What a Cutie!

Parker and I were playing in his room the other day. It's been super rainy lately and we've been playing indoors a lot! We've been working on Parker putting his own shoes on. This is the first time he did it by himself. What a big boy! It's hard to believe that a year ago he took his first steps. What a difference a year makes! While his birthday isn't till the 25th, we'll be celebrating this weekend. Hopefully we'll get some cute pictures of Parker and his friends on the "Big Blue Choo Choo" train.

What a cute little Andy! This is my new favorite picture!!

Parker putting his shoes on all by himself!

People tell me that Parker is a "Mini-Megan." I've never believed it...until I saw this picture. Pretend that you told me something shocking and funny. Now tell me this isn't the face you'd see! This totally supports my "Parker looks like Andy, but makes my facial expressions" theory. Stay tuned for birthday party pics!!

A Day At The ZOO

On Saturday, Daddy and I took Parker to the Zoo. It was a beautiful Saturday, everyone was up and ready to go early, and we thought it was a great way to spend the day. We had so much fun! It was probably the first of many trips to visit the animals!

Parker and Daddy checking out the lions.

"Two Elephants, Daddy!!"

Parker loved feeding the birds! He thought it was the coolest thing ever. We spent about 30 minutes in this area. He was surprisingly quiet and gentle with the birds, despite his excitement.

"Yum-yum for Birdie."

He had to stand on his tip-toes to reach. So Cute!

His current favorite book is about bears. He thought this open log was a bear cave. He was so excited to hibernate and look for honey!


After the "bear cave" it was on to wrestle alligators.

Then we rode a merry-go-round.

"Hi Daddy!!"

We finished up our trip with a ride on the train. It was a yellow train, so there was some debate on whether it was a "choo-choo car" or a school bus. By the end of the ride it was a train. Parker wanted to sit with Daddy. Can't you tell they're best friends? So cute!

Welcome Baby Luke!!

What a weekend! Uncle AJ and Aunt KK had a sweet little boy on Saturday. Luke David was born at 11:07 am, at 8 lb 8 oz and 20 inches long. KK had scheduled her induction for the 22nd of this month, but Luke was ready to join the party early. He and his father share a birthday! He's super cute and we can't wait to cuddle him again soon! I apologize for not having any pictures of his parents holding him. I'll be sure to get some next time I see them.

Here he is! Is he not the cutest?

And already wondering about his crazy Aunt Mimi and her camera!

Parker was very excited about his new cousin. It'll be good to have a boy in the family to play with. I hope they grow to be best buddies! Here's Parker trying to peek in the nursery!

Big Sister Skylar!

Big sister Haley!

Big Sister Ally!

First Day of School!

Last Tuesday was Parker's first day of school. He did great! He walked right in (wearing his backpack) handed his lunch to his teacher and was off to play. No tearful drawn out goodbyes for either of us. I did feel a little sad walking to the car alone, but quickly recovered at the mall...I had birthday shopping for Daddy to accomplish!

The good news: He LOVES school! His teachers have great things to say (so far) and he's adjusting well. Almost every morning he asks to go to school. I can already see a difference in him. He cleans up better at home and seems smarter already! Today he was making up his own verses for "Wheels on the bus," now Parker on the bus says Hi and Kitty on the bus says Meow.

I feel like if I blink he'll be ready for kindergarten. I love the little boy he's becoming! There are moments when I miss my little baby. And we still have the occasional meltdown that reminds me he's only 22 months. All in all, He's so much fun these days! I wouldn't change a thing!

What have we been up to??

What have we been up to lately? Well, nothing overly exciting. A few play dates here and there, a few trips to Target, sprinkle in some soccertots, swimming, lunch with Emma, and that's about it. Lately at night and on the weekends, I've been trying to get my house organized and clean (a never ending battle!) so I haven't posted in awhile. Sorry!! Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

Sweet Owen trying to push his buddy Parker in the swing.

Noble, what a cutie! Look at his curls!

Miss Emma, already into accessories!

Parker and Baby Madison having a staring contest.

While at Chase and Jennifer's, I picked up my camera to turn it on. Parker immediately yells "Cheese!" and busts out this big smile. Lisa and Jennifer are now wondering how many pictures I actually take and feeling sorry for Parker!

Parker's first taste of a chocolate milkshake. He gulped about half before Daddy took it away. You'll notice his death grip on the straw :)

Well it was bound to happen eventually. Seeing that Sarah and I like a lot of the same clothes for our boys. Parker's usually a little preppier and Owen's more rocker-cool, but on sporting attire we seem to agree. We showed up to soccer last week in the same outfit. I feel like in this picture they're trying to figure out who looks better in their tank top. Both are equally cute, of course!!
Soccertots can really wear a kid out!

Good thing it's time for stamps!

Parker and Emma practicing for lunch at school next week!

Nana's birthday was last weekend. We worked on telling her Happy Birthday, Nana. He's been saying "Happy Nana" all week. Maybe next year we'll get the birthday in there, too.

Parker relaxed on Sunday by watching a movie with his buddy Elmo.

My cute nieces after a dip in the pool!

Next week Parker starts school! I'm both excited and worried about it. I've been away from him plenty, but he's always been with family or good friends. I'm not sure how he'll react to a classroom setting. Luckily he's with his cousin, Skylar, and good friends, Owen and Emma. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!

I've picked up a couple of books about school trying to prepare him. His favorite parts involved the school buses. On yesterday's Target trip, Parker spotted this bus across the store. He started saying "School bus, please mama!" really loudly and I gave in. At least he was polite. He has played with it non-stop since I took it out of the box. I've been able to cook dinner, fold laundry, take a shower and post all this. It might be the best toy I've ever purchased!!

Waiting on a Woman...

I'm training Parker to be a good boyfriend or husband one day. I'm teaching him paitience! Or I guess I could be training him to work retail. Oh, well!

One of his new favorite things to do these days is wait for and greet our guests. This particular day he was waiting on Mimi.

First he opens the shutters so he can sit in the window by the door...

Then he tries to open the door for our company.

Then he celebrates their arrival with a little dance.

He's so fun these days! I think we'll keep him!

Learning to Dive

One evening we were swimming at Nana's with the fam. The girls were working on their diving skills and Parker was amazed. After observing for a while, he told Daddy "Parker dive." Daddy put him on the side of the pool and he put his hands over his head...

And jumped in!

Parker's been pretty cautious around the pool this summer. It was surprising to see him jump in the water 50 times. Maybe he's getting some confidence from his cousins! Here's cute Skye jumping in. Can you tell how much she loves the water?

Parker and Daddy having fun in the pool!

And what's better than a cuddle with Nana after all that hard work in the pool?? Such fun!