A busy and exciting week!

We've been keeping real busy around here, and been having so much fun. Good things happening in our family lately!From the previous post I mentioned that I was going to put Parker back in physical therapy for the extra nudge. He's been going for 3 weeks (once a week) and has made some great progress! Last Friday, got him to crawl to me. Of course I was so excited that I wanted to show Ryan when got home...well, you know how it goes, he made a liar out of me and refused to do it again :) Tuesday he had another physical therapy appt and did so well at his crawling skills that he was willing to show Ryan. We were so proud. He doesn't like doing it at all, but the fact that he can is great. Parker has been able to take steps for quite a while now, and cruise along furniture, but yesterday, he decided to take the leap and let go. Off he went walking on his own!!! I was cleaning up after a sewing project and he just walked on by! I was totally shocked, but so happy. Now the little punk doesn't even want to hold my hand. From crawling to walking in 5 days, go Baby P!In other exciting news, Ryan made second class in the military. For all you non-military folks out there ( pretty much everyone) that just means that he moved up a rank from petty officer 3rd to petty officer 2nd class. He's been eligible for 2 years, and we've have been waiting that long to advance. Needless to say, we are really relieved the time has finally come! I got to go into his work this morning (a rare treat) and switched the pins on his uniform that symbolizes his rank. This also means a pay increase, a very welcomed one at that! :)

Fantastic family picture >>>insert sarcasm here<<<

As for Skylee and I, we're just excited that the boys are progressing in they're lives...almost catching up with us ;) Skylee will be starting swimming lessons soon, and is still in preschool. My craft blog is doing well, I've had fun making new friends, getting a little recognition from the pros and getting great feedback. We've been enjoying spending time at the pool and days at the beach. One thing I'll never complain about with being in the Coast Guard...always being close to water :)
We've booked a trip out to Las Vegas/Lake Mead and California in July. We'll be gone for 3 weeks, and the most exciting part is that Ryan will be with us the whole trip! Usually he only can come for a fraction of the time, leaving me with flying back alone with the kiddos...this time, he'll have to endure it with me! Haha!
*I'm working on getting some recent videos uploaded, they just take for-ev-er!

We really feel very blessed that life is treating us so well. Thanks everyone for all your words of support, and love shown toward our family :)

Parker Update:

How lucky am I!?!

A curious little man

Got all of Parker's lap work, and x-ray results and everything is A-Okay! My initial concern came from the doctors I think. The idea that there was something "wrong" with him, I'll admit, freaked me out! I got over that, even before the results came back, but it's a relief to know he's just fine! He's been making progress on getting himself around too! He's figured out how to scoot himself around on his bum, even "crawl" a little, and still taking a few steps here and there. Thanks for all your supportive comments. I'm sure it won't be long til I post a video of the little guy walking, he's close!

Trying to figure this little boy out...

This little man a.k.a. "Baby P", still isn't crawling, pulling up to standing, or walking. 13 months old, and I feel like I still have an infant. He is lively, funny, and eating really well now.
A few months ago, when he was around 10 months, I took him to his regular pediatrician appointment and at that point when he wasn't doing any of those things, she referred us to see a physical therapist. We went for about a month. Each Wednesday morning at 8:45am we would show up for a 45 min scream-fest. Parker is a major Mama's boy, so any time he feels uncomfortable he flips. We went for the first month without any improvement, then stopped going for multiple reasons. I didn't think anything was "wrong" with him, just a bit slower in his motor skills than the average baby.
The therapist explained that because he had respiratory issues for a while, it may have just been really uncomfortable for him to be on his tummy, therefore setting him back to work building up those muscles for crawling. Made sense to me...
Here we are 3 months down the road, and still nothing.
At the next regular pediatrician appointment, I mentioned that he's got some constipation problems, so after asking me a few questions she referred us to a Gastroenterologist (GI) to check it out.
This last week we made the trip to Nemours Children's Hospital in Jacksonville to discuss his bum issues. This doctor wanted to ask me questions just to "rule out" possible causes. He mentioned that children that may have a thyroid problem at his age wouldn't be able to pull themselves up, may have low muscle tone and such. Red flag, so we got an x-ray and blood work. Still waiting on the results from that...
Since all this, I've put Parker back in physical therapy. I just have to remember that even if he doesn't like it and it seems pointless, at least I can continue to learn more of what I can do at home with him.
I hope this isn't coming off as a complaint post, it's more of an update post. I will admit to be a little frustrated, confused, and hopeful all at the same time that nothing is "wrong" and that he/we will make progress. Don't know what doc. to believe if any? I don't want to be the mom that denies or ignores a problem, but I also don't want to be frantic about nothing too. Ya know?
Enough rambling. ;)