Christmas 2010

#1 Christmas present..Thank you, Santa!

Sitting in the middle of the airport runway...Who is having more fun, Parker or Brenden?

He liked his "hossi" but he's not sure about riding it...he really likes just turning it on.

You mean Santa brought me an Elmo plane just like Zane's? This is the best day EVER!

But..isn't this what it's really all about? We spent the morning playing with Baby Jesus or "Jee-wee" as he calls Him. He stuffs all the members of the 1st Christmas into the stable..I mean, don't we teach him they were all there during the Birth?

Christmas Eve

We had a great Christmas Eve. We spent it with the grandparents and cousins. Gigi had sinus surgery on the 23rd, so she was knocked out most of the time. (I know she'll love reading that, but it's true and I want to remember every detail. We're going back down there today to spend time with her since she doesn't remember most of it.)

You actually spent the entire week before Christmas with the family because I had to work through the 22nd. So, Daddy and I got to spend some quality time together while you entertained the family. Aunt Anna and Uncle Brenden were in, so you got to spend some much-needed time with them, too.

Here we are before Christmas Eve service. Let's just say, you didn't disappoint. You acted exactly like we thought you would. Marmee started out in the lobby with you where you yelled, "I pee-pee!" and "Poppa!" the entire time. Daddy and I took over and went down to the basement to let you run wild. You heard a little boy getting in trouble by his mommy. She was saying "Hush! Hush!" to him...so guess what your new word is? Yep, it's "Hush!"

Daddy and I just wanted a sweet family picture..and this is what we got. You were too busy playing with your pump-a-pum-pum to care about a silly old picture!

Abby loved her Barbie pool you got her!

This is the first gift you opened from Coco, Shelby, Lily, Abby and Will. Of course, it's all you wanted to play with.

Pebbles (aka Emma) loved all her gifts. She'd say, "It's exactly what I wanted!"

And we somehow managed to not get any pics of Lily, Will, or Gavin!

ABCS and 123s

I tried to get video of him saying his ABCs. Yes, he really can. He'll fill in on whatever letter you leave off. I tried to trick him yesterday and leave off at different letters, but he was still able to fill them in. Anyway, I'll try to get that another time. Here he decided to count instead. He gets stuck on 6 and 7 for some reason. Don't know why he keeps repeating them.

Anyway, enjoy. He just announced, "I pee-pee" which means he has a shoowee diaper that I can smell and need to change!

Moons, Stars, Elephants, and a little counting

I tried to get him to count all the way to ten, but he wouldn't do it. I LOVE it when he gets to seven, but I couldn't capture it this time. He'll say, "sheben"...so cute!

UPDATE: We were just showing Daddy this video and when he heard himself counting on the video, he counted along with it! So smart!

Getting Ready for Christmas

Parker was a big help getting ready for Christmas! He helped me hang his "ta-ta" ornament.

The "ta-ta" was his favorite until he discovered the "housh" ornament and the jingle bell wreath.

But all that decorating sure makes a little boy tired...

But not too tired to try out the gingerbread cookies I made! Thanks Aunt Erin for the apron!!!

He eventually had to shed the apron so he could really get down to business. Holding his cup is too much work, so he's taking the easy way out here!

The only way I could get him to sit still for pictures was to read "Llama Llama Mad at Mama" He loves it when Llama throws a huge fit in the Shop-O-Rama!

Even "Tu-Tu" likes reading about Llama!

Here he is before his Christmas party at Ms. Vickie's.

I was talking to Tara last night and we both agreed that every month we think this is the best age. But, I really think 18 months is THE BEST!

Sunshine

When I go get Parker up in the mornings, I always open the door and say, "Good morning, Sunshine!" Well, when I went to get him this morning, he took one look at me and said, "Daddy?" to which I replied, "He's still in bed, buddy..we'll go get him." He looked up and then said, "Sunshine?" You see, I didn't say it first because he was already talking to me. How dare I forget?

We missed him sooo much!

Long story short-we sent Parker to the grandparents' this weekend because Phillip and I both got sick. Phillip was way sicker than I, but we figured we'd better be safe than sorry. So, P-man spent two nights being spoiled by both sets of grandparents, cousins, and Aunt Coco and Uncle "Sheby". Anyway, I was dying to pick him up today (Poppa had a mtg. in LR, so he brought P. directly back to his babysitter's house.) The bad part was, Phillip had to work tonight...the good part...I got him all to myself!

