The Childrens Place Model Search

I've entered this adorable photo of Parker (taken by his Papa) into The Childrens Place Model Search.  Please click here to vote for him!  For some reason I didn't enter his name when I was submitting his photo, so to find his picture enter his ID, which is 8930.  Voting ends Oct. 31 and the grand prize is a photo shoot for The Childrens Place along with a $500 gift card to The Childrens Place.  Thanks for your help and votes!!!

23 Months Old

Parker turned 23 months old on the 13th (yup, I'm behind on blogging.  Shocker.)  Things have been such a whirlwind lately that I don't remember much....let's see:

My father-in-law took this picture and I'm so grateful!  My camera is always too slow to capture the "real" Parker!  He's all smiles!

1.  Parker started day care.  I blogged about it here.  He does great, although he had a solid week where everytime I tried to drop him off he clung to me and cried.  This happened a day after a little boy bit him twice in one day (although I was told that my little champ didn't cry and gave the boy a hug afterwards!  What a sweetheart my little boy is!)  However, the best part about day care is picking him up.  He always runs to me with the biggest grin and a warm hug.  It completely melts my heart since he is such a daddy's boy.  I'm glad he misses me!

2.  He began saying, "I love you".  It sounds like "ah boo", and I love it!  Granted, Greg or I have to say it first, so the day that he says it first will probably bring me to tears!

3.  His vocabulary is expanding!  He will readily try to repeat words that you ask him to repeat.  He is also pretty great at repeating back the alphabet!

Too cute for words!

I am 23 months old today!  I weigh 26 pounds!

This is the expression he made when I said, "Smile for the camera!"

22 Months Old!

Parker turned 22 months old on Monday!  I've been so busy with work life, that I feel like I've really been slacking in the mommy department.  So, I'll basically post all the pictures I took of him since there aren't that many (bad mommy!)

After finding a stash of swim diapers under his crib, he repeatedly pulls them out and puts them on his head and proudly exclaims, "hat!"

Hard. Core. Playing.

Blueberry Bruises!

A tractor ride from one of our neighbors.  Parker loves him!

It's still too big for him....hopefully it fits next winter!

Dashing out the door with daddy; his favorite thing to do.

Another make-shift hat!

Discovering curly fries....and actually liking them!  (The child does NOT like potatoes.)

Taking his new booster seat for a test drive.

Sheer delight in terrifying our dog, Shady, whom Parker refers to as, "Bella!"



Daddy's Boots!

The main thing that sticks out in my mind about this past month was Parker's new found obsession:  The Carebears.  Oh my word.....his grams bought him a Carebears movie for Christmas and ever since I've put that in, he thinks he has to watch it multiple times per day.  The sad thing is, he will actually watch the whole thing (it's 82 minutes long!)  I'm afraid I may be turning my son into a TV addict.  *sigh*  If he asks for it and I say, "no", which I do A LOT, he has a complete melt down. 

On a more positive note, he is continuing to say new words, and has even begun saying two words together!  Mainly when he is telling someone bye-bye.  As in, "bye-bye daddy" or "bye-bye Bella".  Other words that I can think of that he has learned are:  bear (beh), soup (sou), and.....I know there are probably a ton more but my mind is drawing a blank.  One thing that I've noticed for  awhile now that I've never wrote about is that he pronounces all of his "c's" as a "d".  So, a cat is a dat, and a car is a dar. 

I'm still teaching him animals and what sounds they make.  He now knows that a frog says "ribbit".  I have a book for him that is an alphabet book with animals.  If we flip through the book and ask him to point to a specific animal, he knows the whole book!  Proud parent moment the day we realized that!

He has really got into talking on the phone.  Now if he actually talks to a real person on the phone he will say hello (lo) and bye-bye.  He will often use an every day object and pretend it's  a phone.  It's so cute!

He's learning how to jump!

We love him dearly and he is such a joy to be around!

I am 22 months old!  I weigh 26.6 pounds!

He's very independent and has recently decided he doesn't like "help" when he takes drinks.  I'm always nervous he's going to dump it in his lap!

What's wrong with this picture?

Yesterday before I put Parker down for his nap I took his pants off because they got water spilled on them during his lunch. While he was napping I ran to the store. Parker woke up while I was gone, and when I got home I found him outside "helping" his daddy. So, obviously Greg was the one who had to put Parkers pants back on. Can you see what's wrong with this picture?



Hopefully this makes you laugh as hard as I did!

