3 months

Happy 3 months sweet baby!!!

Chilling on the couch. No I didn't leave him there but a few seconds but I thought this was HILARIOUS! He just needs a bottle in one hand and the remote in the other and he is set. You can't tell what he's looking at but it's the tv. Sorry Greg but your son occasionally likes to watch Oprah.

Hanging out at gi and pa pa's after church.

Chillin in his bed.

Last day before going back to school. Savoring my last moments...

It is hard to believe that our sweet little boy is 3 months today. So much has changed within the past month. John Parker is sitting up in his bumpo seat, he's an occasional drooler, he hardly takes his pacifier, he smiles often and the rest of the time appears he is doing math in his head. He also likes to track items with his eyes. He LOVES his daddy and pa pa. Still hates his carseat and socks. Doesn't mind his diaper change unless it is 4am. Speaking of 4am....no longer sleeping through the night now that I am working. JP will sleep around 6 hours before waking for a bottle so typically he will only get up once a night (thank you Jesus), he loves tummy time on his surf board (thank you Helen), did I mention he hates his carseat??? Loves going to church and being held by others. If I hold him during church we last all of 5 minutes before leaving the sanctuary. JP is losing patches of hair and appears to be growing a small rat tail in the back. From the front he appears to be growing a mo-hawk which I like much better because it makes us look like rockstar parents rather than that back view where we look like white trash parents. But either way he's still the cutest baby in the world!

proof of the hair. we've enrolled him in the hair club for men.

John Parker can guzzle down 6 ounces of formula in no time and occasionally will cry for more. We are now in a size 2 diaper and in transitioning into 3-6 month clothing. At his last appointment (2 month...the one with the shots) he was 11 pounds 6 ounces and in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th (a miracle) in height. We are pretty sure those have flipped. Most kids (supposedly) can't wear footy pj's but our little tyke can! There is even room to grow. Now his onesies on the other hand are snug in the belly. He's probably going to be shaped just like his parents. Poor little guy. He can still be a fierce little competitor on the field....he'll just have to use those running skills he inherited from me;) It's amazing how quickly he changes and I never thought I would be "comfortable" with this age but I cannot get enough of this little guy!!!

I am now back at school...blah. I cry everyday. Yes, I know that I am a teacher and I have summers off to spend with him and I am home by 3:30 so it shouldn't be too hard...yes someone actually said this to me. BUT IT IS! I just miss the little guy so much that I cannot wait to race home, hold him, and cry as I apologize for leaving him. It's such a depressing cycle. I have prayed to God asking Him to increase Greg's pie chart so I can hold him all day but so far that request has been denied. I've tried for trade offs...like I'll be a missionary in Africa (this and getting shot are my fears) if you help me find a way to stay home. Still a no go. Greg keeps telling me if I can come up with a craft or some money making scheme then I can stay home...but again....that would be a no. I blame my gene pool for a lack of crafty skills...see post on scrapbooking. In my family the only thing we have going is running fast which won't make you money, unless of course you are stealing something and are running away. God wouldn't like that therefore He probably would continue to deny my request. Ahhh the drama. I guess I will continue to mold the minds of our future Americans...post on my newest group of kids to come. This should be an interesting year. Seriously please pray for all of us...this is a hard transition.

So what does John Parker do all day while I am hanging out with other peoples children? Well he hangs out with a grandma. Two days a week he is with my mom, the other two days with my grandma D, and on Fridays with my aunt. Yes, a family of babysitters is risky but is totally wonderful in our world. I feel so comfortable leaving John Parker with these three women because I know they are going to feed him all he wants, sing to him, talk to him, play with him, and carry him around most of the day. Typically when I drop him off (with tears in my eyes) he is happy and smiling at me. When I pick him up he sticks out his bottom lip (inherited from me!!!) and stares a hole through me. Ugh this makes my heart ache. BUT again he is being loved on by all these other women and he is the happiest little man in the whole world. What man doesn't love that kind of attention??? When we get home I usually hold him in my arms until Greg informs me that it is time to put him down so he can sleep. I wish he could go to work with me...he'd make a great show and tell. I know when he gets a little older and learns to play all these women we might need a change of plans but for now they are the most WONDERFUL group of babysitters we could ask for! Usually when we pick up JP at mom's she has dinner for us and when I go out to grandma's she has a homemade dessert for us or something from the garden. Like Greg says....they are paying us to watch our kid! Okay so thank you God...I'm starting to get your point;0)

Enough rambling...here are MORE the pics of our little guy. Ahh being a parent is wonderful!!!

Sitting in his "chair" like a little man.

Family reunion....there was an increase in children over the past few years. Notice the look of disgust on my child's face. I think the other babies got in his way. That's grandma D on the right holding another kid. That could be why JP is so ticked....oops. It was neat to see all my cousins with their babies!

Family pic at the reunion. Jill and Mark we missed you! I know you are so jealous that you didn't make it for this cherished family moment. Let me sum up this annual family event....each year they hand out the vented farmer hats to all the "adult" attendees. One of the older members of the family comes down from STL each year to visit (what she calls) her "country cousins." Keep in mind this is all on my dad's side.;) Love you dad!!!

Branson baby!
This is from our Branson vacation. Yes, the Deardorff's skipped the beach this year to hang out in the senior citizen capital of the world. Or what Mark called our "stay-cation." Needless to say where we stayed was close to the outlet mall so the women enjoyed! This is Caroline getting serenaded at the Hard Luck Cafe (fun place to visit). She was speechless for the first time in her life! Too fun.
This is what JP thought of it all.

Other pics from the vacation!


A friendly encounter. John Parker looks terrified.

John Parker and I drove home early for Relay. It was so nice this year because Greg and I got to just enjoy it and not run around like crazy people! Again, another good reason for having a baby....not having to work so hard at Relay! The luminarias above were purchased in honor and memory of our grandparents.

The infamous after the shots picture. After we got JP's 2 month shots he was NOT happy with me. I stood on one side and Greg on the other and of course he stared at me the entire time. So he associates shots, mom, Dr. office all in one. Uggh I hate shots and so does my kid! Poor guy. Thankfully Mr. Monkey was handy to help soothe the pain.

The tummy time mat.

I put JP on his mat to get ready for school. When I walked back into the room he was sound asleep. This mat is awesome!

Pa Pa's birthday celebration at the farm. Caroline and JP visited the farmers at lunch to help dad celebrate. No pics with dad and JP...too much action with Caroline around! She has so much energy. Whatever she has in her hand is something she tore off the wall.

Pics from Greg's class reunion. I don't want to go there and blog about this event. If I did you wouldn't believe what all my innocent little eyes witnessed. Let's just say all dancing skills by Greg and his friends were ignored and overshadowed by what I believe were former Platinum workers. God knew what he was doing when my camera battery died. He wants me to keep this blog family friendly.

John Parker traveling. He was such a trooper with all the visits we made that weekend. John Parker got to stay with Terry and Barbara on Friday night while we attended a welcome dinner then Danny and Karen kept him Saturday night while we attended the reunion. It was so exciting to see them with JP since they had not seen him since the weekend after he was born. He did great! Whew we were all worn out by Sunday!

Before we left we stopped back by Greg's dads and visited with Donna (gramp's wife) and Greg's nanny. Nanny is John Parker's great-great-grandma. She is wonderful! We were so excited for them to meet.

Nanny and a very tired John Parker.

Nanny, John Parker, and Greg. Three generations.