Weekend Report

I actually took pictures each day this weekend and figured I would share them all as a weekend post.  My sweet sister comes over every single Friday and we go to the grocery store, Target, etc...just general errand running to get things done.  It's usually errands, home for lunch, then naps for the kiddies, major cleaning time for me, making something yummy for dinner, and then having dinner all together.  This Friday was pretty much the same, except we decided to eat lunch out because Parker had a doctor's appointment Friday at 10, which pushed everything else back.

While we were at Target, we bought some pool stuff on major clearance to use next year.  I thought I would pack it away somewhere to use next summer and had no expectation of it being used that day!  Parker had other ideas....



He loved it!  My mom had come over to join us for dinner, and she sat on the porch swinging with Audrey while Ryan, Parker and NayNay played with the new toys.  I was inside slaving away in the kitchen--haha!  No really, I was cooking dinner, but I enjoy cooking.  I knew that my sweetie pies were being well taken care of and getting lots of fresh air outside.

Loooooooooooooove this woman and this picture!  

When they came inside, there was still a little bit of time before dinner, so I broke out another clearance purchase of watercolor paints to keep Parker busy for a bit.  

Don't you just love the technique?  He did a great job and drew lots of circles!  That's his favorite thing to draw right now.  I'm trying to get him to do squares and triangles, too. 

On Saturday, we had a picnic to go to for Ryan's work that is a yearly thing.  It's held at the home of a couple who has a large property with horses and chickens.  We've gone every year for at least the past three years.  We told Parker we were going to a farm with a barn, and he asked ALL DAY when we were going to be at the barn with the animals.  He asked about what animals would be there, and we realized he thought it would be like the zoo.  He was asking about elephants, giraffes, lions, etc.  It was so cute.  Literally, they only had horses and chickens, but it was still so fun for him.  We did have to stop at the outlets and Short Pump for quick visits on the way up, of course.  I can't pass them and not stop--it just wouldn't be right! 

Here's Ryan talking with Tom, the man who actually lives at the "farm."  You can see Parker running in between them.  I think he loved having SO much room to run around.  

Tom's wife, Tracey, is a preschool teacher and Parker had no problem interacting with her.  She asked him if he would want to help her feed the horses, and he decided that would be a good idea.  

Love this picture!  So sweet. 

Right before we left, Tom asked Parker if he wanted to go in the chicken coop and gather a few eggs.  This was the egg Parker picked!  Tom gave us a whole dozen to take home.  We still haven't eaten any but definitely will this week. 

On Sunday, we had a "typical Sunday."  I had breakfast at my parents' house while Ryan was at church.  When we left, Parker sat on my mom's little garden bench, so of course I had to take his picture.  

He decided it would be a great time to scream.  Haha.  Notice the new Sperrys and shirt--my Williamsburg purchases.  

Love this!  You can see my Mom, Dad and I in his glasses--haha.  

Parker decided that he wanted to have a dance party on my parents porch before we left.  He had a lot of energy that morning! 

After church, we went to Applebees for lunch for the SECOND week in a row.  I wouldn't be upset if I never ate there again!  It's just not one of my favorites.  There's not much that intrigues me on their menu, and they don't serve diet Coke!  Haha.  

When we got home, I was determined to try to get a few "family" pictures.  I like to at least try on Sundays because the kids are usually dressed in their cutest outfits.  We actually got a few good ones this time.  

I thought this was sweet.  Parker really, REALLY loves his sister.  He "talks" with her all the time and helps her play with her toys.  I don't think I've ever heard him say anything "mean" about her.  I know those times will come, but so far, it's been really good when I know it could have been a LOT worse.  

This is just too funny.  He started poking her cheek, and he thought it was the funniest thing.  

This is more like it!!  I was so excited when I looked back through the pictures and saw this beauty sitting there.  Love this--will definitely be framing it!

It almost look like she's got a tooth in there, but she doesn't even have the first sign of one.  Except for the constant drooling and chewing on anything she can get her hands on.  But no actual signs!

My man and my baby girl.  Notice her holding the tie?  Yeah, she will have a hold on him for a looooong time.  Note that I had to take about 40 pictures to get this one.  I always have to take SO MANY, and I feel like everyone thinks I'm crazy, but this is the result! 

The best one of Audrey and I.  I feel like she's making the Mckayla Maroney face.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, this explains it.  Hahaha!  I really wanted a picture of her smiling, but Ryan took maybe 15 pictures instead of my 40+, so it just didn't work out.  ;)

I really feel that there is NO WAY we could get a picture of the four of us that's actually really good without having a professional involved.  We are going to have our pictures made at the beginning of November with a local photographer for a mini-session.  It's my hope that we will get a good family picture to use for our Christmas card, and then obviously to frame.  

We had a great weekend and this promises to be a busy week.  I love fall and am looking forward to the rest of it! 

