New Photos!

Good Weather, Good Friends!

Down for the Count

Good God, what a couple of weeks. I like to think I am pretty good at keeping this blog up to date and current with all that's happening with our Little Man, but the past few weeks have been an absolute whirlwind, and it all started with what we thought was a "first cold."

Turns out, Parker ended up with Bronchiolitis, which ends up being a scary little condition for little guys around Parker's age. Lucky for us, Day Care helps to introduce such joys as these, and we began what we thought was a few days of unhappy and sick little baby.

So, little baby ends up being fine, but in turn creates a big baby, as after day two of "cough watch 08", daddy develops some Bronchitis of his own, and ends up out of commission for about a week. Never having something like this before, I go into my normal sick routine of becoming absolutely worthless and quarantined myself to the west end of the sofa. 

Even as Parker continued to get better and flaunt his ability to shake off disease much quicker than his old man, I took stock on the situation and realized one amazing feat of nature... Mommy was unfazed. She didn't get sick, didn't stop moving, didn't slow down. She cleaned around us, cleaned us up, disinfected the house multiple times, administered medicine, took temperatures, and all while working her full time job and keeping up her normal routine... I lay on the sofa, in my pile of used Kleenex and empty water bottles, in utter awe of her.

Fast forward to today, and besides a lingering cough and an amazing ability to produce mucus (I know, gross), I am back on my feet trying to get back into my daddy support mode. It's been slow, but it's also been nice to sleep in my own bed again, play with Parker, hug my wife. 

My one source of comfort in the "baby is sick" department, Parker seems to have his mommy's resilience. This is a blessing that I pray holds up over time. Let's face it, when I'm sick, being the biggest baby in the house really is my job.

First Cold

Well, after six months in the world and 2 months at day care, Little Man has his first cold. It is heart breaking to hear the little guy trying to breath, but instead blowing little snot bubble out of his nose. It's worse when he is trying to sleep, considering how hard it is for him to learn how to breath through his mouth when his nose is stopped up. It has made sleeping at night difficult, as he wakes himself up throughout the night.

What made it tougher, especially on mommy, was that it all started saturday night. This wouldn't usually be a big deal, except daddy left town for business that same night, traveling to Boston on a red eye. Needless to say, after being gone for four nights, daddy owed mommy big time. 

Wednesday night was daddy's turn, and boy mommy was not exaggerating. Little Man and I were up from 1am off and on until 5am. Good times.

Today it's about 80 and sunny. Welcome to Southern California winters. We are going to spend most of the day outside, in the yard, on a blanket. If you are unable to do the same thing in your area, feel free to spend some time looking at the latest pictures from Christmas, New Years and our trip to Chicago to visit our best friends, the Osburns.

D Batteries

It's ridiculous. One of the newest "learnings" of fatherhood is the fact that it's difficult to find a baby toy that doesn't run on batteries. Does it not shock other people that the only way to find a toy made of wood or uses manual "play", you have to go to a specialty store. The notion alone of endless purchases of children's toys makes me consider purchasing stock in Energizer and Duracell.

Little Man has a swing that we have used religiously since birth. I have talked about it on this blog before, even commenting on it's amazing power to sooth the little guy. But, it runs on four D batteries and goes through them like a fat kid goes through french fries. So, i find my self at Target yesterday purchasing 2 12 packs of D batteries. At $12 a pack, this really starts to add up. I start to wonder why they don't build these things with (A) rechargeable batteries or (B) a power cable option. Personally, I think it's a deal the toy companies strike with the battery companies.

Today is the first time I have written since LSU beat Ohio State for the College Football National Championship in one of the weirdest college football seasons I can remember. It would be an understatement to explain how excited I was at the win. Inviting a few friends over to enjoy the game along with me, I spent most of the evenings glued to the TV. Even after my friends left, I went for round two and watched it again. Love the DVR features on TV now.

Also, a big ups to Mr. Kevin Brown, my 2003 National Champion buddy. We spent a good part of the evening on the phone with each other, wondering why we didn't just fork over a bunch of money and go to the game. But all in all, the only regrets of the season were at the tail end of TWO triple overtimes. Not bad at all.

GEAUX Tigers.

LSU-38 Ohio State-24

1st Day Jitters

Mommy had them, Mickey and Boo had them, Daddy was worried about Mommy, but Little Man came through like a champ. Yes, that's right, Parker went to his first day of school yesterday and apparently LOVED it.

In the weeks preceding Day One, Mommy constantly reminded Daddy how nervous she was to put him into an environment where the baby to adult ratio was 3 to 1, as apposed to the 1 baby to 3 adults situation he has been in since birth. She just doesn't want her kid lost in the shuffle, becoming just one of many, losing priority.

Not an issue, as Mr. Parker enjoyed his first day very much. He took several naps, ate a little bit, but most of the time he spent playing and watching the other kids. Jaimie's only real concern was the quantity of food he ate while at daycare, but I reminded her how much he has trouble eating when there is a lot going on around him (the airplane, Christmas morning, etc), so it was pretty normal.

