Race!

 

A favorite pastime in our house is race/chase. This is not a new phenomenon, but Conway is now fully getting in on the action. He loves pushing his walker, but recently he and Parker have been trading vehicles. I won't go into specifics on what the negotiations look like, but lets just say that sometimes is goes smoothly and sometimes, well, not so much. None the less, these boys love to race/chase each other and the ensuing giggles are pretty fun to listen to.

 

 

 

  

 

And yes, they definitely have their fair share of crashes, which usually look like this... with Conway on the ground. Parker is remarkably precise at steering so when he runs into something or someone and quickly says "Oh - Sorry" (actually, he still pronounces it "shorry"), it was 99.9% on purpose. Parker better watch out, though, because Conway has started sticking up for himself. More about how that plays out in a later post. It's a good thing he's cute, people, because this kid is loaded with attitude.

Swing Time!

 Our recent patches of nice weather and more light lasting later into the afternoon have led to some longer walks and playground time after naps. Parker's new favorite thing is the swings and his friend Finn is obviously happy to join him.

 

 Sometimes the little boys have to wait in their strollers - they're pretty good sports about it.

 

 

Conway is pretty happy when he gets his turn, though.

 

 

 

Go Sounders Go!

 

Parker loved going to the Sounders game with his Papa! When he came home he told me all about it. They saw fireworks, ate popcorn, and saw some train tracks and a police car! Notice there was no mention of the actual soccer game. Parker has actually been to many Sounders games, but all of his previous experiences were as a baby. We thought that he might finally be ready to go and enjoy the game, but alas he did about as much watching this time as when he was asleep in the Ergo. Maybe next time. The Sounders won, though, so at least that part was successful. Oh, and Parker had fun with his Papa, which was obviously the real goal for the outing. 

Go Sounders!

 

Conway's 1st Birthday Party!

 

Conway's first birthday party was a success! He turned one, saw some of his favorite people, got his first taste of cake and made a mess with it, opened some presents (or at least watched the other kids open his presents), and had a great time. What else could a kid ask for? Grandma Dianna, Grandma Connie, Great Grandma Lois, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Matt, Philip, and Samantha all came up from Camas and Aunt Kelly and Anjali even flew in from San Francisco for the occasion. The Hueys and the Seattle Johnsons came over to celebrate Conway's special day too. What a lucky guy! Our out of town guests stayed for the weekend so we got to spend some extra quality time with them after the party ended.

 

Happy 1st Birthday Conway!!

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Sickness Strikes Again

 

It feels like our house has been infected with various forms of sickness for months now - runny noses, nasty colds, annoying coughs, fever - and now the flu has hit Parker. After telling me he needed to spit and then vomiting all over the floor, Parker spent the next bit of time in a miserable heap on the couch. Poor guy! 

 

 

And here's Conway checking on Parker. Yes, Conway is wearing his sleep sack around the house. He has started pulling it out of his crib and after many frustrated attempts at putting it on himself (which basically amount to him piling it on his head and then crying) I generally help him out.

Sunbathing or Just Tired?

Parker spent a good 10 minutes straight at the playground after preschool the other day in this position. Not sure if he was enjoying the sun or just tired.

 

And now we know who he learned this technique from, the master of sunbathing herself, Olive.

Conway is Twelve Months Old!

12 Months

1 Month

Conway at 12 Months

Height/Length: 31.5in (96%)

Weight: 22lb 2oz (63%)

Head Circumference: 46.4cm (59%)

We made it! With both excitement and sadness we can now say that Conway is one year old. His last official month as a baby was filled with both wonderful developments and frustrating difficulties.

The difficulty lies mostly in his sleep. All in all Conway is still a great sleeper so I probably shouldn't complain, but regression is hard to accept. He continues to babble and moan for a few minutes a few times during the night, which is kind of annoying, but the real frustration is that he's waking up earlier and earlier in the morning. I'm not sure if it's because we're putting him to bed too early at night or because he's still taking two daytime naps. He's barely hanging on to two separate naps (10:30-11:30 and 2:30 - 4:30). I think he would combine these naps into one long nap if we could start that at about 11:30 or 12:00, but we pick Parker up from preschool at 12:30. So when Conway transitions to one nap, it can't start until 12:45 and he just can't make it that long yet. Until then we'll just have to stumble through with two naps and maybe a later bedtime?

 

While Conway isn't yet walking, he's crazy about pushing his walker around the house. He and Parker LOVE chasing each other back and forth across the house. And I can't get enough of their giggles as they do this. Conway is definitely getting more and more stable on his feet. He can stand in one spot on his own, but we're still waiting for those first unassisted steps. He's also waving (taught to him by Grandma Dianna) and clapping (taught to him by Parker) and he copies everything Parker does (including some less desirable behaviors at the table).

Conway is talking up a storm, but it's all basically unintelligible babbling. It's pretty fun to have a "conversation" with him, though, as he appears to think he's really conversing. His inability to verbalize makes him seem like he's still a baby and not understanding much, until we say "Go get your doggie and give it a hug"... and he does it!

 

He's still eating like a champ with a pretty even split between pureed food and finger food. Conway loves to feed himself, but we can still spoon the pureed food in much faster. Another giant milestone, I've started to wean him from breast milk to whole milk. I have mixed emotions about this because I think for me the completion of that weaning process will really signify that he is no longer a baby and has in fact passed into toddlerhood. Again, both excitement and sadness.   

 

Now, if only we could get this adorable little kid to sit and smile for a picture... or at least look at the camera! 

 

 

 

 

Parker at 12 Months

Height/Length: 29.5in (75%)

Weight: 20lb 7oz (50%)

Head Circumference: 45cm (25%)