21 Months Old

This past month my little boy has become an imitating sponge!  We have noticed a BIG change in Parker developmentally these past few weeks.  It's quite amazing actually!  Here are some of the awesome things he's begun doing:

• He makes animal sounds for:  horse, cow, sheep, goat, cat, dog, pig, and duck.
• If you ask him what a train says he'll say, "Choo-Choo!"
• He began nodding his head yes.
• He imitates things that we do.  Sometimes we do silly stuff on purpose because we know he'll do it too!
• He now tries to repeat words back to us. 
• New words that I can think of are:  down (I don't really like that word though because he always says it when he wants out of his high chair or out of our grasp!), ready, fork (ork), spoon (ewn), elbow (belbow), that, plane (lane), bed (be), cow, horse (hor), turtle, room (roo), play (pay)
• He is trying to learn how to jump.  He's quite good at it on our bed!
• He began using his step stool at the bathroom sink.  He loves placing it in front of the vanity and then back in it's spot where it belongs when he's finished.
• He can put together a wooden puzzle with not much help.  Sometimes I'll have to say, "turn it around" and he does what I tell him.

It astounds me how much he really knows.  Sometimes I will ask him a question and he'll answer me or point at what I'm talking about.  I'm always shocked that he knows what I'm telling him.  Those of you who are seasoned mothers are probably laughing at me right about now!

This past month we also celebrated Christmas.  I wanted to post a blog about it, but time got away from me.  He totally grasped the concept of unwrapping a present and he had a blast with it.  One of his favorite gifts was a singing dancing snowman.  He loved pressing the button to make it dance and he would run around the room and dance along with it.  He also received a Little People Runway that he loves playing with.

Speaking of playing, he has very recently grasped the concept of being able to play in his room with his toys.  His Grams was here the past few days and I would constantly hear him tell her, "roo.  pay."  He desperately wanted her in his room playing with him!

He loves having simple tasks to perform.  I can say to him, "go put this in your room/mommy's room."  And he will!  He loves to help me load the washer as well and he likes it when I make my bed (mainly because he climbs up on it and falls onto the pillows).

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating, my little guy loves to DANCE!!!  He can shake his hips like you wouldn't believe!  I have it on video and hopefully I can upload a video on here soon.  It's a hoot!

Parker has always had the most amazing eyes.  When he was born they were a dark navy blue.  Eventually they turned to a shade of gray.  Now I'm fairly certain that they are actually GREEN!  They are really different than any eye color I've ever seen before.  They are beautiful!

He got his 4th hair cut.  And the hair dresser totally botched it.  It was so dark in the house (yup, you read that right) that I took him too that I didn't notice how crappy of a job it was until I was in some better light.  I know not to let her near his hair again.  At least in pictures it doesn't look bad!
I think I may have touched on this issue on my last post about Parker, but he has become quite the expert at throwing tantrums.  If he doesn't get his way he will let you know fast.  He bursts into tears and will hold his hands up and if I don't pick him up he doubles over at the waist and is down on the ground on all fours.  In a crazy way they're kind of cute.

To make up for all those tantrums, he does some pretty cute things.  For instance, he'll pick up a book and as he's flipping through the pages he says, "read, read, read, read".  I guess he's really "reading" his book!

I am 21 months old.  I weigh 25 pounds and am 31 1/2" tall!

Full of mischief!

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There's not much time left, but click here to enter an awesome blog giveaway!!!!  And, check my blog later for a post about Parker!

And the list keeps getting longer...

I was in such a hurry to post my 2012 goals that I forgot these few that have been weighing heavily on my mind.  To check out my other goals click here.

1. Write a will. I think Greg and I have learned the hard way that a will is a very important document for a parent to have. I think this would just be a responsible thing for us to do.
2. Open a Savings Account for Parker. Sometimes Parker receives money from various family members and I like to put it aside for him to use when he's older. It only makes sense to protect this money in a savings account.
3. Go to a concert. Greg and I love going to concerts but we haven't been to one in years. I'm hoping we can go to a concert that we will both mutually enjoy, and not my husbands beloved Jason Boland *gag*.
4. Begin working on my Brokers license. I really think that this is a goal that most Realtors hope to achieve. I would like to start doing my classes this year.
5. Become active in the community. I don't really know how I'm going to do this yet, but I keep having an urge to give back in some way. Plus, it will be a good way to meet people!
6. Learn CPR. Way back when we owned a home that came with a swimming pool I thought it would be in my best interest to learn how to do CPR. But, I procrastinated and never learned. I also have this weird theory that all parents should know how to do CPR. Am I one of those parents myself? No. Which means I'm a pretty big hypocrite. I don't necessarily care about being "certified", just as long as I would know how to do it in case of an emergency.

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2012 Goals

Here it is:  another year, another batch of goals!

