christmas.bloopers

So...when Parker threw a "mine mine mine" fit over a gift card Christmas Eve, we decided to get him excited about giving presents not just getting them. He loved playing Santa's helper, with the exception of his slicky elf socks making him fall down occasionally. Christmas morning, Grandpa and I were poised at the bottom of the stairs with video cameras, but Daddy wasn't in on the plan and brought him down holding his inhalers and a dirty diaper (I edited out that part). After completely bypassing the tree, Parker did come back and open the rest of his presents. He has loved playing with every one. His current favorites are his first Play-doh and a mini shopping cart.

happy.holidays

thanksgiving.fun

sock.monster

Beware the monster who comes to steal socks from your dryer! Sometimes Parker was unsure of his costume, at other times he was delighted by it. We never really got him to buy into wearing the hat, even when he was outside in the cold. As you can see in the video, at one point on Halloween night the only way to appease him was to take off all of it but the pants. Mark thought it was really cute but I thought it made him look like one of the Village People. Parker took instantly to knocking on doors and getting treats in his pumpkin (he's not so crazy about the "trick" part, which you can see at the end scared him, though he recovered nicely afterward). What he didn't know at the time was that he was getting a bunch of candy because he's never really had any before. He only made it to about 8 houses because of the rain, but he still ended up with more than a toddler needs in a year. As soon as he discovered the M&Ms inside the package, we had to put the pumpkin away and initiate the same protocol we've come to use with the "You know what Pad".

farmer.parker

a-is-for.abba

Parker loves to read all the time, even when he is riding in the car. Right now, he is obsessed with any kind of book or puzzle that is about the alphabet. This explains why, even though he still calls me "Daddy" instead of "Mommy"  half the time, he can correctly name a Yak with 100% accuracy in any context. On this particular day, Parker was reading his Berenstain Bears book so intently that I just had to stop the car to take a picture.  A little while later, he fell asleep just as we were about to reach our destination, so I decided to wake him up by blasting "Dancing Queen" by Abba and trying to get him to dance with me through the mirrors. That book came flying backwards over his seat with the force of a major league pitch and hit the windshield with a loud whack. Just yesterday he started crying in the car and I noticed "Take A Chance on Me" was playing, so I skipped to the next song on the iPod and he calmed right down. Coincidence? You decide.

splish.splash

Parker gets a bath every other day. It's the perfect amount of time for Parker to build up the proper boy-stink that is required before a bath is truly needed. His favorite parts of bath time are listening to his mommy-made bath mix of music, splashing daddy, and his squirty toys. Naked Time, the minutes immediately following bath time, has been greatly reduced since Parker became a post bath pee-er. 

summer.fun

 

june.bug

parker.palooza

first.words

Word: Dog
Pronounced: “rrrrrrruff….rrrrrrruff!”
Times per day: 2-3
Meaning 1: I see a dog
Meaning 2: I’m reading about doggies
Meaning 3: My stuffed bunny Easter egg basket looks like a dog

Word: Sky
Pronounced: “ky” (pointing up)
Times per day: 15-20
Meaning 1: There’s the sky
Meaning 2: There’s a tree
Meaning 3: There’s a window
Meaning 4: There’s a light fixture

Word: Uh-oh
Pronounced: “uh-oh”
Times per day: 30-40
Meaning 1: I’ve fallen
Meaning 2: I dropped it
Meaning 3: I threw it down
Meaning 4: I’m getting ready to throw it down

Word: Milk
Pronounced: “meee?”
Times per day: 40-50
Meaning 1: I want to drink my milk
Meaning 2: I want to play with my sippy cup
Meaning 3: I want to drink/play with, then throw my milk

Word: Ball
Pronounced: “bah?”
Times per day: 200+
Meaning 1: Where’s my ball
Meaning 2: Play ball with me
Meaning 3: Get that ball for me
Meaning 4: I see a roundish object (balloon, bubbles, egg)
Meaning 5: I don’t want to go to bed, I want to play
Meaning 6: I’m awake now, come get me

blog.delayed

We hear the blog followers are growing restless. Here are a few pictures from the last few months:

Sweet, as usual.

Xylophoning.

Delivering the mail.

Accusing Mommy.

Being tickly.

Pooping out.

We may have some really good easter pictures of the little guy, but we wouldn't want to give the fans TOO much at once.

baby.steps

And yes, that is a burp cloth tied around his neck. Bibs schmibs! Now we "Cowboy Up!" In the past few weeks Parker has been completely weaned off of breast milk, formula, and bottles. He's eating all kinds of new foods and loves his sippy cups, but it is taking a toll on our bib supply. He wants to be on the move all the time, including when it's time for milk. So far, he takes most of his steps at daycare or when the camera is turned off. This morning, we tried filming him on the sly.

sick.day

Parker stayed home sick with Daddy today. Despite the remnants of a wheeze, we tried our best to find some good old-fashioned "trouble."

Tupper-where? EveryWARE!
Dobby - pantry raiding sidekick.
If you asked Parker who made that mess
in the kitchen, he'd say:

Tomorrow, Parker gets back to the daycare grind and I go back to work. We had a good day today. Thanks, buddy!

parker.one

The theme for Parker's first birthday was Dr. Seuss. We had One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Goldfish and a variety of sandwiches: Whoville Roastbeast, Horton's Peanut Butter and Jelly, and Green Egg Salad and Ham (which our family graciously ate without complaint.)

Everyone made their own pages for Parker's 1st Foot Book by tracing and describing their feet, explaining who their favorite Seuss characters are, and telling their best memories of him from his first year.

There were Tarheel feet, square feet, odiferous feet, stylishly accessorized feet, fast feet, and feet that love to run and jump.

The most popular Seuss characters were Horton (because he says what he means and means what he says, and cares for all people no matter how small), the Grinch (because he could change as he aged for the better, which is a rare quality), and the Cat in the Hat (because he plays tricks on people, and is silly and fun).

Some favorite memories of Parker were his first trip to the beach, riding the train at the life and science museum, seeing him in his Santa suit, and an incident involving Italian dressing.

Parker got lots of books for his birthday: several Seuss (some for now - like My Many Colored Days, and some for later - like the Lorax), a personalized story about his name, and two about Martin Luther King, Jr., who was also born on January 15th.

Next up, Parker's first cake and ice cream! Let's see how that goes...

We're not too surprised at this outcome, given his genetic disposition to be a picky eater and to not like sticky hands. Plus he had just gotten back from the doctor and was taking several kinds of medicine. So we'll try again later, but we're in no rush to awaken his sweet tooth.

Parker had a ball getting to be with all of his cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. After the party he had fun learning to play the triangle, xylophone, and kazoo (though he seems a little unsure about the castanets for some reason...) and driving the Cat in the Hat around in his new school bus.

Always remember the sage advice of the Birthday Bird: "Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! Shout loud, "I am lucky to be what I am! Thank goodness I'm not just a clam or a ham Or a dusty old jar of sour gooseberry jam! I am what I am! That's a great thing to be! If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!"