Family Pictures

Last month I got to do something with my husband that we've never done before. We took family pictures!!! For those of you who are on our Christmas card list (probably the only people who actually read this blog!) I know that you have been receiving photo cards from us for the last few years. I can assure you that none of those photos have been taken by a professional photographer. This really was a first! I had been planning our outfits for months! (Yes, I am such a girl). You see, when I knew we were going to be remodeling our (beach) house I wanted to have accents of aqua, turquoise, green, and orange. I also knew that whenever we took our family pictures, they had to be taken on the beach, and those colors had to be incorporated! I am determined to have a "traditional" family photo hanging on the wall behind our couch, so the colors in our clothing had to match our decor. Making sense now?

I know I've mentioned my friend Misty on this blog before, but she recently began doing photography (and I'm jealous...it's always been a hobby I would love to get into as well). Lucky for me I got the best friend discount, but I assure anyone reading this who may live in South East Oklahoma, she is a great photographer and her rates are very reasonable! Be sure to check her out and like her on facebook here. (And tell her I sent you!)

These pictures were taken at Lake Texoma, just a short walk away from my house (jealous?) Sadly the lake is closed right now due to blue green algae in the lake from lack of rain. The upside is that meant we had a deserted beach! Thank you, blue green algae!

With that being said, here are a few (OK, more than a few) of my favorite pictures:

15 Months Old!

I'm not gonna say it, I'm not gonna say it, I'm not gonna say it. Oh, who are we kidding? I can't believe how much Parker is growing! There! I said it! Parker's 14th month was jam-packed with lots of fun and exciting things. First and foremost, he had his SECOND hair cut! He did so much better with the whole experience this time, which made it easier!

Here is my little man before:



And here he is after, complete with his very first SUCKER!!



He also got to spend a lot of quality time with his Aunt Sheila and his cousins James and Magdalene who were visiting from China.



He is becoming a little monkey! He frequently climbs into this all by himself!




He spent a long weekend at his Grams house in Oklahoma and while we were there we went to one of my favorite places: Wintersmith Park in Ada, OK. It was there that he got to take his first train ride!


He got to meet two of his great aunts: Great Aunt Dottie and Great Aunt Alice. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of him with his Great Aunt Alice (How did that happen?) but here he is with his Great Aunt Dottie:


This is just one of my favorite pics I snapped of him at his Grams house. Who could resist that sweet smile and kissable cheeks?


Remember how I mentioned he is turning into a monkey? Here is more proof!



Of course we still like to take trips to the beach when we stay at our lake house. It's amazing how much even that event is changing. At first I could sit him down on the edge of the water and he was content to let the waves roll up his legs. The past two times we've been he has been more of an explorer. He will happily walk around in the water or the sand and I have to keep an eagle eye on him. The water doesn't seem to phase him at all.




I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but he loves anything with a steering wheel! Typical toddler! We have been taking more of the "big" toys we have had in storage down to the lake house when we go and it's so cute how quickly he learns how to master the toys. This is his new favorite toy and he loves to be pulled around on it.



I'm still working on sign language with him, but he hasn't mastered any new words. My sister had him signing "please" for a day but I haven't had any luck with it myself. He loves when we help him drink out of a real cup and he also likes it when we give him a sip from our water bottle.

As far as food goes I gave up the "baby food" a few months ago but forgot to write about that! He loves fruit, goldfish, and BEANS! LOL! Pinto beans, red beans, black eyed peas, you name it he loves it!

He has become quite inventive this past month as well. He has learned that if he uses the handle of a broom, or his toy hoe, that he can knock whatever he wants off of a table onto the floor. He also likes to use the handles to pull down paperwork I have magneted to the fridge. Needless to say, his toy hoe is now only used outside and I try to hide the broom as best as I can.

As of this past week he is starting to play in the bathtub more. Before he would just stand there and bang on the wall or play with the spout. Now he is actually splashing the water and showing a little bit of interest to his water toys.

Speaking of toys, his favorite toy is....a STRAW! A straw can entertain him for quite awhile!

He knows what his belly button is! And he has a word for it! He calls it his "ba ba" and he'll pat his belly or raise his shirt. Now I'm trying to teach him "nose"!

I know that Parker has recently had a growth spurt because I noticed that his footed pajamas are now a little too fitted and stretched out. However, he is still in 12 mo. clothes. If I put 18 mo. clothes on him, the bottoms fall off and the shirts almost come to his knees! We also bought him his second pair of shoes yesterday because he has outgrown the first pair.

With that being said, I have no idea how much he weighs (I don't have a pair of scales at the cabin) or how tall he is, so check back next week and hopefully I will be able to get those measurements this weekend. Until then, enjoy the pictures I took today at a vintage ferris wheel on someones property here in Jacksboro.

I am 15 months old today!!!