1. Give my blog a makeover.  Since my hubby is no longer a "wind farmer" it's time to re-name this blog!  I'd love to have a tab to click on to buy my jewelry, too!  Hopefully I can figure this out.
2. Drink more water.  I should have learned my lesson when I got too dehydrated this summer, but nope.  Anyone who has ever spent a day with me probably knows I am horrible about drinking eight glasses of anything in a day.  I don't even finish a full beverage with a meal.  So, I'm hoping that by the end of the year I'll be able to guzzle down 8 glasses of water a day.  This is truly a challenge.
3. Read 10 books.  Ten books that I already own, to be more specific.  I counted the other day, and there are 37 books on my book shelf that I have never cracked open.  That's a little ridiculous. 
4. Get caught up on Parker's baby book.  When I packed all of our stuff up from our Colorado house I thought, "I'll be unpacking in a month and I  can catch up on his baby book then."  Well, we all know how that turned out.  Six months later I finally unpacked the box with his baby book; and still haven't got caught up on it.  This needs to be addressed, pronto!
5. Have a tan.  I mean a real, honest-to-goodness, I've-been-at-the-beach-all-day, kind of tan!  Not the, I-just-got-sprayed/laid-in-a-bed/rubbed-orange-lotion-all-over-me kind of tan.  Granted, this will probably take all summer to achieve because I'm a big believer in sun-screen (yes, you can still get a tan wearing sun screen; it just takes longer).
6. Take Parker on a fun outing every other month.  Not only do I feel like my little guy misses out on social interaction with other toddlers, I also feel bad that we live in such a remote area and he doesn't get to experience very many things.  I figure a special trip every other month can make up for it, even if it just means driving an hour to play with a friend.
7. To only eat out 75 times the entire year.  Yup.  Re-read it and let that soak in.  Considering our family eats approximately 1,095 meals a year, I have a feeling this is going to be pretty hard.  But, I'm going to attempt it nevertheless.  I've already added a little running tally to the top right of my blog so you can keep track of how often we eat out, along with *gulp* how much money we spend doing so.
8. Refurbish Parker's rocking chair.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  I have everything I need to do it, I just need to make myself actually get the job done.
9. Personalize my home-office space.  Our new home doesn't have a room I can designate for a home office, so when we remodeled our kitchen we added a built-in desk.  I have a vision in my mind as to how I want it to look.  And, since it's in the heart of our home, I also want it to match the "beach" theme I want our house to have.  Lets see if I can make it work!
10. Learn how to make fork jewelry.  I know this was on last year's list, but I never really had the time to give this hobby a go.  I can't tell ya'll how desperately I want a fork ring just like this.
11. Learn how to crack an egg with one hand.  Because that would make me feel like a complete culinary bad a$$.
12. Exercise at least four times a week.  Granted, I'm not going to be hitting up the gym, but I do have this awesome inspiration I found via pinterest.     
    
    Source: iowagirleats.com via Felicia on Pinterest
       I am also dying to have a hula hoop!  I plan on re-visiting my fifth grade hula hooping club days!  Oh, yeah!
13. Contribute to our family financially.  This means make my family some money, and not cost us some money like I did last year.  Hopefully real estate in this sleepy lake town will start hopping real soon, if not, I'm gonna have to figure something else out.  Any ideas?
14. Find a church to attend regularly.  Preferably one that my husband won't gripe about would attend with me.
15. Take a wild guess.  If you've been reading this blog for the past few years, you probably have a small idea as to what this is.  I just know this is the year I'll accomplish this goal!
16. Write a will.  I think Greg and I have learned the hard way that a will is a very important document for a parent to have.  I think this would just be a responsible thing for us to do.
17. Open a Savings Account for Parker.  Sometimes Parker receives money from various family members and I like to put it aside for him to use when he's older.  It only makes sense to protect this money in a savings account.
18. Go to a concert.  Greg and I love going to concerts but we haven't been to one in years.  I'm hoping we can go to a concert that we will both mutually enjoy, and not my husbands beloved Jason Boland *gag*.
19. Begin working on my Brokers license.  I really think that this is a goal that most Realtors hope to achieve.  I would like to start doing my classes this year.
20. Become active in the community.  I don't really know how I'm going to do this yet, but I keep having an urge to give back in some way.  Plus, it will be a good way to meet people!
21. Learn CPR.  Way back when we owned a home that came with a swimming pool I thought it would be in my best interest to learn how to do CPR.  But, I procrastinated and never learned.  I also have this weird theory that all parents should know how to do CPR.  Am I one of those parents myself?  No.  Which means I'm a pretty big hypocrite.  I don't necessarily care about being "certified", just as long as I would know how to do it in case of an emergency.

Oh How Pinteresting

I'm linking up for the "Oh How Pinteresting" blog party today!


I love how popular these "keep calm" signs are becoming.  I saw this one and fell in love!  I can't wait to have one in my house!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rebekah on Pinterest

We hosted a large New Years Eve party and I did this trick below!  I just took the pan out of the freezer 30 minutes prior to adding the cubes to my beverage server.  I used a butter knife to pop them out.

Source: industriousjustice.blogspot.com via Felicia on Pinterest

I bought the frames the other day to do this!  I can't wait!

Source: realdanagentry.blogspot.com via Hillary on Pinterest

The only reason I'm posting this is because I made it on Christmas morning.

Source: jimmydean.com via Felicia on Pinterest

Unfortunatley it was disgusting! 

That's OK, Pinterest...I still love you!