Morning nap

We are settling into a routine and one of my favorite time of day is after Parker's morning feeding when he sleeps with Daddy for a bit. On the weekends they can fall back asleep for more than an hour. During the week, Chris spends at least a half an hour with his son before getting up and getting ready for work. This time is so sweet. They play, laugh and Parker just loves the snuggle!

Christmas loot

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a mouse...because the Cavner's were out celebrating!

We started the holiday on Christmas Eve, in the afternoon, when we visited Great Grandma Irene and all of my father's siblings. For many it was the first time meeting Parker.

We then celebrated Christmas with Chris' family. Great Nani, Grandma Suzie, Uncle Matty, Great Uncle Jeff, and cousins Farrahnoush (from Holland) and Norbert. It was a lovely evening with good food and fun stories.

Christmas morning was filled with Thomas family traditions including Mama Vicky's homemade cinnamon rolls, unwrapping gifts out of order, and a new tradition of passing Parker for Christmas day loves.

Parker scored this year with clothes and toys and a genuine Lousiville Slugger bat from his Aunt Ally.

We capped the Christmas holiday with an afternoon of fun with both families. We had a wonderful first Christmas with Parker and can't wait until next year when he will be walking and we will continue to build our new family traditions.

The four phases of sleepy.

Parker is 12 weeks old. Where does the time go? He is cooing, smiling, laughing and talking to us! Such a sweet time.

After his breakfast, he has some quality play time with daddy. They talk and make silly phases together and then Parker gets very sleepy. We have learned over time that he has four phases of sleepy.

Phase 1: I think I am done playing now. Parker's eyes get heavy and he fixes his stare on an object for a long period of time.

Phase 2: Fussy. He fusses right before he drifts off to sleep. The cry is a whiny cry. I joke that he doesn't have the energy to put into a full fledged cry!

Phase 3: Yawn. He will yawn with a few big sighs right before he closes his eyes.

Phase 4: Night night. He finally drifts off to dreamland.

Play date with two hot babes and then shots!

The Play Date

November 9, 2009. Parker had a play date with Teagan and Olivia - also known as the two hot babes. Teagan and Parker share a birthday (11 weeks today) and Olivia is five weeks. The mama's found it so fun to see our babies next to one another.

The kids "played" on the floor for at least 30 minutes...just talking to one another. Teagan and Olivia enjoyed checking out one another. My little Parker just chilled by himself, laughing at his hands and screaming every once in a while to remind us there was a guy in the house!

Who would have thought that a play date with three children all under three months would be so much fun. Before we know it we will be meeting in the park and our kids will be running around.

The Shots

After the play date, Parker and I headed to his two month check up and first round of vaccinations. The report:

• 12 pounds, 11 ounces (50th percentile)


• 46 cm head circumfence (40th percentile)


• 24 1/2 inches long (40th percentile)
  
• Didn't cry during the shots (giggled actually), had a melt down because he did not feel good four hours after the shots!

I guess it was an okay day for Parker. He started the day with a date with two hot babes and end the day with a round of shots.

What does Parker do?

December 23, 2009 (12 weeks old; 3 months) - Parker has discovered his hands! He is beginning to grab at objects and is making sounds much different than his baby coo's. He is very alert, smiling and is close to grabbing his feet. He is focusing on everything within site and faces are his absolute favorite. He is getting so big!

December 2, 2009 (10 weeks old) - Parker has taken to the pacifier or "paci," which is making our lives much easier. He is also awake for 2-3 consecutive hours and very alert during this time. He has discovered his hands and thinks they are about the coolest toy around. He brings his feet to his chest (bending in half) while on the changing table or while playing in his play gym -- you can tell he is getting ready to eat his feet! He also has unbelievable head control and likes to sit up and look around.

November 18, 2009 (8 weeks old) - First real smiles and cooing. He started giving me smiles while on his changing table. His favorite time of day to play and engage with me is at 4:30 in the morning! His first smile came to us on his Grandpa's 61st birthday! This week he also started talking to us by cooing and might I say these are the most lovely sounds I have ever heard!

Taco Tuesday

I don't know how it started, but for the past few months we have gotten together with friends to celebrate "Taco Tuesday." Troy makes his homemade taco shells, everyone brings a taco fixin', and we share a casual evening together during the middle of the week.

