The Mims

Valentine's Day

2012-02-17T08:28:00.000-06:00

For her teachers...

For her friends...

(thank you Pinterest!)

Our night...

pizza with daddy

Fourteen Months

2012-02-15T20:21:00.000-06:00

Our Fourteen Month Old:

* Unfortunately we've been to the doctor a few times lately... Parker weighs around 21 pounds.
* Well, our little girl officially took off this month! Like I said last month, she has been able to walk since just after her birthday, she just didn't. That has all changed. She wants to walk everywhere. She gets so proud of herself too!

* While Parker still loves to push her baby doll stroller, and work her puzzles, a new love is stacking her blocks herself and, of course, knocking them over.

I know this is blurry, but I really liked it....

* We have eight teeth! Four on top, and four on bottom.

* If I am holding Parker and I ask, "Where is Parker's nose?", it never fails... she points to my nose! She can point to her nose, tummy and ears. She can also "wink".

* Little Girl l.o.v.e.s to dance! She hears any kind of music and starts bobbing her head. If she sees her boom box or another toy that plays music, she will point and sign "please" to get us to turn it on.
* Parker has a "new" favorite toy. She got a stuffed dog for her birthday and it has become a fast favorite. We call it "woof". Whenever she sees it, she points and says "woo".

Enjoying the Weather

2012-02-06T21:35:00.000-06:00

We have spent quite a bit of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Parker has always loved to be outside, so it is nice to for her to "play" with the neighbors and in the yard. We've snapped away while playing, so I thought I'd share a few pictures...

Dance Dance Dance

2012-01-26T04:40:00.000-06:00

This little girl LOVES to dance....

Laundry Helper

2012-01-25T07:05:00.000-06:00

Parker loves to help me unload the dryer. She helps pull out the clothes while I fold them. The other day, after she pulled the last sock out, she climbed in!!

Thirteen Months

2012-01-22T16:04:00.001-06:00

I've decided I'm going to try to keep going with the monthly updates...

Parker at 13 months:

* Parker took her first independent steps a few days after her birthday. She is extremely cautious and will not take any steps unless she knows that she can make it. Or she will take two and sit down. She will stand up and walk to get somewhere if she knows it is only a few steps.

* Parker walks all. over. the. house. with her baby doll stroller or walker. She'll only use one hand and go everywhere she can.

* She absolutely loves a boom box that she got for Christmas. If she sees it, it has to be turned on. It goes in the car with us. She loves to dance to it as well.

* Parker loves her new chair. She climbs in it and will sit and read or play with toys in it. If Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (which she is OBSESSED with) is on the tv, she will turn her chair so that she can see the tv better.

* Parker loves her puzzles and stacking blocks! (The only problem is they make a BIG mess!)

* Parker now has seven teeth. Four on the top and three on the bottom. I think she may be working on number eight.

* We added "milk" to our sign language this month. She also started signing "more please"!

* Parker has learned to wipe her nose and mouth!!

* Parks is a huge momma's girl right now. Which makes this momma very happy. But lets be honest, it can also be extremely flustering.

Iphone(s) Dump

2012-01-13T05:44:00.000-06:00

Back to school hasn't left me very much free time... Sad to say I haven't picked up the camera since we started back. We do have some cute pictures from our phones to share:

excited about my Mack's shirt from Daddy

oh so close to walking...

driving my car

blowing kisses

discovering toilet paper...

one handed

practicing to feed myself!

Look Alike?

2012-01-11T17:54:00.000-06:00

Dad had these two pictures sitting beside one another...

Parker at 11 months, Me at 12 months

Thoughts????

Flashback- 9 Month Pics

2012-01-04T08:06:00.000-06:00

When we went to Scottsboro for my 10 year reunion, we met up with a photographer up there. I had heard wonderful things about Stephanie, and wanted her to take some pics of our family. We met up on Sunday morning at Goosepond, and I absolutely love the way the pictures turned out! We kept them a secret from our family so that we could give them as Christmas gifts. Now that Christmas is over, I wanted to share them.

