Merry Christmas!

We are going to have to get a bigger house in order to have enough room for all of this kids toys.

Families are Forever

I believe families are forever! Thanks to our sealing in the Temple, my marriage to my husband is eternal and not just "till death do us part."

Check out Parkers t-shirt circa 1987! It was mine when I was little!

Parker the parking garage

J balanced a car on P's head.. P thought it was awesome and has been trying to recreate it since.

Merry Christmas!

Hurricane parker

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. By this logic, I should stop cleaning up after my toddler.

There is sunshine in my soul today

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

A vision of his future...

With his genes he will need glasses for sure!

Hungry hungry Parker

P is going through a growth spurt. I bought him clothes less than a month ago and they were so big they were hanging off him. Now they are so small that the pants are like capris and his tummy peeks out from his shirt. The good news is that I hadn't taken the tags off 2 of the outfits so I was able to exchange them for a larger size. Carters is also having a 70% off sale so I got a few new things cheaper than I could have purchased used.

He's also drinking milk like crazy. He's gone through half a gallon since yesterday afternoon. In the past week has woken up several times in the middle of the night since he's so hungry.

It's a good thing he likes Ramen... its all we are going to be able to afford to feed him!! (Kidding!)

Silly

He put all of his cars in the plastic pitcher he found.

Christmas came early...

I thought if I kept his trike in the box, he wouldn't realize what it was and I wouldn't need to hide it... I was wrong! He saw it and yelled CAR and BIKE over and over again and kept bringing me over to the box and tried to get me to open it. He even tried to ride the box. I tried to hide it, but it was too late. I ended up giving it to him today (see previous post) and he loves it!

Growing up

My little boy is wearing light up sneakers and riding a big wheel... he is growing up

Amazing

In the time it takes me to blink, these two can completley tear up a place! They have so much fun together.

Almost 16 months

I totally skipped 15 months. Oops.

Parker has been lots of fun these days. Lots of hard work, but lots of fun! We're finally figuring out this one nap thing. I need routine nearly as much as Parker does, so to have a schedule in place has been great. I'm looking forward to storytime resuming so we can incorporate that into our schedule, too!

Parker talks up a storm! Most of it is just babble, but he can repeat sounds pretty well. He is constantly asking "what's that?" and loves picture books. He LOVES to read and play with his stacking rings and cups. He seems to enjoy learning and I love teaching him. His also loves cars and sometimes I feel like I'm living in a parking garage. His favorite is his dump truck. He can fill his dump truck with EVEN MORE CARS and drive them all around at once.

His favorite number is 2. He can sort of count to 3 but he frequently stops and just says 2 over and over again because he loves to say 2. He is always asking me to count things!

He loves the playground and can get up on the equipment and go down slides by himself. 

He FINALLY is not eating baby food! He regressed a little when he had all those teeth coming in, but he's totally on solids now. He loves pasta, peanut butter sandwiches, and crackers.

My biggest challenges with him right now are centered around the fact that he chooses to ignore anything I ask him to do. This results in me having to carry him across the street  or in the parking lot because he won't hold my hand or even follow me. I also have to carry him up and down the stairs because he is so stubborn he won't do it himself. Mind you, he is capable of doing it, and loves going up and down the stairs when he's not supposed to. I know he understands me because he does the exact opposite of what I'm asking him to do. (ie, he runs away as fast as he can when I ask him to "come here"). It's exhausting and frustrating but I there are worse problems. I can't wait until I can start to reason with him and eventually implement rewards and consequences for behavior.

Smart boy

He did this all by himself! I came out of the kitchen and found that he stacked the cups in order all on his own. I am so proud of my boy.

My birthday

I had an AWESOME birthday. First of all, having your bday on Sunday rocks! I got a whole birthday weekend! We don't go out to eat on Sundays in observance of our Sabbath, so we went on Saturday. I got my birthday flowers a day early for the same reason. We went to Dave and Busters while Ashlee watched Parker. (Thanks Ashlee!!!) We really enjoyed having a date. Then today I got totally spoiled. My moms gift was such a great surprise! I had seen a sweater on a model in a catelog and thought it was so pretty... but couldn't find anything like it ANYWHERE. Finally I gave up. I hadn't mentioned it to anyone, so it was amazing when my I opened my moms gift and THERE WAS THE SWEATER!! Jon got me a jewelscent candle and now I'm addicted and want another one. I got some other really thoughtful gifts from friends and family, too. So spoiled!!!
I had a really nice bday dinner tonight. The sister missionaries here are so sweet. They came to visit me once (unplanned visit) and I think I scared them. It was 4pm when they came and I was still in my pajamas and no makeup and my house was a total mess. It had been a really bad RA day and I hadn't been avle to do anything. They could tell I needed help so they cleaned my house and have been coming 1-2 times a month since then to help me. They came over for dinner tonight and helped me cook. They also gave me a thoughtful little birthday gift. I love having them over! Then my dear visiting teacher/favorite person ever Ashlee came with a crockpot cake. Random but so delicious!!! Our home teacher/other favorite person ever Bryan also stopped by for some desert. We have been blessed with some great friends here and I had such a special day. The party is continuing into next week, too, when my sweet neighbor/friend is bringing me lunch from Pei Wei! (She offered to take me out, but Parker is too unruley for restaurants right now so we will enjoy our lunch date at home).
I am so blessed!! Thank you everyone for making this a great day.

Bouncing baby boy

Literally

O Christmas tree

We can't trust P to not hurt himself with a big tree this year so we just put up this little one instead. P looks like he is hanging his head in shame!

Church shoes

I will buy him church shoes when he stops outgrowing his shoes every 2.5 months

At least he was comfortable

Parker pulled his toy box up next to his chair. He sat down and proceeded to pull out all the toys from the box and throw them across the room.

