First Beach Trip of 2012

This morning, my Mom and I took Parker to the beach!  The weather was gorgeous, and I knew Ryan would be busy all day doing the shed with Bryan.  I decided that a little morning outing at the beach would be good to get out of the house!  I forgot how much Parker absolutely loves the beach.  Proof:

Getting the hang of sandcastle construction.  Also learning that we do NOT throw sand!

This was the beginning of the rekindling of his romance with the water.

A little helping hand from Mona.

The water was a little cold at first.  He was saying lots of different stuff about it, like: 

"The water got me!"

"The water got my body!"

"It's cold!"

"It feels good, Mama!"

"I like it!"

"I love the water!"

Don't remember what this face was all about, but he makes this one a lot.

The tongue of concentration.  There was so much water in the bucket with the sand--he could not get it out.

Love these hands.

My mom and I were discussing various umbrella/shade options for when baby comes.  I think the beach will be a great place to go (with a partner, of course) with Parker once she gets here.  As long as we have an umbrella or sun-tent-type thing, we'll be good.  It's relaxing and he really, really loves it.  I can't wait for many more trips! 

Odds and Ends

• I never did a Mother's Day post.  I probably would have been more excited to do one if I didn't look like a HUGE pregnant person in all of the pictures we took.  On Mother's Day we went to church, had a great lunch at Macaroni Grill, I took a nap, and then we went to Omi's for dinner.  It was a great day!

Me and my two babes.

• Parker has been saying some really sweet stuff lately.  He has told me several times this week that, "I love Mama very much."  He also asks to play with my hair all the time.  Almost every time I pick him up or he sits in my lap, he runs his fingers through my hair.  He tells me that my "hair nice" and   then says "Parker's hair nice."  I am excited to see how he is with his sister when she gets here.

Taking a phone break on our bed.  This was right after his nap while I was vacuuming.

• Speaking of his sister--if I don't go into labor on my own by Tuesday, I will be induced.  So basically, in about five days, I will have another child, meaning two children in total.  Crazy!  I am excited about it but also a little sad that these are my last days with my first baby.  I have been trying to savor every moment and really focus on him.  I think he is going to be really good with her and overall pretty excited but I am also aware that things will not be perfect.  Overall, I'm just keeping a positive attitude but being realistic as well.  I think this is the best way to go into this next phase of our life!  

"Sleeping" on sissy's changing table. 

• I have been in major nesting mode this week.  I have cleaned the entire upstairs and been organizing random stuff throughout the house.  I don't remember doing this with Parker, so maybe this means I'll go into labor on my own?  Probably not, but a girl can dream, right??  I have been doing some walking and eating some pineapple over the last couple of days.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and am hoping they'll say I'm a little more dilated than I was last week.  I am really hoping that I will go into labor on my own.  I'm not getting my hopes up, but we'll see.

• My feet have been SO swollen.  They were not like this with Parker at all, but it wasn't hot outside when I was pregnant with him.  I have only been able to wear one pair of flip flops that are even semi-comfortable.  They gross me out more than my stretch marks and huge-ness in general.  I am looking forward to seeing my normal feet again soon.  

Talking to someone on his phone.  Sissy maybe?

• Parker has been waking up this week around 5am.  This morning he did sleep about 6:30, which was nice.  He used to sleep until almost 7 or later.  5am is a pretty early wake-up call for us, although it is better than waking up at 1 or 2, which sometimes happens.  This all makes me just a little nervous for next week when baby sissy comes home.  I am hoping that she will be a good sleeper like he was when he was born and that his sound machine and a shut door will keep him asleep when she's up.  Only time will tell, but as with everything else, I am trying not to worry about it too much.  We will do what we can and go from there!

Love the arm around the neck. 

• We are having Opa's birthday dinner tomorrow, and then the plan for the weekend is that Ryan and Bryan will come really close to finishing the shed!  I am looking forward to a weekend of either bonding time with Parker or the birth of our sweet baby girl.  

Weekend Progress

This weekend Ryan and Bryan worked on our new shed on Saturday and Sunday afternoon.  Parker took three hour naps both days, so I got almost everything done that I wanted to in the house and also was able to put my feet up for a little while to rest them.  They are SUPER swollen by the middle of each day and after doing housework, it felt good to put them up for a little bit.  After his nap each day, he wanted to go outside to see Daddy and Uncle "Byan" and play.  

On Saturday, he wanted to "kick-ee big ball"!  That's probably the most requested outdoor activity.

I am absolutely in love with this child's hair.  He needs a haircut bad but I am thinking around the ears and neck only.  The curls are too cute for me to part with. 