All pictures taken by SJ Photography:

Christmas Part 4

2012-01-02T22:06:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday, Parker and I headed up to Scottsboro for the weekend. Friday morning, Drew headed to Arkansas to go duck hunting. Parker and I stopped off in Huntsville Thursday to spend the night with my dad before heading in to Scottsboro Friday morning. I was a failure and did not take any pictures with my camera. I took a few with my phone.

We enjoyed a "Christmas" lunch with dad, Daddy Jack and Susan before exchanging presents. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing, watching Auburn football, and playing. We had a nice visit, I only wish I had taken more pictures!

forward facing for the first time!

climbing Mrs. Julie's stairs

wearing Me-Merri's necklace

climbing under the couch cushions

watching aunt mal on tv!

Christmas Part Three

2011-12-30T07:36:00.000-06:00

Christmas in Opp:

When we first got to Opp, we exchanged presents with Drew's mom and sister.

After present opening, we went over to Memomma and G-Daddy's house to see the rest of the family, enjoy dinner, and exchange presents with them as well.

We're headed North at the end of the week, so we'll be back with our final Christmas later...

Christmas Part Two

2011-12-28T07:53:00.001-06:00

Be forewarned.... there are a LOT of pictures...

We drove back to Auburn on Christmas Eve. We wanted Parker to be at our house on Christmas morning. We set out milk and cookies for Santa, took pictures in our pajamas and headed to bed.

Parker woke up around 7 Christmas morning, so we got the camera and got ready to see what Santa brought! (Excuse all appearances in the pictures please!) She wasn't quite sure what was going on but was very excited to see her new chair!

We enjoyed breakfast, then opened presents with my mom and brother.

After all the morning excitement, we got ready and took some pictures before heading South to Opp!

More pictures coming soon...

Christmas Part One

2011-12-26T14:51:00.000-06:00

With so many families to cover, our Christmas started on Friday. We headed up to Birmingham to celebrate Christmas with my grandparents that night. We forgot our good camera (oops!), and had a sleepy girl by the time we opened presents, so we don't have any pictures from Friday night. Saturday morning, we got up and went down to visit Mimi and Papa for Christmas. Stinker found a new play area...

and was intrigued by the shutters...

She LOVED her new baby doll stroller and had fun pushing it all around Mimi's house!

We'll be back with more Christmas soon!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T07:40:00.000-06:00

Love,

Parker

Parker's Birthday

2011-12-22T11:05:00.000-06:00

We wanted to spend the day together on Parker's birthday, but when we looked at Drew's schedule he had to work the night before. We decided that Parker and I would go to school for the morning and then we would spend the afternoon together doing fun things... Great plan until they scheduled her 12 month appointment for that day!

We picked Parker up about lunch time and headed to Chick-fil-A. This girl loves some french fries and chicken so lunch was an easy decision.

After lunch, we headed to the mall for a visit with Santa. I think I've decided that I want to take her to visit Santa on her birthday every year. We'll see! We had to wait about 20 minutes on Santa to come back, but she really enjoyed "walking" around on the fence outside of Santa's "house".

When the time came to see Santa, Parker was very unsure of him. I was fully prepared for screaming, but she did really good. She just stared and stared at him. Santa winked at her a few times, and she tried to wink back. We never could get a smile, but we got a decent picture...

After Santa, we had to go to the doctor. Things went fine until we had to draw blood and have our shots... poor baby did not like it. :(.

We had planned on ice cream after the doctor's office, but Parker was too upset and tired, so we headed home for a nap. All in all, we had a great day together!!!

Twelve Months

2011-12-16T07:48:00.000-06:00

We have a one year old!!!

Twelve Month Stats-

Height: 30.2 in (80th percentile)

Weight: 20 lbs (40th percentile)

Head: 17 1/2 in (30th percentile)
Weight for Height: 20th percentile

At twelve months:

* Parker is still crawling and cruising. She will stand unassisted for a while and giggle when she sits down. She honestly could walk at any time.

* She doesn't want much of anything to do with baby food, unless it is a fruit. She still eats those up!
* We are completely onto whole milk! Ten and half months of nursing/breastmilk. One and a half of formula.

*We have five teeth. The two on the bottom front, the two top canines and one front tooth has broken through. The other front tooth will break through any day, and I am thinking that she is working on two more bottom teeth.

* Parker has started to love her shoes...which is a good thing considering how cold it has been.