Audrey and Sophie

Guess who's baaaaaaaack!  Remember Sophie, the squeaky, chewy, lovable giraffe?  Many refer to her as "baby crack" because it seems like there isn't a baby in the world who isn't head over heels in love with her.  Parker loved her and Audrey is no different.  Wanted to share a few pictures of Audrey's very first encounter with our old friend.  We told Parker her name is Sophie and he keeps calling her Sophia. 

 

 She shoved her in her mouth almost instantly.  

 

You can see just a little bit of baby gums peeking through Sophie's legs. 

 

Looking around yet still sucking on Sophie's face (yes I realize how weird that sounds, but how else can I describe it?).

She had a good grip on her!  It was definitely money well spent.  She loves her "Sophia"!

DC Trip

Last week we took a short but very sweet to Washington DC to take Parker to the Wiggles concert.  We left Miss Audrey at home with my mom and sister so that we could put all of our focus on our sweet little man for a change.  We definitely missed her, though!  I knew she was in good hands, so I didn't worry about her at all.  

We left Monday morning and stopped at the outlets in Williamsburg to look at just a few stores.  When traveling with two boys, you can only stay for so long!  Then we hopped back in the car to continue toward DC.  We were SO fortunate that we did not get stuck in any major traffic.  Parker decided this leg of the trip would be a great time to nap...

Such a sweetheart. 

We stopped at Ryan's new favorite store, Wegmans, so that he could show me all the reasons he's in love with the place.  It's basically a grocery store, but it's huge and they have tons of different fresh-type departments.  I really did like it and wish we had one here.  I'm sure we will one day!  

We were having dinner with Chris and Molly at their house, so we drove from Wegman's to there and stayed for a couple of hours to have dinner and socialize.  Parker had a great time and enjoyed seeing them.  He loves them!  

Playing with Molly's Tiger hat.  He was so excited to ROAR his way through their whole apartment.  I'm sure their neighbors really appreciated that. We need to find some of these hats--apparently they're only $1!

Truthfully, he spent most of his time doing this.  Watching TV on their comfy couch made him happy.  He got to watch Curious George, which we have never watched before.  It worked out great! 

Once we finished our lovely dinner, we headed to the hotel to wind down and get to bed for the evening.  Parker was so funny because he said he didn't want to sleep in the hotel bed and wanted to go home to go to sleep.  We eventually lured him into the bed with the iPad.  Works every time! 

We finally went to sleep at about 9:30.  It wasn't my best night of sleep, but I'm used to that.  It was pretty sweet because Parker was snuggled up next to me all night.  I'd be lying if I said that I didn't enjoy having him sleep with us every now and then.  It's very sweet and nice to have him there.  

When we woke up the next morning, we walked to a local crepe restaurant to have breakfast.  Ryan and I shared an egg, cheese and ham crepe and a fresh apple crepe, and Parker had about two bites of a Nutella and banana crepe.  They were SO GOOD and I wish there was a local place for us to enjoy these as a special breakfast every now and then.  

Parker and the ah-mazing crepe he didn't want to eat!  Haha.  

After breakfast, we walked to the closest Metro station so we could ride to the zoo.  The metro ride was not super exciting for Parker--he was in the stroller and couldn't really see anything.  

On the long escalator...going up!

We walked the uphill walk to the zoo but stopped at the Starbucks across the street for a cold treat--even though it was pretty cold outside.  

The zoo in DC was soooo much better than our zoo.  It's bigger, the landscaping is way more beautiful, and most importantly--it's FREE!  To me it's almost worth the drive since our local zoo is about $40 for our little family.  Parker did about half of it in the stroller and the rest on foot.  Most of the animals were actually "out", which was nice.  The only thing we didn't see were giraffes because they don't have them there.  Of course, he asked several times about when we would see the giraffes.  Distraction is often our best friend! 

I think he was checking out some ducks.  

My happy boy!

Flamingo watching. 

This was supporting a large walkway.  He said, "Look--a big X!"

My boys watching the elephants. 

We could have stayed at the zoo longer, but we had to leave at about noon so we could get back to the hotel for me to pump, us to have lunch, and then get to the concert by 2:30.  We had a delicious lunch at Five Guys and got to the concert about 15 minutes early.  

We didn't tell Parker about the Wiggles at all until we were inside and heard their music playing.  We figured any amount of time we gave him wouldn't mean anything (in terms of the concert being a week away of two days away or anything like that).  Also, we knew there was a chance he would throw a fit and say that he didn't want to go see them.  He changes his mind about stuff all the time.  

The best picture I could get with my boy!

A little dancing.  Seriously--very little.  I think he was just too tired and overwhelmed by the whole thing to really enjoy it.  He hardly sang at all, didn't really do many of the motions, and just looked super tired the whole time.  

Clearly, we need to discuss appropriate concert behavior.  

When we left the concert, we had to walk back to our hotel to get in the car and get going!  He fell asleep almost instantly and slept for a little over two hours.  

It was truly such a fun trip, and it felt so good to give Parker some individual attention again.  We were happy to get back to our house with Sissy and our own beds, though!  We're already looking forward to our next trip, whenever that may be.