Parker and Olivia Santos were a big hit at Taco Tuesday this month; althought Parker slept through the entire event thanks to the Baby Bjorn. It was a great night with friends!

A world of greats...

Parker has officially met all of his great grandma's (four to be exact) and his great grandpa. We want to share a little about our families history!

Great Grandma Nanni (Doxie Sortomme) - Grandma Suzie's Mother










Great Grams and Guy (Arlene and Wint Ratcliffe)













Great Grandma Emmy (Emilina Thornton) - Mama Vicky's Mother



Born in Panama and moved to Stockton, California in her early teens (Panamanian and German). Married Perry Foster Thornton (English)

Great Grandma Thomas (Irene Thomas) - Grandpa's Mother

Born in Wyoming - Irene Pavlison (Czhec). Married Keith Thomas (English) who worked on the railroad. The family moved throughout California and Nevada.

Strolling to feed the hungry...

What better way to start our Thanksgiving than with the Run to Feed the Hungry. The three of us joined 30,000 of our closest friends to stroll through East Sacramento to support the Sacramento Food Bank. Chris and I have been participating in the Run to Feed the Hungry for the past eleven years! It was fun to add Parker to the mix, but I will say moving through the crowd with a stroller added a new challenge!

We bundled Parker and spent the morning with friends before heading off to lunch with my family and dinner with Chris' family. We have so much to be thankful for!

Coors Light

Coors Light - or more commonly referred to as CL in our circle - holds a special place in the heart of our friends. Chris and the boys have had many good times thanks to the CL. Whether it be on the river, at the 2-Me, at Lake Tahoe or just hanging out at home, the Coors Light is a part of the stories. It holds a special place in this family.

Uncle T-ROY gave a Coors Light neon sign to my father for his outdoor room and it spent a good month or two in our kitchen. One evening, Parker was just a tad fussy (as he is most nights after 5 o'clock). Chris decided to click on the Coors Light sign. Parker was immediately taken in by the bright colors. It calmed the boy for at least five minutes (and brought great pride to daddy)!

So, the CL tradition continues...calming and hours of entertainment.

Sweet moments

Chris and I are discovering that it is often the small moments that are the sweetest - like the 4 a.m. play sessions Parker and I have on his changing table, the sweet sighs that he makes as he snuggles into our necks, or the way that he looks our direction when one of us says his name. These are the moments we soak up - these are the moments that we are learning to cherish!

Like today. Holly and Micheal visited. The boys - Michael almost six months and Parker almost 2 months - slept through their first pedicure and then chilled together in the play gym. Parker was totally unaware that his buddy was in the house, but Michael on the other hand was not quite sure what to think of Parker - especially when he cried!

Family Portrait

Chris and I have a baby. We are a family of three. Our parents are grandparents.

It is so incredibly awesome to have Parker in our lives and we wanted to capture this feeling. We went and had professional pictures taken when Parker was three weeks old. It was a good day. I fit into my pre-maternity jeans and was looking good and Parker was having a good morning.

The three of us got in the car and drove to the photographers in El Dorado Hills.

We so wanted to capture our newborn. Parker was changing so quickly and the newborn phase was so very sweet. We stripped Parker so that he was a naked baby. The photographer placed him and I in a pose and then it happened...Parker pooped all over me. Yes, that is right I had baby poop all down the front of me. Chris stood off to the side laughing at me. It was at that point that I realized that I was really a mom. I was feeling all cute that morning (walking with a little I'm cute strut) all to get pooped on by my baby. And the best part - I did not even care! Yup, definitely a mom.

The outcome from the day include amazing pictures of our family. We are truly blessed! Thank you Charm Photography for caturing exactly how we feel!

I'll take another smile please.

Parker is eight weeks old and has started smiling, cooing and talking with us. Oh, the first smile was absolutely the best thing ever! Parker enjoys having his diaper changed and some of the sweetest moments occur while he is chillin' on his changing table. We spend time making silly noises at one another and I give zerberts on his little belly...and today, Parker gave me the cutest smiles (that were not associated with gas).

Every day is something new. Parker has started staying awake for hours at a time. He enjoys being outside, staring at the light from our windows and looking intently at our faces. He is discovering his tongue, holding his head up and kicking his feet.

I can't wait to see what happens next week! Thanks Grandma Suzie for capturing his first smile on camera!

10 Things I Love About You

I am trying to take in every moment, every breath, every grunt, every sigh. There are so many things about Parker that just make my heart melt...so many things I never want to forget.