* She is mostly wearing 12 month clothes, but we are still fitting in a few of our 9 month outfits.

* Parker signs "more" and "all done". She has used "please" a few times as well.

* Parker's words... well... she says "ball" all.the.time. at everything. She says "mama" and "dada", "hey" and "bye-bye", "uh oh" and "ball" most frequently. She has also said (in the right context) "baby", "boo" and "bah (bottle)". This weekend, she said "ba-oon" while pointing at a balloon!

* Parker waves bye bye, gives high fives, loves "patty cake", and blows kisses.

* She absolutely loves the Christmas tree. She loves the ornaments. She loves the lights. She is not crazy about my tulle bows on the presents, but otherwise loves the presents as well.

* We officially put up all the baby equipment this month to make room for our fun "big girl" toys. We have a lot of new toys in our house, and I'm sure will receive more for Christmas. Parker loves having new toys to explore and play with!

And just for fun:

Birthday Girl

2011-12-15T07:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Parker Elizabeth!

You are one year old today!! Last year, we went to the hospital and at 3:01 you were born. We cannot believe that it has already been a year! This has been the fastest, but best year in our lives. You have changed our lives in so many ways. We absolutely love staying at home and playing with you. We love watching you crawl around the room, or cruise around the table. We love the hugs and kisses we get from you. We love snuggling when you are sleepy or when you don't feel good.

You are such a happy girl. You always make us smile when you giggle and squeal. You are learning new things every day. We are taking you to school for a few hours this morning, and then we are going to have a fun afternoon together. We are excited to spend your birthday doing fun, new things. We love you more than you will ever imagine. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

"This is the day the Lord has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it," Psalm 118:24

Birthday Parties Part 3

2011-12-14T09:06:00.001-06:00

Sunday Party

More sweet family and friends came over on Sunday to celebrate. Our ~~spoiled~~ little girl got even more goodies...

She didn't want much to do with her cake, until I gave her a spoon.

Thank you friends and family for coming and for loving our precious girl!

Birthday Parties Part 2

2011-12-13T07:22:00.001-06:00

Saturday Party

Little did we know on Saturday, but Parker's front teeth decided to start coming in this weekend. She was fussy most of the day, and I saw why when I was bathing her! Two little teeth ready to break through. Even though she was a little fussy, she had a good time. She enjoyed opening presents (for a little while!)

Parker wasn't so interested in the cake....

We appreciate our friends and family coming!

Birthday Parties Part 1

2011-12-12T08:02:00.002-06:00

Parker has so many important people who love her that when we started planning, we realized if we wanted to have her party at our house, we would have to split it up. So, two parties it was. For a one year old that doesn't know the difference! We've had a busy busy weekend around these parts, but it was definitely worth it. Little Girl is very loved, and it shows!

Thank you family (and friends) who made the trip to Auburn for our sweet girl's first birthday party!

Christmas Card Outtakes

2011-12-03T07:57:00.001-06:00

My Grandmother asked us to try to get a picture of Parker and Linley together. Has anyone ever tried to take pictures of an ~~antsy~~ 11 month old and a 4 month old together? It's not easy, let me tell you! It was hard enough to get them both in "position", much less trying to get them both to look at the camera, and even worse- smile. We got several really cute pictures of the girls separately, and managed to get a few decent ones of them together. The card is done, so I'm going to show you some outtakes...

Thanksgiving

2011-12-01T19:56:00.000-06:00

We went up to North Alabama for Thanksgiving with the Livingston side of the family. My Grandfather and his two brothers have a huge family farm in Cedar Bluff (Cherokee County). My Great-Uncles both live on the farm, and Daddy Jack has a cabin there as well.

For years, we had Thanksgiving on the farm at someone's house. Over the years, as my generation has married and had children, we have outgrown the houses at the farm. There is a hunting lodge not far from the farm that the family now rents out. This was my first year to go since it has been at the lodge, and wow! it is nice! We had 52 people at lunch this year, and I can't imagine that many people fitting inside somewhere at the farm!!

After we ate, we took Parker out and snapped a few pictures. She absolutely loved the wooden fence!

New Toys?

