10 Weeks ~ 10 Loves

Parker is 10 weeks old today!  In celebration of his 10 weeks of life, I thought I would share 10 things he loves.  There are much more productive things I could be doing, but this sounded more fun.  Plus it's a good excuse to share a couple of pictures of our adorable baby boy. 

Does that smile not just melt your heart and make you happy?  It does mine!

This list might be overload, but this blog serves as a journal for us too so I want to make sure and document all of this anyway I can. 

Without further ado, Parker LOVES...
(in random order)

• A moving car ~ Parker does really well in the car as long as it's moving.  He does have times where he's content if the car is stopped, but not too many.  He loves the motion and movement of the car and does so well in his car seat, but put on the brakes and we have an unhappy camper.  We are thankful though.  We've heard lots of stories of babies that hate their car seat whether the car is sitting still or moving.
• Footie pajamas ~ Parker loves wearing pjs with feet in them.  He seems to get very snuggly and relaxed and sleeps well when wearing them.  He loved to be swaddled and hates to be cold so I think these pjs create a warm, cuddly feel for him.  It doesn't hurt that he looks like the cutest baby on the planet in them.
• Bath time ~ As long as the water is warm and there's a toasty towel waiting for him as he exits the water, Parker is all for taking a bath.  Mommy does the holding on to him and Daddy does the washing and rinsing.  I usually hold him while John goes to get his towel out of the dryer (yes, he's already spoiled).  He hates getting out, but loves his time splishing and splashing.  It will be fun when he's old enough to sit and play in the big bath.  I saw a recipe the other day for homemade bath crayons.  We will definitely be making those down the road.
• Baby Bjorn ~ Parker loves being toted around in it.  Several times I use it around the house while I tend to household tasks and need my hands free.  Just today, I carried him with me while I put up his laundry and did a little work at the computer.  He ended up taking a cat nap in it so I worked on a few more things.  I also use it when shopping too.  I used it at Kroger on Tueday and Wal-Mart yesterday.  That way I'm able to push the cart, hold my list, look through coupons, grab items, etc and he can be right there with me.  I talk to him while we shop.  Sometimes I just leave him in his car seat/carrier and put it in the cart depending on how long I'll be in the store and his mood.  We went to Target Tuesday also and he was asleep in his car seat/carrier so I just put that into the shopping cart and let him keep sleeping.
• Books ~ Parker enjoys having us read to him. Even though he's still a tiny one and has no idea what we are reading, he likes looking at the pictures and hearing our voices.  I/We try to read him one book a day at least, sometimes more.  Last night, John read one to him and showed the pictures while I held him in my lap.  I often read him a short one after a diaper change while he's laying on the changing table.
• Laying/Playing on the floor ~ Parker likes to lay on his activity mat or simply on a quilt and watch the tv or be interacted with.  He loves to look up at ceiling fans too while laying on the floor.  His activity mat has a mobile, lights and plays music.  That's entertaining to him and as much as he likes to be held, sometimes he likes his alone time, haha! Sometimes too he'll lay on a blanket and we'll read, play with small toys or do tummy time.
• Being held and walked around ~ Parker still enjoys being rocked, but not as much as in the first few weeks of life.  To rock him he has to be pretty sleepy and relaxed.  If he's awake and alert, he'd much rather be up and walking around where he can look around and see what all is going on.  I guess that's another reason why he likes the baby bjorn.  He gets to be carried around and gets to look all around him and all sorts of stuff.  He has this new thing where he occasionally fights going to sleep and gets pretty fussy so the solution has been walking around with him until he falls asleep.  It's not happening as much lately, but occasionally.  He's also pretty good about putting himself to sleep.  This morning I laid him down about 8 and he laid there awake and content for 30 minutes and then finally fell asleep on his own.  
• Pack & Play ~ Add to that his sleep positioner and Seymore the seahorse and we have Parker's perfect sleep set-up.  The funny thing is, the first couple of weeks he did not care for the pack & play and we could not get him to sleep in there, but we kept trying and last night he slept 8 hours straight in it so we've come a long way over the last 10 weeks.  This is still where he is sleeping.  We do plan to make the transition to his crib, but we just aren't ready yet.  Our goal now is to move him about mid to late May.  I will probably sleep in the guest room the first couple of nights he's in his crib so that I can be close and see how he does, then I'll make the move back to our bedroom with the monitor on my nightstand.  Neverthless, Parker does really well in his p&p and is sleeping really well.  Praise the Lord!  I will never take sleep for granted another day of my life.  It is so underrated! 
• Changing table ~ I mentioned this in his 2-month post, but this is Parker's happy place.  I am not kidding. It is like his Disney World at this point of his life - the happiest place on Earth.  Just last night Parker was upset and crying and John went and laid him on the changing table and he instantly stopped crying.  There's only been once or twice that he's been unhappy on it, but that is all. The picture above and picture below were taken on the changing table.  It's where he does his best smiling!
• Mommy and Daddy ~ Parker obviously can't tell us he loves us just yet, but we know he does. He tells us he loves us by his smile and how he loves to be held and cuddled by us. He loves us when we read to him and play with him.  He loves and recognizes our voices.  Of course, he loves to be fed by us.  The boy loves to eat.  But the feeling is mutual because we sure do love him.                

We are 10 weeks into this new chapter of our life and we have learned so much - that's a whole post in itself! We are still adjusting and learning, but it gets better each day.  It's hard at times, but it's such a wonderful, joyous time and we are having lots of fun.  We are doing the best we know how to do with this being a whole new world for us...and praying along the way.   Our hope is that we can be the parents Parker needs us to be and give him a wonderful life.  John and I have grown even closer and depend on each other in new ways. 

About a week before I had Parker, I wrote him a letter that's now in his baby book.  Here is a small portion...

  
"When you are grown and your time at home with us is done, we hope and pray that you will look back fondly on your childhood, time of adolescence, and teenage years.  We hope that you are pleased with the life and love we gave you as we raised you."                  

Until we meet again...
Riley