It's a BOY!

I guess it might be considered crude to post "proof" of your baby's sex--hope no one is offended :) But there was NO DOUBT today at 16w4d that John Cole Parker is on his way!! We will be Southern and use both names--if you are reading this please help me keep both names stick. Jeff, Preston and I are so very excited and are so very thankful for all of your prayers. The ultrasound tech (who happens to also work for my OB!) said she did see an amniotic band that I will point out to perinatology Tuesday, so I would ask that you pray that is nothing.

Now, time to do some online shopping!!! YAY!

My name is Shelley...

and I REALLY like kids clothes!!

My fist step is admitting I might have a little problem when it comes to how much I love to purchase clothes for Preston--and baby on the way :) I am SO crazy that I drove to Shreveport and spent money on an ultrasound (which I have EVERY time I go to the Dr. for essentially "free") just to see if there was any way I could know what I was having before driving to Natchez for the Kelly's Kids Warehouse Sale today. (Ok, other reasons than just Kelly's Kids but it was the main one !) Soooo, since the ultrasound technician could not pinpoint the sex-basically there is a boy part there but she's not sure if it is sticking around or not-I could not justify going CRAZY one way or other even though the prices today were VERY good. BUT, I did get a couple of things....

I purchased a cute little coordinating blue/brown set IF baby Parker is a John Cole to wear FIRST THING--the little brown corduroy shorts are TINY. Also, I purchased a coordinating searsucker pants/girls outfit for next Summer IF baby Parker is a Vivian. (Joanna, this baby girl outfit would work for you I think and I will give it to you if I don't need it!!) Of course, I bought a few things for Preston, and am going to have to eat my words with a couple of things I bought. You see, I thought I was done with longalls for Preston, but I fell in love with a couple today and he's just gonna have to undo the buttons on the top and go to the potty like he's got on overalls because they were too cute to pass up. AND, for $5.99, I can monogram them and have a neat custom outfit for CHEAP. That is, unless baby Parker is John Cole and I don't want to go too terribly monogram crazy......decisions, decisions.....

I am BEAT from my long morning--don't know why but it is super tiring to fight that crowd--but it was worth it!!! Happy Father's Day weekend everyone!!

Little Swimmer

Since I am not from Ruston, last Monday was my first trip to Mrs. Lambright's pool for a swimming lesson from Mrs. Linda Causey. After seeing what she could accomplish in 10 thirty minute sessions in two weeks, I know see what all of the fuss is about :) She is an amazing teacher, patient and firm all at the same time, and Preston really did learn so much from her. Now, I will NOT be allowing him to "swim" unsupervised (i.e. without me IN the pool) without his puddlejumper, but I am assured he at least has a foundation of good technique from which to build as he becomes a more confident swimmer these next years. I took off work for two whole weeks to do this with him (with the exception of one day that I just HAD to go in) and I really enjoyed my time with him. Now, I am ready to get back into my work routine, but am a little bummed out that since the Ruston Wal-Mart has lost a Pharmacist I am going to have to pick up some extra shifts in Ruston until they find a replacement. Well, I don't HAVE to, but it is the right thing to do because if I don't it will place a HUGE burden on the other two Pharmacists....so much for my lazy summer I guess. Hopefully, a replacement will be found soon. Until then, we will still be swimming and enjoying our summer on the days I am home. Hope you are surviving this WILTING heat. I actually decided NOT to go lay out this afternoon and that is saying something...just couldn't bear the heat and since P is still in Sikes I opted for a nap instead. Much love to you all!

Praises!

As I sit here I feel so incredibly blessed to be sharing this news!! Preston and I got back from a quick post-swim lesson trip to the pool today and I had a message from Maternal Fetal Medicine in Baton Rouge. My heart immediately started beating faster as I frantically dialed. SO many things were running through my head, but my mind was at ease when I heard the nurse's tone when she first started talking. Sure enough, Baby Parker's screening tests came back NEGATIVE (with a whopping 1:1000 chance of Downs and 1:10000 chance of trisomy 18)!!! I of course called Jeff first thing and the relief in his voice is not something I will soon forget. The significance of these numbers? Well, just by statistics Jeff and I have appox a 1:300 chance of having a Downs syndrome baby. (That calculation is based on his age, mine, and the fact that we have had a Downs pregnancy) Soooo, this AWESOME screening number means that based on two hormones in my blood, and the thickness of baby Parkers neck in three places, there is a 0.001% chance that this baby in my womb has Downs. There is a 10% false negative rate on this test, but Jeff and I had already decided if this test was negative we are not testing any further. Now, I WILL keep my appt for 6/28 to find out this baby's sex, but I will not do a quad screen or any further blood/amniotic testing because I know in my heart that this baby is perfectly healthy.