2011-11-23T11:50:00.000-06:00

I discovered momma's make up brushes the other day. They are a.lot. of fun! I like to pull everything out of her makeup drawer to find them!!

My New Play Place

2011-11-21T11:06:00.000-06:00

One of Parker's new favorite things to do is pull all the toys out of her toy basket and climb in. I cannot tell you how many times we have cleaned up the floor after all the toys have been dumped out!

Momma's Helper

2011-11-19T11:06:00.002-06:00

Eleven Months

2011-11-15T20:19:00.001-06:00

We have an eleven month old! Aaahhh! That is so hard to believe.

At eleven months:

* Parker weighs a little over 19 pounds! She was 19 lbs 3 oz at the hospital on Friday morning.

* She is still cruising and walking with assistance, but doesn't really try to walk on her own. She can stand unassisted, until she realizes that she doesn't have support, then she falls to the ground and giggles.

* We actually figured out tonight that she is cutting her upper canine teeth. Crazy. Her front teeth haven't come in, but one of her upper canines has broken through.

* Parker will still eat her baby food, but loves to have table food. She wants to eat whatever we are having. If she eats baby food for dinner, she typically eats more of our food while we are eating.

* She is still on the same eating schedule. We are working on moving those bottles closer together....

* Parker's knit clothes are all size 12 months, but she can still wear her 9 month smocked clothes.

* She does not like her shoes! Well, she likes them, but not when they are on her feet!

* Parker signs "more" all the time, and uses "all done" when she is finished eating. They have worked on "eat" and "thank you" at school, but she hasn't really used them yet.

* She has started climbing into her toy basket in the living room and throwing all her toys all over the floor. She still loves baby, and her entertainment table. She much prefers cords and paper to toys though.

Tubed

2011-11-13T16:42:00.000-06:00

Friday went off without a hitch... Parker did fabulous, and didn't seem too effected by the tubes. She had a hard time in recovery when she woke up. Can you blame her... she was hungry and momma and daddy weren't with her! Once she calmed down and we got home and she had another nap, she was back to normal. We've had ~~a little bit of~~ difficulty getting the ear drops in her ears, but 99% of the time she is good to go! We've had a nice relaxing weekend hanging around the house. We've got a big week coming up. Parker turns 11 months on Tuesday and Momma turns 28 on Thursday!

Here is a picture from pre-op:

Poor Baby

2011-11-08T07:06:00.001-06:00

Our sweet girl has had a rough couple of days.... I got a call at school on Wednesday that she had a fever. (I already suspected that she was feeling bad, so it wasn't a huge shock). I got her home and she fell asleep before I could get any medicine in her.

She woke up with a 104 degree fever (yikes!). I got medicine in her and made an appointment for the next morning. I felt pretty confident it was her ears. The medicine controlled the fever pretty well, but Parker was fussy and clingy.

I was right. It was her ear(s). We called the ENT back and scheduled her appointment to get tubes for Friday the 11th. We thought we were pretty much done with it all, until.... Sunday. Sweet girl developed a rash on Sunday. It wasn't itching and I didn't think it was from the antibiotic, because she had already taken it once with no side effects.

Drew took her to the doctor yesterday, and poor girl has/had roseola on top of the ear infection. No wonder the fever was so high. And no wonder she was such a fussy britches. Poor girl didn't feel good.

*Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers on Friday as we get the tubes put in her ears. Hopefully, this is the end of our major ear problems!!

Tailgating Take 2

2011-11-02T08:33:00.000-05:00

Parker and I went tailgating on Saturday. We bundled her up and stopped by mom's tailgate. They had a blow up Aubie that Parker LOVED to look at, but from a distance.

Any time we got to close, this was the face she gave. She was very unsure about it.

She wasn't even sure about taking a picture together.

See those clinched fists?

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T20:33:00.000-05:00

I loved my Halloween costume! And opening the door for Trick-or-Treaters...

I wore my momma's old bunny costume.

We visited a few of our friends and neighbors...

Me and A.L.C dressed up!!

Love,
Parker

I got a new toy...

2011-10-28T07:57:00.000-05:00

Birthdays

2011-10-27T06:47:00.000-05:00

John and Will had their birthday parties last weekend in Birmingham. We headed up Saturday morning to Jump Zone for a four-year-old party. Parker was not sure what to think about it all. Especially the slide. She seemed to have fun once she warmed up.

