Thursday, February 24, 2011

He walks, knocks over blocks, and likes to play with socks!

Long title. I know.

It's all true, though! And so witty--right?

First of all, it's Parker's First Birthday Eve. Tomorrow he will be one. O.M.G. Not only OMG because my first child is turning one year old and it's all sweet and emotional, but also OMG because I have so.much.to.do. Things like cleaning and cooking and shopping and taking the dog to the groomers and taking the child to the doctor and eyebrow waxing appointments....

**deep breath......**

Back to the blog.

Every morning I bring Parker downstairs and put him in his Joovy while I get his food and diaper bag ready in the kitchen. When I came into the room to pick him up and put his coat on, this is what I found:
I'm pretty sure this is not the way the "learn & groove" table was meant to be used.
Busted!

Tonight, while I washed dishes, Ryan and Parker played in the den for a little bit. When I finally got to join them, they were playing with Parker's wooden blocks. Parker would NOT let us stack up the blocks. He enjoyed knocking them over! This is how it went:
"Hey, Dad....watcha doin?"
"Here, let me help you with that!"
"Oops! Did I do that?" (don't mind Ryan's "crazy face")
"Dad, you're really making a mess with these blocks--you should do something about that. Bye!"
I love the blocks, but let me just say--they could be used as weapons! When he throws them around, we have to duck our heads out of the way because we don't want to lose an eye.

I was finally able to snap just a couple of pictures of the boy walking! Parker has been doing much more "toddling" lately. He'll walk back and forth from the loveseat to the sofa. It's so hard to classify his mode of transportation right now because yes, he's walking, but he's not walking everywhere. Walking is not his primary way of getting around right now, but he's definitely able to walk further and further each day.
Within the last couple of weeks, he's been picking up his socks (any that he can find) and carrying them around while he's playing. It's almost like he's carrying them like they're a security blanket or something. It's kind of funny because if you try to take them away, he gets super upset!
Yep, he's all grown up now....*tear**sniff, sniff*. Just kidding--I'm fine. I am not as emotional as I thought I would be. It's exciting!

Okay now I have to go make lists for things that have to get done in the next couple of days. I need to be able to check everything off as I go to make sure I'm getting things done. We've got ourselves a birthday to celebrate!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Parker's First Valentines Day

We don't go super crazy for Valentine's Day. It's not one of our "major" holidays, but we still get each other cards and a little something to prove that we love each other. Ryan proved it with flowers and two Glee CD's (exciting!) and I proved it with a fancy water bottle. We proved out love for Parker with a card.

But not just any old card. My thought was that he would definitely not be able to read it (obvi), so even a cute card with words would not do anything for him. I decided to get one of the singing cards. I looked through all of the Valentine ones and wasn't impressed, so I moved over to the regular song-cards. I found a card I just knew he'd love...
"You're simply the best....better than all the rest....."

He absolutely LOVES this card. The first couple of times he played with it, he threw his hands up in the air and waved his hands from side-t0-side. We give it to him and he opens/closes it about 50 times. Usually he dances to he music, too.

If only all gifts were this simple.

Hello?

For about two weeks now, Parker's been "answering the phone." He'll pick up my phone, play phones, or really anything that's close to phone size and answer it with, "heddo?" It's funny because he actually says it with more of an exclamation than a question. Maybe we are on the phone too much? He also greets us with a "heddo" at random other times throughout the day, too.
You can't quite see it but he's got my phone in his hand.
I guess we text a lot, too? Not sure if he's texting his BFF, Wyatt, or his girlfriend, Kaley. I'll have to search through his phone records to see.
"You've got mail!"--a knuckle sandwich! Notice the phone still in the other hand.
He's probably checking Facebook in this one. Seeing what his buddies are doing--who's walking, who's crawling, what they're eating, what they're wearing and how many times they've gone to the bathroom that day.

Unfortunately, that would be something I'd be into. I am so cool.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Parker's First Haircut

On February 12, Parker had his first haircut. Here are the details:

1. His hair was a getting a little scraggly looking in the neck and ear areas. Just a little.
2. Ryan's dad was the barber. He has cut Ryan's hair for his entire life--literally, no one else has ever cut Ryan's hair. Naturally, good ol' granddad was the man for the job!
The blue toothpick is a very important part of the grooming process.
3. Parker was only slightly skeptical.
4. It took all three of them (Ryan and his parents) to hold his head still. I didn't want any major hair-related mistakes right before his first birthday!

5. The end result looked super good and cute.
Not too much of a difference, but it definitely looks better.

Apparently cutting hair is supposed to make it grow back thicker? We'll see if that's true!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

I will blog again....

....soon.

Every night I've been working, or tired, or not feeling well due to a possible breast infection.

TMI? Too bad.

Parker has also been fighting a little bit of a head cold that's kept us slightly distracted in the evening with coughing and sneezing and boogers and such.

Things have been happening in the land of Jefferson, such as first haircuts, more walking, and other things I can't think of right now because the pictures are not on my computer.

So tired.

I am definitely looking forward to writing about all of the past week's happenings.

Tomorrow night. Or Friday. Soon!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Top-sy Turvy

Parker's "Honey" (Ryan's mom) gave him an old-timey top for Christmas. She told me that it was the first Christmas present she bought last year! When you push down on the top, the bottom spins and even makes a little bit of a noise when you get it going fast enough. Ryan and I have played with it since Christmas, and tonight I saw Parker actually push down on the handle several times to get the top spinning.
So smart, so sweet.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Too Sleepy to be Blogging


Sooooo sleepy--but I must blog!

