John - 5 Months

John at 5 Months

15 pounds, 5 ounces (November 27, 2012)
Loves to laugh when daddy plays with him
Does a lot of talking, especially in the evening
Flips from front to back and back to front
Likes to sleep on his stomach at night
Sleeps for 9 hours a night
Started sweet potatoes on December 3, 3012, which he really liked
Taking three bottles of formula and breastfeeding for three feedings
Fits into 9 month clothes

John - 4 Months

John at 4 Months

14 Pounds 6 Ounces and 25.5 Inches Long (as of November 5, 2012)

Very curious/inquisitive when we go to new places. 

Laughs when Daddy kisses him with his whiskers

Likes when we sing, E-I-E-I-O, Itsy Bitsy Spider, It's a Sunshine Day, Rock-a-bye Baby

Smiles/Laughs when we play Pic-a-boo

Such a good boy all the time

Still loves his swing

Lots of Smiling 

Talking A LOT

Teething

Tried rice cereal for the first time (November 5, 2012). Not sure what to think. He gets a sour face when eating it and pushes it out with his tongue. 

John - 3 Months

John at 3 Months

No official weight, but close to 14 pounds
Rolled over from back to front on October 9, 2012
Opens hands and will clasp them together
Likes tummy time much more this month
Holds objects in his hands
Starting to sit up in his "Bumbo", but still not completely holding up his head
Tries to watch TV whenever it is on
Sleeping 8-10 hours most nights
Smiles a lot
Talks a lot
Loves baths still

John - 2 Months

John at 2 Months

12 pounds 5 ounces (As of September 4, 2012)

23.5 inches long (As of September 4, 2012)

First overnight visit with Grandad and Grandma while Mommy had surgery (Aug. 14, 2012)

Interacts with others, smiling and cooing (ah, ooh)

Starting to imitate what others do; sticking out tongue, waving, talking
Still loves to be outside and go on walks
Will play on floor with mobile over him
Will grasp fingers or items placed in his hands
Very alert when in new places
Does not like tummy time
Will roll over with help from Mommy
Will walk with help from Daddy
Notices himself in the mirror
Started sleeping through the night around August 25, 2012.
Some nights he will sleep from 9 pm to 8 am. 

 

John - 1 Month

John at 1 Month

 

8 pounds, 5 ounces (as of July 18, 2012)

21 inches long (as of July 18, 2012)

Likes to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed

Sleeps with his arms above his head

Moved to big crib at 2 weeks old

Plays with jitterbug toy hooked to blinds over changing table (favorite toy) 

Starting to notice/smile at Mommy and Daddy

Will play more on the floor and bat at toys
Loves being outside and going on walks

Baby John's Visitors - Family and Friends

Baby John had many visitors in the hospital and at home when he arrived. Everyone was so excited to meet him! We loved getting to show him off to everyone! Here are some of those pictures...

Family

Ron and Julie Gentry (Grandad and Grandma)

Uncle Matthew Gentry

Uncle Shane Gentry

Barbara Gentry (Great Grandma/Mema)

Aunt Ramona, Amanda and J.T. Rucker & Stasia and Landry Armstreet

Great Aunt Lynda Gentry

Aunt Kristi, Katelyn, Kaleb, Rachel and Emily Kite

Rick and Yvette Parsons (Bubba and Mimi)

Aunt Elizabeth Parsons

Uncle Charly and Elizabeth Parsons

The Grandparents with John

Friends

Nick and Micah Reis

Sam and Ashley Smith

Bryan and Keli Kayser

Meredith and Craig Foster

Carrie Patterson, Keli Kayser, Courtney and Audrey Kate McCollum

Jeff and Kristin Summerlin

Lindsey and Jason Garrett

As you can imagine we have lots of pictures with family and friends. These were just some of the first pictures we took of John with family and friends! We are so thankful for all the love and support we have had as we raise this special little boy!

(I do apologize if I left off pictures with family and/or friends...I didn't always get pictures when people came over, but please know that we loved you getting to meet John!)

