Parker discovers the Baby Einstein app on the Iphone

Parker does acting exercises

Little Mr. Gallagher

Parker is officially an eater. Now, whenever he sees someone eating or drinking, he is really mad that he is not eating or drinking. He has started drinking from a sippy cup (if you hold it for him) as well as an adult cup. He loves any food he tries and even prompts you with whines between bites to let you know he is not quite finished. In the picture above, I turned my back for a minute and food was promptly ALL over his face-- I am not sure if he smeared it himself or splattered it. He has quite the mind of his own these days.

We are about to celebrate Mike's first Fathers Day. Nothing says Happy Fathers Day like a little boy who is the spitting image of his Dad. The pictures above are from when I brought Parker in to school for Mike's senior presentations. I don't know who is prouder of who!!! Parker sat right at Daddy's desk and had himself a good time. He was particularly impressed with the American flag and the giant Smartboard.

Stay tuned to Growing up Gallagher for Parker's 6 month pictures--- he's getting so big so fast!!!!

Memorial Day Weekend

A Poem for Parker

Our Dance

Poems are designed to save memories
capture heart thoughts
contain the slideshows of our minds.
And for us, so far my boy-
this is mine.

Last night we danced.
Your innocence like a bubble around you.
A bubble I would like to climb inside,
to forget the responsibility of buckling your seat belt
or making sure you don't choke on small objects.

We played music- loud so the neighbors could hear,
and you looked to me
with eyes of peace.
Such peace should be contained, perserved, cold-pressed and concentrated
so that this night, while we danced
and I sang into your minature ear-
So that this night was cut out, framed and matted-
a collage of love that only you and I can share hereafter.

We danced.

Parker is 5 months!

Parker is a happy five month old boy. He now looks forward to his cereal in the morning and "dinner" at night, is teething on anything that he can get into his mouth and undoubtedly recognizes his name, Mom, Dad, Jodi (his daycare provider) and his friends at day care. He loves music, songs that Mommy and Daddy make up, getting tickled and his exersaucer. He still (knock on wood) sleeps very well at naptime and at nighttime and is, overall, the happiest baby we know. Which works out well, cause he's the one we got! We are so excited, only one more month and it's summer- which means more family time for the Gallaghers!

Nana Photoshoot: Bathtime with Parker 05.01.10

Parker discovers his feet

Parker has been rolling over, kicking, grabbing and scooching quite a bit the past couple weeks. In this video, you can see the little monkey try to grab one of the toys between his feet. He's getting stronger and moving around a ton! Solid foods are going great-- Parker has tried, avocados, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, squash, carrots, pears, bananas and applesauce. Today we are trying peaches for the first time! I have been attempting to make my own baby food which proves to be quite a bit cheaper but sometimes I cannot get things quite the consistency that Parker likes it. Stringy vegetables are hard to get quite as pureed as you want but things like bananas and avocados are a cinch!

Parker has really enjoyed his mesh feeding net that he got from his buddy Tanner's Mommy. We put frozen banana cubes, frozen avocado cubes and ice cubes in there. He loves the taste and the mess!

Parker's Baptism

It was a wonderful day of family, babies and food. Parker was so lucky to be baptized with his cousin Sarah, who is only seven months older than him. Both babies survived the dunking. Parker wore a 50 year old christening gown that almost every child and grandchild in the family has worn. He wore it proud and put his own little stamp on it soon enough via spit up.

I can't believe my baby boy is baptized! What a lucky family we are :)

A Boy and His Thumb

Okay, I know this video is sideways, but I did it on my little point and shoot camera. Parker just started sucking his thumb and it's kind of funny cause he really gets into it, really loud and boisterous. I thought it was smart how he took his thumb away and brought it right back in this clip, but then again, I am his mother and everything he does is well, pretty awesome.

Also there are new videos on you tube if you search for Parker Gallagher-- he's got his own channel with some new videos aside from this one.

Enjoy!

Back to Work, Cereal and Friends

We have been very busy at the Gallagher house. Parker is about to turn 4 months, get baptized and has been starting on cereal (pictures attached). He is becoming a little person with a very laid back, sweet personality. He coos and smiles and even laughs. He loves people and whatever they say to him. Lately, he has really loved his Daddy and the way he plays with his hands and feet. He has been great in Mommy's transition back to work (timed impeccably just before Spring Break started!) and seems to love the things you want a baby to love--- sleeping and eating. The cereal eating has started this week, but I can't say Parker is a fan of it yet. He seems to think the spoon is a sort of torture object and often gets a little frustrated. But we just keep on trying.