I mean....seriously.  IN LOVE.  I know it maybe looks a little crazy, but it's sweet.  Okay, maybe a little trim on the top, too.  We'll see.

Photo-op with Uncle Bryan.  I promise he isn't scared of him--haha.

Bryan and Ryan hard at work.  On Saturday, they poured concrete for the foundation of the shed, so they couldn't do much else on the shed until Sunday since the concrete had to cure.  Since they couldn't do "shed work", they planted perennial plants in our front beds and mulched.  They got it done so quick.  That's what teamwork does!

Parker "helped."  

On Sunday they were able to do more actual shed work.  They made pretty good progress, and hopefully will get the floor completed this upcoming weekend.  

After Bryan left on Sunday, Parker and Ryan had a little fun with the wheelbarrow before we headed inside for the night.

  

"Parker do it!"

"Daddy help."

He LOVED it!  I guess it would be difficult to find a two-year old who wouldn't.  He asked us again tonight to take a ride.  I love warm weather and being outside.  I am really looking forward to summer and having time off to spend with both of my babies!  I can't believe that in about three weeks, I will be a mother to TWO children.  It will definitely be an interesting and crazy but fun summer!  

Baby Shower

On April 15th, we had our first baby shower for Baby Sissy!  Amy and Jamane planned the whole thing and did SUCH an amazing job.  It was a co-ed shower held at Ryan's parents' house, so it was basically like a nice get-together with all of our family and friends to celebrate.  Very relaxing but fun!  

Jamane made a beautiful diaper cake...

...and the super-cute favors.

Oh, hey there little boy.

Opening Auntie Nay's gift!  

Parker "helped" us open some of our presents.  Love the look on his face here.

More help.  

Some of our onlookers!

Amy and I--true BFFs!

 

Sweet Jamane and I.  So glad to have her as a friend!

My only regret is that I didn't take more pictures to better document everyone that was there.  I only picked up the camera one time to take the still pictures of the cake and favors.  The other pictures were taken by Jimmy and Jamane--so thankful that I have those!  I am usually much better about taking pictures but just got lost in all of the fun conversations I had (and the food I ate--haha!).  

Our church choir "family" is throwing another shower for us on May 20th.  I hope I can make it that far....

Easter...aka the longest post ever

Easter wasn't quite a month ago, but it's crazy that it took this long to get these pictures on here!  Now that I finally have a new computer with the right software--I am glad to make it happen.  Here is our Easter 2012 in pictures.

Obviously we had to do the basket first!  Parker enjoyed finding all of his little presents and opening the plastic eggs.  There was only a little bit of candy in there, and he really didn't care that much about it. 

We went to church that morning, of course, and went to lunch at Olive Garden afterwards with the Jeffersons.  

Here's Parker with his cousins, Haley and Ian.  It's the best shot I got of all three.  

After lunch, I had to have a little "portrait" session.  Haha!  Of course, he would barely sit still, but I got a few decent shots.  I absolutely loved what he was wearing!

 

The fake-ish smile.  

He was happy to have my phone!  Love the expression on his face.

After Parker took a nice nap, we headed over to Omi's for an egg hunt and dinner.  Since Omi was still in recovery mode from her surgery, Mom, Renee and I prepared all of the food.  It was a little stressful but so good!

Finding the first egg!

....and another.

......and another.  He did a great job once he was pointed in the general direction of each egg--haha!

He had to have a little help from Granddaddy opening the eggs.  I love this picture.

Money!  He kept saying, "More eggs!  More money!"  It was funny.

The Easter Bunny hid some of the eggs in impossible to reach places!  Parker was lucky to have Auntie Nay and Granddaddy there to assist. 

"Okay, I found all of the eggs--now what?"

Bubbles, of course!  The Easter Bunny said that he almost didn't get the "bubble gun", but it has been a big hit since then.

They were popping all of the bubbles.  He really had a blast with that.

Obviously, once all the fun stuff was done, we had to have MORE portrait time.  It seems like I can never get actual pictures with Parker or as a family, so I wanted to at least attempt.  

Here is our best "family" shot:

I love it but wish he was looking at the camera, too!  There were a couple other "normal" pictures, but I definitely liked this one the best. 

Parker and Opa.  Parker just loves him.  I think the feeling is mutual!

Parker and Auntie Nay--they are best buds!

 Me and my baby.  I know that there will soon come a time where he won't want his Momma kissing him on the lips (or at all for that matter), so I love this picture because it shows just how sweet he is and I will be able to remember it forever.

There you go--Easter 2012!  It is SUCH a relief to finally share these pictures because now I can move on to more normal everyday type stuff.  That's my goal at least.  Here's to regular updates! :)