Conway is Five Months Old

 

 

Conway at 5 Months

 

No doctor appointment this month so we don't have the official height/weight stats. This kid's getting big, though. His neck and back are so much stronger and he's able to move so much more. This strength and all this movement has actually contributed to this month being a pretty difficult one. We finally gave up the swaddle basically out of necessity because he was breaking out of it and it became ridiculous to keep re-swaddling him during the night. It was a tough transition for him, though, which means it was tough for us too. Conway also started rolling over onto his belly so it wasn't really safe for him to be swaddled. He's now sleeping in a sleep sack with sleeves and little cuffs that go over his hands so I think it still makes him feel kind of cocooned like when he was swaddled. It took us basically all month to get here, but he's finally sleeping well again.

 

Another development on the sleep front, after his dream feed at about 10:30pm he was sleeping until about 6:00am, nursing, and then going back to sleep until about 8:00am. This was fine, but then he wasn't really hungry at 8:00am so I decided he probably didn't need that 6:00am feed. About a week ago I started basically just giving him some extra time to work it out when he woke in the early morning and...he did go back to sleep fairly quickly. I was also afraid to do this because his room is right next to Parker's and I definitely don't want him waking up Parker. Apparently Parker is a sound sleeper because it hasn't woke him up even once. Conway is still rolling around and whining a little bit at some point in the early morning, but he's going back to sleep on his own and sleeping until about 8:00am. YAY! Dare I say it? Conway is sleeping through the night!

 

While sleep was a big development this month, it's also very exciting that he's rolling over! He first rolled from his back to belly and consistently does that like a champ. For the first couple weeks of this he just got upset about being on his belly and couldn't get back to his back. He still gets upset about being on his belly eventually, but it takes a lot longer for that frustration to build. He's also able to roll from his belly onto his back now, but he isn't great at it yet and I think when he gets frustrated  he actually forgets that he can roll back over. 

 

This kid kicks, rolls, and moves constantly. He grabs everything within reach and puts it in his mouth, including his toes. Conway also smiles and giggles so much. He/we had a big rough patch there because of the troubles sleeping and he became a little less happy during day because of the lack of sleep I think. My happy, smiling, giggling little boy is back, though. He's such a little sweetheart and he just melts my heart. A giant grin comes across his face when I walk in the room to get him after a nap. He nuzzles his little face into the crook of my neck when I pick him up and while he's still shaking the sleep off. It's so much fun to see him so alert and taking everything around him in with those big eyes. His eyes are still blue by the way. They look like they might have some brown creeping in, but for now they're still bluish gray. Love this guy!

 

 

Parker at 5 Months



Happy 3rd Birthday Parker!!

 

Parker at 3 Years Old

Height: 38 in (57.4%)

Weight: 30.3lb (33%)

That's right, Parker Jackson Totten turned 3 years old yesterday! We think he had a pretty good day. Oatmeal and apples for breakfast, presents, play time with his grandparents, aunt, uncle, and cousins, PBJ, carrots, and blueberries for lunch, a trip to the Little Howe playground and wading pool, chicken nuggets, pasta and carrots by request for dinner (cucumbers and pea pods were also requested but not on hand), and rides back and forth in the house on his new scooter before bed. All in all, not too bad - some of his favorite foods and pastimes.

Parker has become such a grown up boy and yet it also seems like just yesterday that we made that frantic trip to the hospital for his birth. Some of our favorite and/or most notable things about Parker right now are:

