Road Atlanta

This past weekend we took our first family of four road trip. We were a little apprehensive to drive 7 + hours with a newly potty trained toddler, a 3 month old and towing a car. HOWEVER, it went much better than we expected. well the actual road trip part anyway. 

The trip down took longer than it should have because we got stuck in awful atlanta traffic from a wreck. But we made it to Tiffany's house and everyone was so excited we finally arrived! Ainsley warmed up to everyone much quicker than I thought she would. She had an absolute blast playing with her cousins and Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Kevin. We got to meet up with Johnny and Amy and their girls several times which made us both very happy. We took all the kids to Dave and Busters one night and they had the time of their lives. We also got to see Uncle Curt and Aunt Rita a lot and that was so so good because we haven't seen them in years. 

Friday we didn't have any plans so we went to Stone Mountain. Philip had never been before and we used to go all the time when we were younger. I wish we had had more time to spend there, but we took a sky lift to the top of the mountain and let Ainsley run around. She had so much fun and it was beautiful this time of year. 

loves her shadow!  she's dancing with it!! :)

Saturday and Sunday were Philip's race days. He had several of his race buddies meeting him there so he has been really excited about this weekend for the past 4 months. Saturday morning he got up super early and headed to a track call Road Atlanta to get ready.  Apparently this is a big time track that holds multiple big racing events during the year and is a bucket list track for Philip.  My cousin Johnny was going to meet there to ride along with him. Me and the kids actually ended up getting to the track around the same time as Johnny so we got to visit with him a little bit before we went back to Tiffany's. I got both kids down for their afternoon naps when my phone started dinging with texts and phone calls. not something you want to happen when your husband is on a race track going 145mph.  Turns out Philip was ending a session, Johnny in passenger side, when he pushed down on his brake pedal and it pushed down to the floor. His brakes went out. He could either rear end the car in front of him going 120mph or drive off track. He drove off track, missed the car, the wall and amazingly he didn't flip. He skipped all the way through a gravel trap that is meant to slow down cars that don't make the corner.  We are still sorting out the extent of the damage to the car but are thankful Johnny and Philip came out unscathed.  We attribute them not rolling to the extra weight Johnny provided to the car:) God was truly with them in the car and kept them safe. We are so thankful. 

GO DADDY GO! 

Philip's competition for the weekend- Johnny was so happy when Philip passed him :)

So the rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out with family and enjoying getting to see all of them that we don't get to see nearly enough. Ainsley even asked to take a nap several days because she was so worn out:) We had such a good time and can't wait to see everyone in KY for Christmas! 

mary blanche wave goodbye

3 months

month 3 was a bit challenging but overall good! After his shots he wound up with bilateral ear infections (for the second time). Much to my dismay, he was started on antibiotics. He also decided he did not like the formula we were giving him, so that has been changed up this month as well. However (we don't say but) he now seems happy and healthy and we couldn't ask for more than that. 

weight/height: since our poor little guy has been to the doctor for more than just his check ups, we know how much he weighs more frequently:) two weeks ago he weighed 12lbs12oz. 

nicknames: sweet boy (me), parker doodle (nanny), buddy 

physical:  his eyes are a steel blue. his hair is starting to come in more down his forehead into a widows peak, but he is losing a ring of hair in the back. His hair bounces back and forth between dark and light brown. 

his eyelashes have grown a lot this month 

size: he is almost out of 0-3 month clothes but I have so many cute ones I am still trying to squeeze him in them:) 

he is still in size 1 diapers but again, not for long. 

eating: this has not been the best month for him and eating. He went on a hunger strike for almost a week and a half. Upon further examination, we found some blisters in his throat and bilateral ear infections. While my mommy gut told me it wasn't his ears causing him not to eat,  we went ahead and started him on antibiotics because his ears looked bad. once he still wasn't eating, we switched formulas and he slowly starting eating normal again. It has taken almost all month to get him better but he is finally back to eating what he was before all of this! 

He takes a bottle at 7,10,1,4,7, 930/10. Currently he is taking 4 oz and 5 at his last bottle of the day. 

sleeping: he started sleeping through the night the night after his two month shots. Through the day he still sleeps a lot. He wakes up at 7 to start his day, and then usually takes a nap around 830 for 30-60 minutes. He stays awake for a while after his 10:00 bottle, then after his 1:00 bottle he takes a big nap until around 4. He is awake most of the evening, taking a little cat nap around 530/545 usually. He falls asleep for the night around 8/830. The past several nights he has started sleeping in his room, in his rock n play still. We swaddle him and use the sound machine. Hopefully this month we will transition him to the crib. 

play: like his sister, he loves his play mat, especially the octopus. He also loves gripping his blanket or stuffed animal. 

He has started to wiggle and scoot on his back. I laid him on his play mat while I made A lunch and when I came back he had scooted up against the fireplace. He also can not just sit in his swing anymore, as he has scooted almost right out of it several times (no we were not strapping him in, but yes we are now:)).  He has almost rolled from his back to belly several times but can't seem to get his arm unstuck enough to complete the roll. 

he loves lights and fans

He has discovered his toes and it's so funny to watch 

He loves to make eye contact and smile and laugh. When Ainsley makes him smile or laugh she gets very excited and says " I made him happy! look he's so happy!". 

Parker you have officially made your way into the hearts of so many (especially this momma) and we are so so thankful to have you in our family. We are loving your smiles and cuddles and little parts of your personality that are starting to develop:) 

this is Ainsley's version of playing with her little brother

Princess Tea

This past Saturday I took Ainsley to a "princess tea". It was at a local church as a fundraiser. There were young girls dressed up like every princess imaginable. They had "tea" aka lemonade and snacks, then went to lots of different stations with the princesses at their table. There was face painting, princess tattoos, learning a dance, lots of games, pictures, and candy. Lots of candy:)  Ainsley loved seeing real life princesses and her favorites were, of course, Anna and Elsa :) 

wearing her princess dress a few nights before:) 

getting a tattoo by Tiana 

                                           

                                           

             

                   

"mom, I'm trying to eat my smarties here" 

all of her princess friends- and their candy 

i was amazed at how still she sat! 

                                       

                                        

                                        

and then she told cinderella to move so she could be in the wagon all by herself… 

She was so excited to go to this and I was ecstatic to get to spend some time with just her. Parker had his first babysitter that morning- and we weren't gone 15 minutes when she called to tell me he was hysterical and inconsolable and asking what she should do. I was devastated at the thought of telling Ainsley we were going to have to go home when Lauren said "oh wait, Philip just came upstairs". husband to the rescue! Philip sacrificed over an hour of sleep after a very long night at work to help calm Parker down so Ainsley could still go to her tea. I am so grateful he heard Parker crying and came upstairs to help. I would have had two unhappy children on my hands if not:) 

                             Love our little princess and getting to see her face as she enjoyed a morning of fun.