Baby's First Christmas

Greg, Brayden and I traveled to Oswego, NY to spend Christmas with Greg's family. Brayden did wonderfully on the car rides up and back, which took over 12 hours each trip. I don't think he could have done any better! His NY relatives were all so excited to finally meet our little man. He got to meet Great Grandpa and Gramma Sharkey, as well as all of his great aunts & uncles and some cousins on the Sharkey side. Brayden impressed them all by being such a good, happy baby. He gave LOTS of smiles and talked to everyone. I think he only cried twice the entire time we were there, and even then he was settled after a quick pop of the paci in his mouth. His first Christmas was a white Christmas....it will probably be a long time before that happens again! The snow was beautiful and we took a few pictures of Brayden out in it. He was too cute wearing his snowsuit because he couldn't move his arms at all. He was such a good sport about wearing it! We had a wonderful time visiting with family and can't wait to see them again. To see pictures, click here.

2 months

Brayden is 2 months old! Where has the time gone? When he was first born, he received a gift addressed to "Master Brayden Parr". Well, Greg and I quickly realized the "master" part is true! Brayden determines when we sleep, when we eat, where we go and pretty much everything else we do during the day. And he does this all without saying a word. How does he manage it? Thankfully, the sleeping part is getting longer everyday, so I can't complain. Last night we had an 8 hour stretch followed by another 2 1/2 hours after getting his belly full. He truly is a very happy, easy baby and we love him more & more each day. He has been very talkative to pretty much everyone he sees lately. I caught him talking to his toys on the playmat this morning...he especially loves the flashing star. I got him talking again tonight, but he wasn't as talkative as he was this morning. It's still very cute though =)

Breakfast with Santa

Brayden had his first visit with Santa yesterday morning at our church's annual Breakfast with Santa. He had his breakfast in a bottle as soon as we got there, and as usual feel asleep right after! But he work up in time to get a few pictures with Santa before we left.

We also tried to take a Christmas picture of the whole family yesterday afternoon. Trying to include Callie in the picture was tougher than usual this year! Greg had to hold both her and Brayden while I got the timer set for each take. This the best we got...oh well, it's not too bad, but not as good as I would have liked it to be. Callie's always looked right into the camera in years past. You can see some outtakes and other pictures by clicking here.

Elf Yourself

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful (and very busy) Thanksgiving. It was an extra special Thanksgiving for us since we had Brayden to celebrate with this year. We had lunch with the Grimes family and then had dinner with the Parrs on Thursday. We spent Thursday and Friday nights at the Parrs so we could visit with Skip, Bernadette & Luciana who came down from NY. Besides eating way too much, we really enjoyed spending time with our families. Brayden got lots of love from his cousins, as well as his grandparents on both sides! Although he slept most of the time, he did give them some big smiles and "talked" to everyone while he was awake. He is such a good, sweet baby...we are very thankful that he is in our lives! Now that his first Thanksgiving has come and gone, it's time to get ready for Christmas!!

Brayden enjoying his Thanksgiving meal

The Grimes grandchildren

Grammy & Grandpa Parr, Brayden & Luciana

Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so. Brayden (and his parents) really love the swing...it calms him down right away when he is cranky, which has been almost every night the past week!

He's also spending more time on his playmat and really studies the toys on there more and more. To see more pictures, click here

Brayden found his hands this week...he loves to put his fist in his mouth and chew for awhile. It's very cute! We are looking forward to his first Thanksgiving and the long weekend. We're going to spend Thursday with the Grimes family and a few nights with the Parrs. Aunt Bernadette & Uncle Skip are coming down from NY, so he will finally get to meet his cousin Luciana. We can't wait! Hope you all have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

A smile for you...

Finally! I was able to catch a smile on film and upload it to the blog. Here is a short clip of Brayden with a big smile at the beginning! (You'll have to stop the music on the playlist at the bottom of the page so you can hear him)

One month

Brayden is one month old today...I can't believe it! The past month has been much different than we ever imagined. Who would have thought such a little person could require so much time and leave us so exhausted? But it has definitely been a wonderful, wonderful month with Brayden in our lives. He has changed so much in such a short amount of time. He doesn't even look like the same baby that was born one month ago.

October 13, 2008

November 13, 2008 - 1 month old

This past week, he has started to give us an occasional smile when we talk to him and a "coo" every here and there. I love to see & hear them both and look forward to them occurring more often. I've tried to catch them on film, but he must be camera shy because he always stops when I turn it on =)

We have really enjoyed the first month of his life and look forward to seeing how he grows & changes in the months to come, although it's going by too fast already!