This weekend was pretty busy. Friday was my day off, and I didn't get too much done. I spent the morning with my lovely friend Jamane and her sweet baby Jamisyn. I brought my camera to get a couple of good pictures....but left the memory card at home. Not cool. We then had lunch with my practically-but-not-technically-sister-in-law, Lacy. We all had a lovely time socializing and holding babies. We ate at Z-pizza who has awesome Napoli pizza and SUPER awesome Arugula salad. I could have taken a picture of it--if I had a working camera at the time.

Fridays are usually my day to have Auntie Nay come over and spend time with Paco and help me grocery shop. Since I was visiting the other ladies in the AM, Renee just came over in the afternoon for a short while to visit with Parker while I cleaned up a bit. I love love love how much she loves Parker and he loves her. She's almost like my fun nanny on Fridays and it's awesome. THANK YOU AUNTIE NAY! :)

Not a happy boy--but Nay helped him get happy again by moving his walker to go the other direction.
Yayyyyyyy! Auntie Nay saves the day! Parker can RUN with his walker again!

I made a strange-tasting dinner on Friday night (egg rolls from Trader Joes--will not buy them again). Afterwards, while I was slaving over the sink, I gave Parker a pan and some cooking utensils to play with. Ryan documented:
"Thanks, Mom"
OH, and a salad spinner, too. Because they are fun.

Most of Saturday was spent doing normal Saturday stuff. Cleaning, house-projects, grocery shopping (since it didn't get done Friday), and going out to dinner. I also made cookies....
..and felt the need to take a picture of the dough right before I mixed in the choco-chips, mini-Reese cups, and chopped pecans. There are also 2.5 cups of oats underneath all this yumminess as well as the actual cookie dough. It's something that everyone needs to see.

Today we had breakfast at Omi's. I didn't bring my camera and wish I had because it was SO much food. She is having surgery on Thursday, so we won't be having dinner at her house for a while. Since tonight is the Super Bowl, we talked her into making breakfast instead of dinner! We had crepes and breakfast casserole. It was soo super yummy.

After breakfast, we attended church and then ate lunch at Pops Diner with the J's. The meal itself was so-so but the company was great! Other household related things were done this afternoon, and then we headed to a family friends' house for a Super Bowl party.
Parker insisted on bringing his new football...
...and wearing his TOUCHDOWN shirt! (and notice that I'm wearing my Steelers colors ((the earrings are yellow))

Hopefully this blog was written in actual chronological order with sentences. I'm too sleepy to tell. Exhausted I tell you.

Okay I'm off to root, root, root for the home team......GO Steelers!

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Yum

I worked all day today--nothing new there! The excitement for the day came when I decided to make myself a salad for lunch. The results were nothing short of amazingly fantastic. Proof:
See? I told you.

Spring mix, pre-cooked perdue chicken, tomato, some fresh-ish cilantro, light balsamic vinaigrette, and just a sprinkling of fresh-grated monterey jack. So good.

That's enough about my salad for now!

This evening we had a financial appointment and by the time we came home, it was 630 and we were so very hungry. Lucky for us--my amazing Mother-in-Law gave me her super-tasty Vegetable Beef Soup to take home when I dropped Parker off this morning at her house. As if taking care of my child all day wasn't enough, she provided me with an easy dinner, too! It was the perfect meal for a cold night like tonight. I whipped up a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches and we were warm and happy! Thanks, Honey :)
Let it be known by the world that today, February 3rd, 2011, is the day that my firstborn child had his first-ever grilled cheese sandwich (or pieces thereof). He probably could have eaten a whole sandwich. Obviously, I felt the need to document this momentous occasion with a picture.

Also let it be known that said sandwich was made with American cheese and rye/pumpernickel swirl bread and might have been the best grilled cheese ever made.

Or at least the best grilled cheese ever made by ME--that's not saying much, though.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Boy!

Since it was sooooooooooooooooo nice outside today--high 60's woohoo!--I decided that it would be a great time to take Parker outside and get a few outdoor pics. I picked up Renee when we left Ms. Donna's house, so she oh-so-kindly assisted me in getting some great laughs out of my boy! Again, I'm playing around with my new program.
"Yaayyyyyyyyyy, Parker!"
Looooove this profile.
So excited!

Tonight, Mom and Renee babysat Parker while Ryan and I went to a work social function at the Chrysler Museum. There was a band playing jazz music, and they had wine, crackers and cheese you could buy. It was something different to do--we enjoyed ourselves! Afterwards, we decided to drive to the Extreme Makeover house to take a peek. It was pretty neat to see the whole thing as it was happening. There were "workers" all over the place and bright, bright lights staged on the street. I canNOT imagine living in that neighborhood right now. There are so many people, cars, lights, and tents lining the streets! The yards across the street from the house are all trampled......it's crazy. I guess it's all for a great cause, though. I think if it were in my neighborhood I'd be okay with it. We should be excited for the fortune of others! :)

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

New Computer Program

Be prepared for lots of different "actions" (Photoshop talk haha :) in this post. I'm trying out some new stuff with my pictures!

Eveningtime after dinner=Parker's playtime. Evidence:
Parker pushing his car. The fingers....
Parker sitting in the "seat" part of his walker.
Making his way to the other side....
Driving!
Eating--wait, how did this get in here? Isn't this supposed to be about playtime? Oh well.
Hey, Parker....you've got something on your chin sweetie. :)
Now this is actually a daytime playtime picture. Every morning after we snuggle in the bed a little bit, Parker plays in his playpen for a little while while Momma gets ready.
Sometimes he does a little morning reading.
Do not adjust your screen--it is not the 1800's.

I guess this is what my boy would look like in pictures if it were the 1800's, though. Still just as cute.

Testing...


Just testing file formats. Enjoy! :)