And as I share that news, my heart is pressed to share a prayer request for a couple in Winnfield who just delivered a Downs baby who is having some difficulties now and will certainly continue to as he goes through life. You know, I can admit that I struggle to be content. I think that is just human nature. I recognize that challenge for myself more as I get older and can try to rise above it, but it sneaks up on me sometime all the same. So, today, I am blessed and ever so content in the knowledge that my life and most of the time job as a wife and Mom have a definite purpose, and I am beyond grateful for my station in this world.

Thanks again for your prayers!!!

Wedding Weekend

The Parker family is all laying pretty low this Sunday afternoon after a busy--and very fun-wedding weekend celebrating with Kendal and Kevin Singh! The only pictures I have are from the rehearsal dinner, but hope to order a lot from the wedding because Kendal is purchasing the "rights" to print her own pics. I really think besides minor details, the whole thing went off without a hitch and that is definitely a testament to Kendal and Mom's diligent planning. There was a small hiccup with Preston waking up with pinkeye Saturday morning, but a dentist and pharmacist in the house helps to get meds ASAP. We also made sure K-K had some pinkeye medicine to take to Hawaii....just in case :)

First we had the rehearsal dinner hosted by Kevin's family. It was held in Natchitoches at Merci Beucoup and was a very nice night. There were many sweet toasts and you could definitely tell how much these two are loved. A toast of note was my Dad, who did such a great job and I am sure it meant a lot to Kendal. I got through my toast without the aid of any wine (ha!) and Jeff had a few funny things to say.....

We had a bridesmaids luncheon Saturday morning, then the usual getting hair done, makeup done and picture time with all of the families before the ceremony. Kendal was a BEAUTIFUL bride, and all of her choices of flowers, attire, etc. were just perfect. I loved her pink peony bouquet!! The ceremony was beautiful, and reverent, which I KNOW is what Kendal wanted. And can I tell you the Preston Luke Parker was a CHAMPION walking my great-grandfathers Bible down the aisle with ALL of those people watching..and he walked ALL BY HIMSELF!!! I told someone in my family that I was BEAMING with pride that he simply walked--that I can only imagine how proud I will be when he hits it out of the park!! (or makes a hole-in-one, or wins the race.....) We had bribed him for two days with a Lightning McQueen RED racecar and he got it on the way to the reception :) The Civic Center was decorated beautifully for the reception, and the food was excellent. The band was great--they needed a little "crowd management" help but their sound was great. (All the people would get out on the floor then they would play some random song that was impossible to dance to.....but they were good!)

This morning my Mom hosted a brunch for the family still in town and when we left they were going to take a NAP! Hope you got a good one Mom :)

Hope you enjoy the pictures and I hope to have some actual wedding pics soon!

PS--Thanks Kristy for being "photographer!"

Baby Parker 13 weeks

I don't rememeber when it was exactly, about a week ago I think, that I actually prayed that I would feel nauseated because I have felt SO GOOD this pregnancy that I was scared something was wrong. Well, God did answer that prayer the very next morning, and how happy I was!! But, now that I have reached the 13 week mark (today I think I am right at 13 weeks, baby measured anywhere from 12w5d to 13w1d on different measures...I'm calling it 13 weeks) I am pretty sure I was just incredibly blessed and had a VERY great first trimester. Jeff came with me to the perinatologist today, and the two hour wait was well worth it when we saw baby Parker just flipping and waving at us. I won't bore you with all of the stats we had to pour over with the MD today, but we decided to go ahead with the screening test for Downs and should get those results in a week. Truth be told, I have a REALLY GOOD FEELING that this baby is PERFECTLY healthy. Because our Downs baby had a condition called "hydrops" which really just means excess fluid, we are always on the lookout for fluid in places it shouldn't be and today everything looked GREAT! The only downer was that MD would not say anything about the sex, even if he had an opinion, and you KNOW I was asking. Oh well, he wants to see me on 6/28 so having that date on the calendar when I KNOW we can tell is very reassuring to planner over here.

Getting excited about wedding weekend!! Lots of fun posts coming soon! THANKS for your prayers--we feel them, we really do!