New shoes

Parker got his first ever pair of light up shoes. Here he is admiring them during lunch time.

I miss naps.

P used to spoil me with 2 long naps a day. Now I am lucky if I can get him to take 1 45-minute nap. He is still only sleeping 9-10 hours a night, so I have NO IDEA where he is getting all of his energy!

So, now I have almost 4 extra hours of awake time a day and I'm not quite sure what to do with it. He won't sit still at all or play on his own, and he gets bored at home. He is also doing stuff like jumping off the sofa, eating boxes of kleenex, etc so it is a lot of work!!

We upgraded our gym membership to include daycare, so that's been a huge help. He gets to play with other kids while I hide in the locker room and read magazines. (Haha!!)

Any ideas on what I could do? We already hit as many storytimes as humanly possible and go to the life and science museum almost weekly. We also hit the park a few times a week and have some playdates. Aaaah! I am tired and miss naps!!

Listen to your gut... NOT the pediatrician!!

Parker had his post-op the other day for his tubes. Everything came back normal and his hearing is perfect!

In the past TWO WEEKS he has learned how to say "hi, bye, thank you, what's that?, wow" and probably a few others that I can't remember. He still uses "ma, da, car, ball" consistantly.

This just proves to me the power of a mother's intuition. The pediatrician said he was fine. I knew he wasn't so I got him evaluated by a speech pathologist, who said that his verbal comprehension was well below his other developmental skills and she said it was probably due to his chronic ear infections. I am SO GLAD that I followed my gut and got his ears fixed.

PS- did you know that every state offers evaluations to parents at no cost? They look at verbal, gross and fine motor, and cognitive skills. If you are worried that your baby is behind in any of those departments, your pediatrician can provide you with the information you need to get your child evaluated. I am really thankful for those services, and now Parker is doing so much better!

Cute tummy

I love to tickle and kiss P's cute little tummy. I think he's figured out how fond I am of his tummy because whenever he's not wearing a shirt, he struts around with his tummy poked out while he pats his tummy. Funny kid!

Those teeth!!

Parker finally has some new teeth coming in! He's had these 4 teeth for the past several months so its going to be weird seeing him with more teeth. I'm excited for him to be able to eat his food better!

Snacks

I'm trying to give him less processed carbs at snack time... he was less than happy with the soybeans I presented this afternoon.

Peekaboo kisses

This is Parker's all time favorite book. Its a touch and feel book, and a lift the flap book, and he just can't get enough! My mom gave it to him for Valentines day and we have read it several times a day (every day) since then.

Mothers helper

Multi tasking

Maybe I should haven't taught Parker to wipe his nose the same week that I taught him to wipe down the kitchen table.

Im famous

I was on a walmart commercial. It was super last minute- I was called at 6am!! I had auditioned for the commerical but was the back up to the back up... and even then I still had a 50% chance they would use a different mom. It was a fun experience and I liked that someone did my makeup. I am glad I was picked!

www.walmart.com/rdu

Paper dolls

My sister Julia made Parker a beautiful paper doll set for his birthday. She used a Cricut and a lamanating machine and some velcro. It turned out awesome! Parker loves playing with the prince doll and the dragon. Parker is so lucky to have aunts that love him. We sure love all of his aunties! (And uncles!)

Tubes

Parker got tubes in his ears on Monday! He did great. He was a little groggy the rest of the day. He was so tired that he sat still long enough to eat a dum-dum...for the first time in his life.

Cute

Toddler logic

Old toys+new box=new toys

Big boy

Parker has decided he's too grown up for a high chair.

This kid is 14 months

...and a few days.

-4 teeth (still!!)
-he eats a toddler sized meal PLUS a giant bowl of rice/puree at most meals
-we are down to 2 bottles a day!! (First thing in the morning/bedtime)
-still 2 naps a day... praise be! He sleeps at night 8pm-6am.
- he is talking a little more consistantly. He says ball, car, momma, daddy. If he wants something, he will grab our hand and walk us to whatever he wants (ie, the door if he wants to go outside or the fridge if he wants milk)
-ear tubes go in NEXT MONDAY
-he loves to run, jump, and climb. A little too much. Yesterday I caught him MID FLIGHT after he launched himself off the top of the stairs.
-he is in constant motion... ask anyone at our storytime!

We aren't planning on making him a big brother anytime soon. I wish people would stop asking me when were having the next one. Its a really sore subject because id love another baby and a sibling for Parker. But now is not the time. So if you ask, I might just start crying and that's just awkward for everyone involved. Save us all the trouble and leave it alone ;-)

Cost of living

Nothing in this world is free. This is especially true for moms. If you want something, you're going to pay for it. For example, the current going rate for a hot shower is one dumped out sock drawer and pen ink on the comforter courtosey of the toddler you left unattended while you washed your face. The cost of loading the dishes while your toddler finishes breakfast? See for yourself!

Teach him to eat with a spoon, they said.

It will be good for his development, they said.
Why is it that things that are good for his development are generally things that are terrible for my sanity?

Apple of my eye

He's been gnawing on that apple for over an hour

Finger painting

Well that escalated quickly

Evil Kenevil

New trick: standing on his truck and trying to use it as a skateboard

Scary

Forget ghosts and witches this Halloween. I've found something much scarier: a marker cap without a maker.

PS-it was only a color wonder marker (we don't use anything else right now) but the sight was still terrifying.

Green Level Gourd Farm

We love this place! And I'm sorry, but my son is the cutest little farmer of all time.

Parker and Sam

We went to Winston-Salem to see our friends bless their twin girls. They also have a 2 year old boy. I kept trying to get Parker and Sam to smile for a picture together, but since it was their first time meeting each other they were pretty skeptical

about it.