Mommy called Daddy only twice yesterday, which is about 8 times short of how many times I thought she'd call, distraught at passing her one and only off to a stranger. The first call was after she dropped him off in the morning to say she was sad, but was quickly realizing how close she was (refer to a few blogs ago at the map). The second was around lunch when she called to tell me she and Parker were on a walk together, happy as can be. She sounded much more at peace, baby and mommy cruising around her work "neighborhood."

When I got home, Mommy spent 30 minutes bragging to Daddy about how good Little Man was in school and how much everyone loved him. As if Daddy didn't know it already.

So, all in all, Day One was great, Mommy survived, Parker had fun and Daddy didn't have to wipe any tears when he got home. Let's see how Day Two goes... :)

Parker's First Christmas

It's been a great holiday season, as Jaimie, Little Man and I travelled to Austin for Christmas with the Osburn side of the family. I must admit, no other baby on the planet travels as well as Parker. Whether or not this statistical anomaly holds up, it remains to be seen. But overall, this kid knows how to fly. Eat, sleep, laugh at the old lady sitting behind us, flirt with the stewardess, repeat. This is what it's like to fly with Little Man.

We arrived in Austin around midnight, with the three of us flying on a different airline than Gramma Osburn, who had spent the past few weeks with us in Pasadena. Papa and Aunt Lisa picked us up and we gathered our luggage as we waited for Gramma to land.

Another 1st since Parker has joined us: For the first time I had to pay $3.00 for one of those luggage carts to carry all the crap we brought with us.

We spent most of the holiday season visiting and playing with Little Man's cousins, aunts and uncles. With the relocation of Aunt Jody, Uncle Mark and Cousin Maddie, Sunday after church we made a road trip to San Antonio for an overnight visit. On the way, we stopped off in San Marcos to visit our friends, Jeremy and Ryan at their restaurant, Zookas. As quick as Sunday and Monday went by, it was great to see everyone.

Christmas was a blessing, a blast and a whirlwind all at the same time. Parker had a wonderful time watching mommy open his presents for him, trying to eat the wrapping paper and ribbons as they came within reach. Cousin Cole and Cousin Maddie both took turns showing Parker his gifts, playing with him and teaching him how to use some of his new toys. We spent the evening playing games, watching A Christmas Story for the 16th time and talking about our future trip to Snowbird in Salt Lake City. All in all a fun couple of days!

For all of you that received Mickey's Christmas letter, I apologize for his negative attitude towards having to write it. It's one of those family jobs that he just has to deal with, similar to taking out the trash or washing the car. Regardless, he has been feeling a little neglected as the holidays closed in on us. We had to leave him for a week and it was obvious that he wasn't happy once the suitcases came out. How fair is it that the "new kid" gets to go, while Mickey has to stay home and watch the house and the cat?

If you did not receive Mickey's letter, please let me know by adding a comment. If we know you, we'd be happy to send you one. If we don't know you, I feel a little creeped out right now. But Merry Christmas anyway :)

To Grandmother's House We Go

For the first time in Parker's new little life, we are about to enter the Christmas holiday season. I am so excited I cannot stand it. And even thought he will not remember this Christmas, I will. I will remember how he spent his first Christmas with his mommy's family in Austin. I will remember how his older cousins were with him, his aunts and his uncles. I will remember how blessed we were to have him come into this world and join our family. And, lucky you, will get to read about it. Then, maybe someday, he will be able to open this back up and read it as well. Knowing full well that his daddy could not have been more excited to have him come into his life.

So bring on the holidays! Bring on the travel and the car seat maneuvers. Bring on the timezone changes and the new climates. I welcome the new surroundings and the new noises. It's all part of what it means to spend time with family. And Parker has already gotten a taste with Grandma Osburn staying with us for the past few weeks. Let's turn it up a notch.

We leave for Austin on Thursday. I'm sure there will be LOTS of stories to tell. So, until then, enjoy the holiday season and stay safe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Grandma Davis!!! We love you!

Day Care

On Wednesday, Jaimie, Chery, Parker and I went to visit the USC day care facility... AKA, Parker's 2008 home for the workday. We met the facility coordinator, a number of teachers, and toured the facility.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the set up. The infants have their own room, with a 3 to 1 ratio of babies to teachers. The room is small, but perfect size for little ones. There is also a toddler room, then 2-3 and 4-5. The ratio of teacher to child decreases as the children get older, but overall the level of care seems to be really high.

The advantage to this daycare facility, above all else, is location. Jaimie's office and the daycare actually share the same parking lot. This means it would take Jaimie about 30 seconds to WALK over to visit Parker. It's the same commute to work without a detour. She can pop in whenever she wants to. Convenience can be a huge advantage!

So, once we finish up the paperwork, Parker will officially be a student at USC. I am not sure how I feel about that small detail, but it's something I will learn to get over. GEAUX TIGERS.

OHIO STATE / LSU

It's Official...