfect thing to do on such a rainy day!

Even though Parker is not feeling 100% better,
we've still been able to catch some smiles!

Good News and Bad News

Apparently e-mail is "old school." Who knew? So, here it is....our family blog. My hope is to post at least once a week. We will see. On with the first post....

Bad News First:
I had to take Parker to the doctor on Friday. We found out that he has RSV. I had no idea that this even existed or that it was very dangerous for infants. Parker was in the very early stages of the illness. We caught it early and we are so thankful! I must admit I was completely overwhelmed. I knew that my instincts were telling me that Parker wasn't acting right. I was NEVER expecting this though! Praise the Lord Granmamma (Mrs. Ann) lives 5 minutes from us and could go with me to the doctor. She had to show me how to use the breathing treatment machine and remind me of what all the doctor said when we got home because apparently I totally "zoned out" at the doctor's office. My mind couldn't process everything fast enough. I've dreaded the day Parker got sick since I lay eyes on him....I never imagined it would be this soon! We are not sure how he contracted this illness since we really haven't left the house much!

Good News:
Mamaw came!!!!!!!!!! When you are sick, you want your mamma. When your baby is sick, you want your mamma. She came down Saturday morning and got us through the rough part. Parker is feeling much better and his breathing is back to normal. He is still coughing up stuff, but that is good! We are hoping that each day he will feel better.

Mamaw giving Parker a breathing treatment.