1. Like everyone else, I love your hair. You had a full head of hair when you were born and today, at a month old, it continues to style in a little fohawk.



2. I love your sweet cheeks. You are getting so big - weighing in at 8lbs., 6 oz. at a month - and your cheeks are getting chubby!



3. Your sweet lips. I was excited that you got my sweetheart lips. I love the way you pucker them when you are getting ready to poop!



4. Your sweet hands and little knuckle dimples. Enough said.



5. The sweet smell of your baby breath and the way you sigh when you are content (thanks to Holly for that find).
   


6. To watch you sleep...you are so peaceful and I can tell you feel so safe, hands above your head or next to your fact as you were in the womb. I know that baby look will not last forever so I soak it up.
   


7. You know the voices of your mommy and daddy and will turn to look at us if we talk.



8. That you try so hard to get your hand or thumb in your mouth, but just can't quite get it to stay in.



9. The way you watch your hand in front of your face and then get very confused as to where it went when you move it away.



10. The amount of joy that you bring to our lives...Mommy, Daddy, Grandpa, Mamma Vicky, and Grandma Suzie.

Where's Parker?

October 24, 2009. Parker is one month (and a day) old and we decided to take him to his first pumpkin patch. Now, I mentioned in earlier posts that it took us six years to get Parker here, so you will have to bare with us - the silly new parents.

My mother knitted Parker a fabulous pumpkin hat (which he was very unsure of) and we just knew the pumpkin patch would be the perfect photo opportunity for our little pumpkin. We even snapped our first non-hospital family photo!

Traditions

In 2001, we moved Downtown to be within walking distance of restaurants, the river, shopping, and a number of parks. On Sunday mornings we walk to Noah's Bagels and Pismo joins us on our weekly tradition (he even gets a bite or two of bagel). Now, we keep Parker in his jammy's and the four of us head out on Sunday mornings.

We decided to walk a little further this past Sunday. After our bagel we walked to Sutter's Fort - about 11 blocks from our house. On the way back, Pismo looked a little pooped out. We talked about carrying him for a few blocks to give him a little break when we both noticed the foot rest area on the stroller. Parker is not using the foot rest and it just happens to be just the right size for Pismo. So what do two parents do with a pooped puppy? Give him a ride in the stroller! He loved his new ride - at least until we hit Capitol Park and he saw the squirrels.

What a fun Sunday morning!

Off to the cabin we go...

We had our first weekend away at our family cabin in Arnold, California. In the past, going to the cabin consisted of watching movies, playing golf, cooking dinner and let's not forget the Bob Thomas nightly cocktail hour. The cabin with Parker was a different experience, but still wonderful.

I started the day at 4:30 a.m. I was up after a feeding so I thought, might as well get packing. I had two of us to pack. I started gathering Parker's things - warm clothes, lots of blankets, pacifiers, bouncy seat, play gym, stroller, car seat - and stepped back an hour later in awe of what I needed to take for the baby. It then took me another five hours to shower, pack my stuff and of course feed and love the baby throughout the process.

My mom arrived at 12:30 in the afternoon. I began to load the car...and we officially ran out of room. The two of us, Parker, Bella the puppy, and all of our stuff just would not all fit. It was quite comical. We were going away for three days. I wish I had a picture of the car.

We made it to the cabin nine hours after I started packing. We had a lovely time doing many of our normal activities and dreaming of the day when Parker would go fishing, enroll as a Junior Ranger at Big Trees State Park, and of course play golf with Daddy and Grandpa!

Everything is just a little bit sweeter with Parker in our lives.

Caution, slippery when wet

For the remainder of 2009 and the greater part of 2010, this blog will be filled with Parker's firsts...and as first time parents we are documenting absolutely EVERYTHING!

I am happy to report that we gave Parker his first bath in our kitchen sink. Both Chris and I love the water, so it is our hope that Parker will want to swim, play water polo or participate in crew. Parker survived his first bath with some uncertainty, but did not melt down! And it gave me the opportunity to sing one of my favorite Sesame Street tunes - Rubber Ducky your the one...you make bathtime so much fun!

P is for Parker (or Pismo or P Street)

We chose a vintage transportation theme...complete with his own Mini Cooper (thanks GranDiva) for Parker's room. Chris did a fantastic job of putting his room together and creating a one of a kind art piece for above his crib!