Fourth of July Baby

John Richard Parsons III was born on July 4, 2012 at 1:56pm. He weighed 7lbs, 7oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. He is such a joy and we love him so very much.

God has blessed us mightily!

Here are some pictures of John when he was first born and arriving home.

Newborn Family Picture

Headed Home

Family Picture at Home

First Bath

First Doctor's Visit

First Stroller Ride with Mommy and then Daddy

First Dinner out at Mattito's for 3 Year Anniversary

There have been many more "firsts" with John and we have been excited about them all! The next couple posts will show all the visitors (Family and Friends) John has had! They all love him so much!

Full Term - Baby Parsons Set To Arrive Any Day (Weeks 35 to 38)

Baby Parsons is now 38 weeks! He could arrive at any time ... Bags are packed, his room is ready, now all we need is for him to arrive! We are excited for when that day comes, but until then we will relax and enjoy time together!

Baby Parsons is certainly growing bigger and stronger each week:

Week 35:

Week 36:

Week 37/Week 38:

This was taken at the end of week 37, but the start of week 38. 

We are thankful for a healthy baby boy and are ready/waiting for him to make his appearance in this world! We know God had BIG plans for our son! 

Mr. Handyman ... with Shane's Help

Jay had a few items to assemble for Baby Parsons ... swing, rocker, stroller. He enlisted the help of Shane! So Shane came and spent the night this last week and helped Jay get all items put together. They both did a great job!

Figuring out the 21 steps to putting the swing together.

Swing complete!

Stroller, swing, and rocker complete!
They were both a little tired!

Mother's Day and Father's Day

Jay and I celebrated both Mother's Day and Father's Day this year ... our first as baby Parsons is set to arrive any day now!

Mother's Day
We had a fun time celebrating at our house for Mother's Day. Jay grilled out chicken and I made baked squash/zucchini and boiled corn! Jay gave me a sweet card from baby Parsons and two dozen beautiful pink roses! My parents gave me two ceramic love birds and Jay's parents gave me a gift card to Belks.

Father's Day
For Father's Day we celebrated Elizabeth's birthday with cupcakes since she was going to be in NYC for her actual birthday, went to the Gentry's to swim and then had sloppy joe's for dinner to celebrate Father's Day and my Dad's birthday!

Fun times all around!

Baby Parsons Room

Baby Parsons' room is basically complete...

His room is a vintage sports theme. We wanted to make his room up with items that would grow with him. Both Jay and I love sports, so hopefully our son will too!

The three largest items we worked on for his room were the book shelves, the scoreboard, and letters for his name. Below are some pictures from the making of those items and what they look like in his room!

Book Shelves:

The book shelves started out in the form of a pallet.

My dad then cut the pallets in half and put another board
at the bottom of each pallet so the books would not fall out.

Jay then sanded the pallets down so there were be no rough edges.

Bookshelves completed, hung, and books displayed!
There are two more bookshelves hung on the other side of the window as well.

Scoreboard:

We started out with a 3.5ft x 6ft piece of plywood and then Jay painted it white. 

My mom and I then used die-cut letters (both bought and made) to place on the board.  

Trying to get the paper of the back of the letters to stick on the board. 

Once all the letters and boarders were placed on the board Jay painted it green. We then pulled up all the letters and boarders to reveal the white paint behind them. 

Jay admiring his work!

Me admiring my work!

With my dad's help cutting out 3in x 6in boards to use as the score.
We used the same process to paint these smaller boards. 

Scoreboard complete and hung in Baby Parsons' room!

Baby Parsons Name:

Baby Parsons name will be...

John Richard Parsons III 

"John"

Bought the letters from Michaels.
Two coats of blue acrylic paint.
(The "N" in this picture still needs the second coat.)

Used red acrylic paint to give it some accent marks.

Since we are going with a vintage look,
I used acrylic "stain" to make the letters look distressed.  

Finished! 

Name hung as you enter his room!

We love how his room has turned out thus far! Hopefully he will enjoy it as well! We are still waiting on the crib (which should hopefully be here any time). Lamps have also been ordered and we are looking for curtains, but other than that John's room is basically done! I will post more pictures of his room once more is complete.