Photo Shoot

Last week, Brayden and I had a little photo shoot at home. He was very cooperative for the most part, although it took LOTS of takes to get just a few good pictures (at least ones that met my standards...I'm very picky!) I thought these came out pretty well. Hope you enjoy!

Fun Filled Friday

Yesterday was a big day for Brayden. We started off with his two week checkup at the pediatrician's office in the morning. He is doing great and is already over 9lbs! He did very well and won't go again until he is 2 months, when he'll get his first shots. I'm guessing he probably won't do so well then. After the doctor's appointment, Greg & I took Brayden with us to vote. He got so many compliments from people while we were waiting in line =)

Yesterday afternoon, we took Brayden to meet his new friend, Tanner. Our good friends Doug & Tiffany had their baby boy on Monday. Brayden and Tanner are two weeks apart, and I'm sure they'll be best buds growing up, like his mom and I were. They each had on the same "My First Halloween" outfit, which wasn't planned, so we got a couple of good pictures of them together.

When we got home, we had a visit from Madeline, Lydia & Margo. They were all dressed up for Halloween and excited about the upcoming night of trick or treating. Gina made Margo's hydrangea costume, which may have been the cutest thing I've ever seen!

We ended the night by giving out candy to the hundreds (no joke) of kids that came. I've never seen so many trick or treaters before. Needless to say, we ran out of candy pretty quick. Guess we'll know to buy more for next year!

We can't believe that our little guy is almost 3 weeks old already. It seems like he is changing everyday and getting so big already. The past few weeks have gone by too quickly.

One week later...

We've been home for one week now and things are going well. We spent the first three nights sleeping downstairs because it was easier for me after having a c-section. I am feeling much better now and getting around pretty good. Greg had to go back to work this past Monday. Brayden and I miss him so much during the day and are very happy to see him when he gets home! Brayden is becoming more alert everyday, but he does not have a good sleeping schedule just yet. Every night has been different so far. The lack of sleep is catching up to me, but I'm making it through one day at a time!

We've had lots of visitors during the past week of family and friends. We gathered all of the cousins on the Grimes' side together over the weekend, which was a wild time! Brayden got lots of love and attention, especially from cousin Caroline who showered him with kisses over and over again. It was very cute! We are looking forward to a visit from Uncle Skip this coming weekend, who is flying in from NY to meet his nephew.

Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy! Check the Brayden folder for more...

The Family

Callie taking advantage of us sleeping downstairs

The Grimes grandchildren

Lydia, Brayden, Grandma Grimes, Caroline, Grandpa Grimes, Margo & Madeline

Getting kisses from cousin Caroline

Our little pumpkin!

We're Home

We brought Brayden home from the hospital yesterday. We are getting settled in and are happy to finally be home as a whole family. He has met his big "sister"Callie, who is very energetically in love with him already. She gives him lots of kisses and wants to be where he is all the time. We've already accumulated a load of laundry in just the first 24 hours between spit ups and "pee ups". Although we are sleep deprived & he keeps us busy at all times it seems, we are very much in love with our little guy. We can't imagine life without him already.

Leaving the hospital

Meeting Callie for the first time

Callie checking on Brayden

After getting his belly full

I added a few more pictures to the Brayden folder, so be sure to check it frequently for updates.

Meet Brayden!

Brayden Parr was born Oct. 13, 2008 at 3:45am. He weighed in at 7lbs 14 oz, 21 inches long. Everyone is doing well, just very tired for now. Brayden is a very cute, sweet baby and we are so glad he is finally here! Click here for a few pictures. We'll post more later.

The Waiting Game...

I had another doctor's appointment today, and hopefully my last! She said that I'm now 1/2cm diliated and the baby is sitting as low as he possibly can. I was hoping for more like 2 or 3 cms, but I'll take what I can get...at least it's progress and we're heading in the right direction! I have an appointment to go back on Monday, when we will schedule a date for induction next week. BUT, she said she would be surprised if I made it until Monday! Greg and I are both hoping it's sooner, so keep you're fingers crossed for us. We're planning to do lots of walking, driving on bumpy roads, eating fresh pineapple & spicy foods, etc over the next few days to help speed things along =) My sister in law went into labor twice after eating fresh pineapple, so hopefully it will have the same effect on me. So for now, we're just waiting....

The Nursery Part II

The nursery is finished! All of the clothes, blankets, sheets, etc are washed and put away. The bassinet, swing, bouncer, and other toys are assembled and ready. And after a shopping trip last weekend to pick up the few things we were lacking, I've think we've got it all covered now, at least for the first few weeks =) Here are a few pictures:

As you can tell by the pictures, we've also picked out a name....Brayden. The middle name is still up in the air, but we've got it narrowed down to a few possibilities. The due date is less than two weeks away already, but I have a feeling it will be later than that. Hopefully not too much later though! We'll just have to wait and see...