When we got home, he insisted on having a "nana" as a snack. I pulled his high chair close to the dishwasher so I could unload dishes. He saw Zane's bday party invite on the fridge and started saying his name...something like "Yayne". Anyway, he wanted that invite, so I got it off the fridge and let him "read" it while he ate his snack. I promise I didn't pose him for this picture. He really saw it and insisted on having it.

I think he's thinking, "Man, this is birthday party is going to be off the chiz-ane!" (Only Sarah will get that.) And he's probably thinking, "I am totally going to steal that tractor out of his hands..and that kid better not grab my face and ask for more sugar."

Later on, he was doing this in the floor...

Yoga?

I finally figured out, he was practicing his forward roll.

So, with a little help, he was successful...and very proud of himself!

See his lips? This is "the" face. This is his embarrassed/silly/trying not to laugh face. This is only the 2nd picture we've ever captured of it.

I love this little 18 month old boy who...

...can count. Yep..he really can. He usually starts with 5 and goes to 8, but if you start with 1, he'll count every other number. Except 4...he skips 4.

....is starting to learn the concept of "home". He'll say, "Daddy home?" "Mommy home?" He is very interested in who is at home.

.....loves reading. His favorite right now is The Little Drummer Boy. There is a part where he plays his drum, so we sing "Pa rump a pum pum" like the Christmas song. So Parker calls the book "Pum Pum".

......calls roll. He'll say, "Daddy, Mommy, Coco" (His aunt Courtney made the list this morning.)

......goes to the closet and gets the vacuum out and says "bacum". At least it holds me accountable on keeping the floors clean. And he'll ask visitors to vacuum. Pretty sure his Poppa has vacuumed the past 2 times he's been here.

....loves watching Mickey Mouse Club house. He points to the tv and says, "moush!"

....is so, so sweet! But he is also getting a little ornery. If he doesn't want to do something he yells "NO!" Usually he doesn't want to put on shoes or socks.

.....repeats EVERYTHING you say. The other night he spilled my drink and Phillip yelled "Shoot!" and so did Parker. We definitely are watching what we say around him!

I love this little 18 month old boy who has completely captured our hearts.

Thankful

This year we spent Thanksgiving at Gigi and Granddad's house. We missed Marmee, Poppa, Anna, and Brenden who were celebrating in Maryland. We are so thankful for all of our family!

Please notice how Lily is maintaining a constant smile in all the pictures!

Don't judge her

Dear Parker,

One day when you're all grown up and you have a wife and an 18 mo. old son and you work all the time and your wife's in charge of your baby, don't judge your wife...When you ask her why there's chocolate around your child's mouth when she gets home with him from Wal-Mart and she tells you it's because you got into the white chocolate covered oreos at the store, don't judge her. Don't even ask her why she bought those oreos because maybe she needed them in a moment of desperation...and maybe your 18 mo. old saw her try to sneak them in the buggy and started yelling, "Cake!" And when you look closer at his mouth and you see strawberry stains, don't ask her about it. Because maybe your son saw the strawberries in the cart and started opening them up right there in the produce section. And just be glad she was crafty enough to know to lick them herself before she gave them to your son to eat...that way they were at least semi-clean. And don't ask her why she went to Wal-Mart without a list because you know she never remembers what to buy if she doesn't have a list...because AT LEAST SHE REMEMBERED YOUR RAZORS and diapers for your child.

And don't ask her why your son only has one shoe on...you should just be glad that she didn't leave the other one in the cart...and don't judge her when she tells you that she realized in the church parking lot that your baby had his shoes on the wrong feet...because at least she realized it before someone else did...and at least she remembered to put shoes on him in the first place.

And don't ask her why your 18 mo. old's hair is sticking out on the side...because maybe she was running late for early church and didn't have time to spray it down, ok?

Don't judge her, buddy. Tell her how much you love her and how lucky you are that she chose you to marry. And be sure to tell her how your child is the luckiest child in the world because he has her as his mother.Tell her everyday that she is the prettiest woman you've ever laid eyes on...and when you learn to do that..when you learn to not judge her and tell her you know she is doing the best she can even though she's not perfect, then I'll know I've been successful as a mother. Because then I'll know that you've grown up to be just like your daddy..because your daddy is the best man I know. period. And I hope and pray you'll be just like him one day.