- He says, "I love you bunches and bunches". The words seriously just melt your heart.
- We thought we'd side-stepped the whole "no" phase, but unfortunately it's his new favorite word. When told that he isn't to tell us no, though, he changes it to "no thank you". At least it sounds more polite.
- He likes to answer questions with "sure".
- For the most part he can be trusted to play on his own at the playground without us walking behind him and intervening too much. He pretty much knows what he's capable of and what he isn't ready for yet. He definitely still starts off his time at the playground by observing the other kids and what they're doing for a few minutes before he dives in. Then he's a madman...running, looking for others to play chase (although he doesn't actually ask them), climbing, going down the slide, and playing in the sandbox. The swings don't really seem to appeal to him anymore.
- When telling us his plans (such as "I'm going to put my red car, and police car, and yellow treat car, and race car in my room"), he ends it with "okay?"
-At bed time he has started to say he doesn't want to go night-night. That happened for the first time about week ago. He's still a pretty good sleeper, though.
- He's slept until 7:30am pretty frequently lately and close to 8:00am a few times. Yay!
- His vocabulary is through the roof! And a good portion of what he says is intelligible. He will repeat anything and everything you say (good or bad). That hasn't backfired too badly yet, but when we're in the car at a stop sign he does say "Go People!" Apparently Mama needs to work on her patience while driving.
- He loves his little brother a little too much sometimes. The word "gentle" is heard in our house a lot.
- It's pretty sweet when he shares his cars with Conway by parking them next to him. It's even sweeter when he shares Brown Dog, his most prized possession.
- Potty training commenced about a week ago and he has done really well going pee in the toilet. #2 is another story and we've seen a lot of what Dr. Hall calls "the poop dance". It looks a lot like a ballerina dancing or someone tip-toeing around. He just doesn't want to do it. Poor guy.
- Parker sings.... all the time.  He sings at lunch time, he sings putting his cars away, he sings on a run with Papa, he sings with 30 people over at the house - and he just makes up the words to the same song he sings over and over and over again.
- If he wants a kiss, he now just tells you to "pay the toll" like Papa has told him for the past three years.
- He has a strong opinion about when he's asked to do something he's not such a fan of.  But, if you just tell him to do whatever that activity is "fast, go as fast as you can" he basically thinks he's playing chase by himself and he magically does it.  It's amazing!
- He loves to cuddle during his snack time... wants to sit on our lap and frequently turns around and gives the best hugs and kisses.
- He can have a very sweet smile and often tilts his head to the side at the same time for added effect. When smiling on command, though, it usually looks more like he's squinting into the sun. Obviously we're biased, but this kid is pretty much the cutest.

Happy Birthday Parker! We love you!
 

 

 

 

 

 

Two Boys in the Tub

Parker and Conway recently took their first bath together and they both did pretty well. Conway just loves watching Parker and kicking while Parker thought it was fun to have a new vessel to dump water into. I'm not sure Conway particularly enjoyed having water continually dumped on him, but he was a good sport about it. I think this is going to be a common theme for Conway - being a good sport about being tortured by his big brother. The perils of being a younger brother.

The Jacksons at Lost Lake

 

Technically Damian was the only Jackson on this trip to Lost Lake. Mom, Sarah, and I are still Jacksons at heart, though, and Grandma and the kids are guilty by association. The hubbies weren't able to join us due to their jobs (What!?), but we still managed to have some fun. It sure is special to still be able to go to Grandma's cabin with her and although it can be a bit chaotic with all the kids, it is most definitely worth it. 

  

 

 

 

Snack time on the dock

Damo is the most fun...

...and always a little bit of trouble.

This was a random hug which thankfully was caught on camera. No one witnessed what led to the hug, but how sweet are these boys?!




Damo slept on the dock so Sarah and Samantha were kind enough to make a morning coffee delivery. The fog on the lake in the morning was so beautiful and serene.



More Maison Rouge

 

  Our first stay at Maison Rouge while in Chelan was a success. It was great having Damo there of course and Parker got to do some of his favorite things. Here are some pictures to add to what David already posted.

 

Parker is still working on "riding" his balance bike, but he sure did love walking it around.

 

David even got in on the bike riding action.



Not much beats sipping coffee on the porch in the morning with Damo.

Pool time? Yes, please!

 

Even rolling down a grassy hill is fun in Chelan.



Bye Bye!

Lake Chelan!

Guest blogger DWT here...took a quick trip to Maison Rouge while Damian was in town, worked a few projects over while enjoying a nice fiscal year end close in the chaos that is Chelan living! 

Of course, it was a perfect storm of fun activity - the weather was gorgeous, Parker is absolutely eating up that playground, and there is enough bedrooms / bathrooms / closets that one could almost forget Conway was even with us!  I'm kidding, just joking - you can follow the drool and spit-up and always find Conway, everybody knows that! 

Anyway, I snapped some sweet pics on my vintage Windows Phone, check it -

dwt.

Cute, right?!  Mother, son...relaxing on a deluxe double loveseat which conveniently folds out to a bed.  Did we mention the Maison Rouge comfortably sleeps 12 to 37 people depending on how many people really believe in "mattresses"?  Captivating view here, what possibly can they be looking at?

The Ticos!!!  World Cup AND Chelan?!  This absolutely MUST be America.  This is what our fore-fathers had in mind!  Maison Rouge has cable, but good looking wives/moms and lounging babies are not included in the base rental.



If you are a regular on the TinyTots
blog scene, you've seen this story before.
This is Parker explaining the rules of
"THE RACE"

This is the "Ready" position - I don't know why.  Cousin Philip invented this
and there's a 50/50 chance that Parker will be 17 years old and still spread his legs
before he's ready to run the 100-yard dash in high school.  Mama obliges, though her
technique drew some criticism from the next Carl Lewis....

 

And.....the RACE.  I won't spoil the ending, go YouTube it.

After the race, you relax and watch the boats.  No hard feelings from either participant.
Remember, sportsmanship matters kids.