Baby Showers

Time is flying by these days...I can't believe I am in my 36th week already! An updated "baby bump" picture is above. I'm still feeling pretty good for the most part, but I am starting to get a little more uncomfortable as the days go by. Not much longer though...

I've had two baby showers given for me the past few weeks, and I'll have one more next weekend. We are very fortunate to have so many friends & family to do this for us! A special thank you to you all. We have gotten so many wonderful gifts at these showers, all of which are needed and will be put to good use in just a few short weeks. It is unbelievable how much you need for a baby! You can see pictures from the showers by clicking here. Greg & I have an all day childbirth class scheduled for next Saturday to look forward to...that should be fun! Hopefully it won't be too traumatizing for either of us!

The house, beach, & baby names

We have been working hard on our house the past few weeks. We finished up painting in the dining room, living room & nursery. We also got the outside of the house painted, which makes it look completely different (at least it does to me). You can see pictures of our hard work (mostly Greg & his parent's hard work I should say =) ) by clicking here. We have lots more we want to do, but I think we're going to take a break for now.

We were finally able to get down to Wilmington for the day yesterday after trying to schedule it for weeks. We spent the afternoon with Catherine, Travis & Caroline at the beach. We had a great time and were very entertained by Caroline. I would love to go back before the summer is over, but I don't think that will happen. This may have been our last trip for awhile....

Baby boy Parr is doing great. He's moving around quite a bit and making sleep a little more difficult for me these days. We've been busy getting the nursery fixed up and trying to pick out a name. Greg and I didn't realize how hard that is!! Everytime we think we have one, we change our minds the next week. Hopefully we'll choose something and stick with it within the next 8 1/2 weeks? Any suggestions?? It's not too far away...the weeks are really starting to fly by now!

Update

Greg and I have been very busy the past few weeks. Skip, Bernadette & Luciana (his brother, sister-in-law, and niece) came down from NY for a long weekend visit to Greg's parents house. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with them since we don't get to see them nearly as often as we'd like! That same weekend, our 5th niece, Margo, was born to David & Gina (Leslie's brother & sister-in-law). We are so thrilled she is finally here and doing well. You can see pictures of the girls, as well as our three other nieces, by clicking the "our online photo albums" link on the left side of this page.



Other than enjoying time with all of our nieces, we've also been busy with the house. We just moved into a new house in Smithfield back in April, so we've finally started working on it a little to get it how we want it. We've painted the nursery and are now working on the dining room, which has been an adventure (our first time taking down wallpaper - we learned it's not easy!) We plan to do a few more rooms in the near future, and then maybe take a break for awhile. I'll post some pics when we get a little more work finished on the house!



Baby Parr is moving around more and more these days! Greg and I both enjoy watching & feeling his movements, although it seems like everytime Greg comes to watch, he'll stop moving! Greg has been able to catch a few kicks and rolls though. An updated "baby bump" picture taken at 27 weeks is below.
Hope everyone is doing well...we'd love to hear from you!

The Nursery

We have started working on the nursery in the past week. Greg has put together the crib and dresser / changing table. Our bedding also finally came in today after weeks of waiting. Now that it is here, we are going to pick out what color paint we want to use in the nursery. We are thinking of a pastel blue so the nursery will be more "boyish" since Greg thinks the bedding is too feminine! (I wanted something that is gender neutral for any future children) Here are some pictures of our furniture and the comforter for the crib set.

In other news, I have started working from home and love it so far! It can get a little quiet at times, but I'm sure that will change in October =) A picture of my home office is below.

Baby Bump

My belly is definitely growing more and more each week now. (A recent picture taken at 22 weeks is above). The baby is becoming more active, especially when I'm sitting still or lying down. Greg has been able to feel some kicks and the other night we could see my stomach moving for a few of the moves for the first time. It was pretty cool to see! We can't believe we are over halfway there, but October still seems so far away.

It's a boy!

We went for our 20 week ultrasound today and found out we're having a boy! We were both a little surprised because we thought for sure it was a girl (they tend to run in our families). He will be the first grandson on both sides...hopefully all of the girl cousins won't torment him too bad. Everything looks to be on track and progressing nicely...his measurements are all right where they should be at this time. Greg and I are very happy and can't wait to meet him! I am attaching two pictures from our visit for you to enjoy =) Now it's time to get started on the nursery....

Our blog

Welcome to our blog! We've created this to keep our friends and family updated with the latest goings-on in the Parr household.

As most of you know, we are expecting our first little bundle of joy. Baby Parr is due October 9, 2008! We are very excited about adding to our family, but have lots to do in the meantime. We hope to keep you all up to date with news and pictures, so check back soon for more info!

Greg & Leslie