Then, of course, there are his new friends. Parker had three friends born in the past two months: Tommy Krogmann, Declan Cox and Justin Wolpert. He has a lot of babies he has to get to know and well, has quite the social calendar as a result!

At his four month check up, he was 14 pounds 8 ounces! He is right where he should be- a happy, beautiful, thriving boy!

This past weekend, we took a little mini vacation to Killington, Vermont to see our good friends Kristy and Ethan and their boy Tanner. Parker and Tanner had quite the love fest and photo shoot.

Check out all the new bells and whistles on the blog, you can follow the link above to look at the many million pictures we take of Parker on a weekly basis.

Stay tuned for baptism family pictures on April 18th!

Parker's First Easter

Parker was lucky enough to have Nana come to visit for the weekend with the most beautiful weather. Parker was so good, as always, and we had a great time. He really enjoyed opening his Easter basket and playing with these bunny ears. Happy Easter everyone!

Gallagher family fun

This past Saturday, we took a little drive up to Northville to check out some lake houses for the summer. We are hoping to rent a camp for August and maybe rent out our house for track season as well. Well, it was a pretty day and we had a great trip with the little man. Mike wanted to show me the cabin he grew up going to as a kid, so we headed down a dirt road to the lake. The pics that follow will show you how the rest of the day went. Please note: No Mommies, Daddies or Babies were hurt during the photography of this incident.

"Mom, what's Dad doing out there? What is that shovel for?"

"Does this have anything to do with all that brown stuff on the windshield?"

"Is this a bad time to tell you I have a great deal of poop in my drawers?"

Exhibit A: Passenger Side Window

Exhibit B: The poor Jetta, just before Triple A arrived.

St. Patrick's Day Photoshoot- Parker turns 3 months old!!!

Well, we can't believe how sweet and BIG Parker is getting-- he is a thriving boy, learning new sounds and faces every day. He has also started sleeping through the night (for over a week now, I didn't want to jump the gun and jinx it by revealing it sooner).

Hope everyone has a Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

Parker and Mommy's last month at home :(

Well, I head back to work on March 25th. I am in denial of actually leaving Parker but feel really lucky to love my job, so I guess it will just be a little transition period for all of us. Parker has an awesome day care provider, Jodi, who will be taking care of him Monday through Thursday. Our good friend Michelle will be taking care of him on Fridays in our home. However, we are hoping for maybe one or two more snow days before I go back to squeeze some quality time in as a family (another reason we love our jobs!).

Only for 3 months though because then we will be HOME FOR THE SUMMER!!! We are also excited to report that Mike will be teaching at RIT this summer, not so far from home, for two weeks. So it will be a good summer to complete home projects, show Parker around his hometown and visit with friends and family!

Parker is a ham whether it is on camera or video. Here's a few from the past couple days.

"How come there's no drinks with the umbrellas in them in this place?
What does it take to get a little service around here?"

(Notice how he has rubbed off all of his hair but a little red tuft at the bottom of his head!)

"Ma, I swear if my privates are in this picture, I am going to spit up all over you."

"Staying home all day with Mom is kind of making me a little crazy!!!"

"Okay, this photoshoot is getting a little ridiculous."

"You are a mean, mean woman, Bridgette Gallagher!!!"

Snow Day-- Daddy stays home!!!

Today we learned that Parker has an uncanny ability to imitate our sounds. He is becoming more and more vocal each day-- and today we had an extra amount of time to play as a family because there was a snow day for school. We are only hoping for more snow-- we love being home together!!

February Vacation with Mom and Dad!!!

It was great to have Mike home for a whole week last week. We had some time seeing friends, family and even took an overnight to Killington, VT. Parker remains an awesome traveler and really easy going boy. He is all smiles and coos when you talk to him. His personality emerges more and more each day!

His hair, what there is of it, is a reddish blond. It goes well with his icy blue eyes. Not sure what color they will end up, green or blue, but they are beautiful in the meantime.

Here's some pics from our latest trip to Vermont. The lighting was just right for a photoshoot. He looks so much older!!