31-ish days of Parker: Imagination

Sometimes I have to remember that when I don't have much to say, my pictures can speak for themselves.

Parker's imagination knows no bounds. From playing airplane to trains or crawling around the house being a kitty. He can make a plain ole' boring hat something amazing! A blank piece of paper becomes a ticket to ride the Polar Express or a ticket to visit a chocolate factory. A red rug into a lava pit and the only "safe" areas are the couches. I just love it!

31-ish days of Parker: First year favorites!

I just couldn't resist going back to Parker's first year and posting some of my favorite pictures! It was so much fun to see how much he changed.


 Parker 1st month:
 

Parker's 2 month:

 Parker had a HUGE growth spurt his first month!

Parker's 3rd month:

Parker's 4th month:

Parker's 5th month:

Parker's 6th month:

Parker's 7th month:

Parker's 8th month:

Parker's 9th month:

Parker's 10th month:

Parker's 11th month:

1 year old!!

31-ish days of Parker: Silly things he says!

Yes, yes...I know, I have missed a couple days of posting for this, but I'm hoping to get back on track.

I know I have shared this before, but Parker is a pretty silly little guy. Since he started to talk, he began to say some of the funniest and cutest things. As his speech becomes more and more pronounced his sayings get sillier and cuter.

Just today Parker was playing with his cars and shouting, "Choo-Choo!" Over and over and over. Finally, daddy tells him to use his inside voice. Parker responds, "but I'm singing the choo-choo song!"

Recently, Daddy started playing the "Guess what" game with Parker. Basically, Daddy asks Parker, "Guess what?" In which Parker responds, "What?" Daddy says, " I love you." For the first time the other day Parker reversed the role and asked daddy, "Guess what?" It was so cute to hear him be so sweet.

As you can imagine dirty diapers and potty's aren't that uncommon in our household, but having a willing person change said diaper or clean out the potty is another story. All of a sudden it seems like everyone is REALLY busy once Parker or Eliana poop. So we adopted the, "Not it" game. I bet you know how this one is played. A couple weeks ago, after Parker went poop on the potty, he walked out of the bathroom and yelled, "not it!"

31-ish Days of Parker: A first glimpse

I found out January 17th 2010, that our family would become a family of four. I think I took over 20 tests because I was so excited! I can still remember the morning I took the pregnancy test. I couldn't believe I was holding a positive test and I remember jumping onto the bed to wake up Nolan and show him. Crazy that it has now been over 3 years since that morning, it feels like it was just yesterday. 

A women's body is truly amazing. Something so tiny, at one time he was just a little blip, and he has changed our  lives forever. 

This is one of my favorite belly photos from my pregnancy with Parker. Believe or not, I love being pregnant! My body, however, doesn't feel the same way.

My favorite ultrasound of my little prince. I remember when the tech talked about the cord being wrapped around his neck and how it was completely normal. I would rather not have heard something like that. I love how clear you could see his face though.

31-ish days of Parker: Singular moments

Parker turns 3 in exactly 31 days! For the month of August I wanted to try to write a small post about him everyday. Talk about how he's changed so much and how amazing of a child he is. Now, on to the first post.

I was riding on the bus heading to a doctor appointment and I noticed a father getting on the bus with his four boys. The youngest looked about 2 and the oldest maybe 7 or 8. Each of them clean and nicely dressed(other than the press-on tattoos all over their arms.) They sat down quietly, talked and giggled amongst each other. A couple of stops before my stop, they all politely got off the bus, each thanking the bus driver on their way out. I was seriously mesmerized and I couldn't help, but be insanely jealous that this gentlemen had four of the best behaved boys I have ever met! I had a flashback of all the times Parker misbehaved while we were out and I was at a loss as to what I was doing wrong as a mom and what I could do to get my child to behave the same way!

I got off at my stop and I had a little time before my appointment. The doctor's office is located in the same building where my husband works so he met me and we talked to pass the time. I told him about the father and the well behaved boys that I saw on the bus, and I brought up my frustrations about how we could get Parker to behave like that. My husband reminded me that Parker is a very well mannered boy and reminded me of all the times we've received compliments about his good behavior. He said, "You only witnessed a small glimpse, a single moment, of those boys. Sure they were being good at that time, but most likely they aren't that way all the time."

My husband was right! It made me feel so much better to think about it that way. Parker IS a wonderful child. He's polite and has great manners. He is silly, smart, imaginative and he is very loving. The moments he is being defiant and challenging are few and far in between. It's just something I will have to actively remind myself every time I'm in a situation like this. And when Parker wants to go in public wearing giant red car shoes, no shirt and dirty pants...I should be okay with it because he will only be this age for a small time.

I love you my little Prince....