Lately

Look at Tulip's nose...enough said.

We hung out with Zane-O and Parker was not in a friendly mood. If you asked Zane what Parker was doing, he'd scrunch up his face and make a crying sound like a baby. Poor Zane, he just didn't understand why Parker didn't appreciate him grabbing his face with both hands and planting a kiss on his lips.

Seriously, what is wrong with Parker? And why did he pee-pee on my bedroom floor?

What, Mom? Oh..you mean I'm not supposed to play with this printer? I wasn't sure which printer you were talking about...let me just push a couple more buttons and I'll be through.

You are really becoming a Daddy's boy lately.

Sentences

It's official, he's speaking in sentences. Here is a sampling of what he says:

"Wanna see it." (This was what he said after he asked where the moon was.)

"Want my daddy." to which I replied, "Well then walk in the office and get your daddy."

"Want it!"

"Wanna have it."

"Mommy home?"

To quote my sister, "You've got a live one on your hands."

Proverbs 22:6

I am not much of a blogger. This is only my second time doing this. Allyson told me since I saw it, I had to blog it. Several weeks ago, we started clasping our hands together in front of our faces when praying for Parker. Since then, he has started covering his face with his hands while we pray for him. It is really cute.

As I put Parker to bed tonight, we prayed as usual. He rolls over on his back and puts his hands over his eyes. I finished praying but he was still laying there with his hands covering his eyes. I was about to start praying some more. (I figured he didn't think my prayer was good enough for the night and wanted some more.) Just then, he starts whispering gibberish very lightly. He finished praying, pulled his hands down, looked at me, and said "AMEN!". Then he just rolled over and went to sleep.

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Hot and Cold

Lately, Parker has really discovered the difference between hot and cold. For example, a week or so ago, he was hanging on the oven door and it opened....I flipped out and ran to grab him and tried to explain that it was hot, etc. So now, he walks up to the door and says, "hot". The other day, he said, (as clear as day), "Wanna go outside." I said, "We can't go outside," and he said, "Cold." I think he's heard that quite a bit the past few weeks. He'll walk up to the window and say, "Cold."

Anyway, today I was reading "Drummer Boy" to him and there is a picture of a fireplace. Parker pointed to the fireplace and said, "Hot". I was really impressed because I didn't even realize he knew what fire was!

Halloween weekend (Marmee and Poppa saved the day!)

Well, this was a Halloween we won't forget. I came home Friday evening with a swollen throat, etc...I won't go into a lot of detail, but it was really bad. We had to call Marmee and Poppa to come up. They drove up Friday night and were in charge of Parker all weekend. I felt horrible, but it was so nice to know they were taking care of him while Phillip had to work. It was the worst weekend for me but one of the best weekends for Parker! We are so thankful to have family who comes to our rescue!

Despite the look on his face, Parker was really happy to play with his "Ahmee" all weekend.
He loves his Poppa. He'll see Doug's picture in our bathroom and call his name. Doug was taking a nap on Sunday, and Parker walked in there and said, "Up, Poppa!" Can you tell someone is used to his Poppa doing whatever he says?

Parker was supposed to be a cow for Halloween since that is the only animal sound he'll say. Even if you ask what a duck or anything else says, he'll still say, "moo". So, we thought it would be fitting for him to be a cow. He screamed when we put it on him. I'm talking, he threw a fit like you've never seen, and quite frankly, some battles aren't worth it to me. So, he ended up wearing a Razorback jumpsuit he already had. He was quite happy in that!

"Cowgirl" Karoline stopped by to take a ride on Parker's John Deere tractor. She looked adorable!

Pretty sure Karoline was the only one smiling here....Dayle stuck the paci in Brock so he wouldn't cry, and Parker didn't care...he whined throughout it all. Please notice the look on Brock's face...I'm pretty sure it says, "HELP ME!"

Looks like K is telling P to settle down....Parker doesn't care, though. He's done. This is right before Parker started pulling on K's hat and pushing Brock.

A true Arkansas Razorback...he's got the camo boots to go with it!

"Trick or Treating" with Poppa. He actually sat on the porch with Poppa and Daddy and helped pass out candy.

Before his Halloween party on Thursday....Mom made his shirt, but this was the best picture I could get of him in it. It's really difficult to get him to stand still long enough to take a picture!