Later that afternoon, we went over to play with the boys and visit with Tom and Amanda. Parker had so much fun playing with the boys!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T13:39:00.003-05:00

We went to the "Farmer in the Dell Pumpkin Patch" last Friday afternoon. We really wanted to take Parker to a pumpkin patch, but didn't want to do too big of one this year. This one was perfect! We walked around and looked at the pumpkins. She would point and say her version of "what's that?". We took pictures and looked at sunflowers. We decided to forego the hayride this year, but took a picture on the trailer!

Trike Ride

2011-10-24T07:44:00.000-05:00

AEEC's Trike Ride was on Friday October 14. I took the day off so that I could head out of town for the reunion, but needed to be there for the event. Drew and Parker came up to school with me and one of my sweet parents took these pictures. She was not quite sure what to think about everything that was going on....

I let Mrs. Jill hold me!

playing with my paci

playing with Scarlet's shaker

this is fun!

these kids are funny

got my toes!

And just for fun... the teachers always take the last lap!

Ten Years

2011-10-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

My ten year high school reunion was last weekend. It is so hard to believe that it has been ten years! I took Friday off work, and after the Trike Ride at school, we headed to Scottsboro. We got there about an hour before the parade. ~~Yes, I'm the dork that was excited about riding in the parade!~~ I had my camera, but didn't take a single picture all weekend, so I stole this from friends' Facebook...

We went to the game for a little while Friday night. On Saturday, we had a picnic and visited with family before the party that night. I had a blast hanging out with my high school friends. It definitely doesn't feel like it's been ten years. I do keep in touch with several people, but it was nice having everyone together to catch up!

Ten Months

2011-10-17T17:37:00.000-05:00

I can't believe that in two short months we will be having our sweet girl's first birthday.

At ten months:

* Miss Parker is crawling all over the place. cruising like crazy. and trying to walk. She pulls up on anything and everything and even pushes her activity table across the floor. If she holds on to our hands she can walk. We've got to buy a walk behind toy this week!

* She started pulling up in her crib about a week after the nine month post.

* Parker now has two bottom teeth :).

* Parks loves all food! She still eats her baby food, but absolutely loves table food. She goes crazy for Cheerios.

* Parker wears mostly 9 month clothes, but has grown into a few of her 12 month outfits.

* We talk ALL the time.

* Parker is obsessed with a picture of herself that we have in her room. She will not let us change her diaper without it in her hands.

* She does "touchdown" and claps when you say "Yay, Parker". She started high fiving some this weekend, but is not very consistent with it.

* We still have that ear infection. We went back last week and it had gotten some better, but we are headed to the ENT for a consult soon.

* Parker has adjusted well to her new room at school. She seems to love her new teachers and the kids who are moving around like her.

* Baby is still one of our favorite toys. Someone threw her a set of beads at the parade on Friday and she absolutely loves to wear them. We have to hide them if we can't watch her closely because she pulls them and they end up a little tight on her neck!

Saturday

2011-10-09T14:54:00.000-05:00

I actually got a bow to stay in Parker's hair for the first time on Saturday. So, to document we had an impromptu photo shoot in the front yard. Parker was less interested in taking pictures and more interested in my phone : ). Here are a few that we got...

Updates....

2011-10-06T19:28:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can't believe it is already October. Things have been pretty crazy for me for the last few weeks. I don't really know where the time has gone....

1. I've been super busy with school. It is assessment time and I feel like that is all I have done lately. That and taking field trips. We had a fun field trip to the airport last week and another one to the zoo this week!

2. We went back to the doctor for a follow up on P's ear, and this darn ear infection had not gone away. She is acting fine, sleeping fine, eating fine, etc., but her ear looked horrible. We are on yet a third antibiotic with another appointment for again next week.

3. We fought the stomach virus this weekend, and unfortunately, the stomach virus won. It did not make for a fun weekend around our house.

4. We have a busy, busy little girl. We are now to the stage where we cannot take our eyes off her for a second. She is hardly ever still (even in her sleep she moves around a lot).

5. Tooth #2 is working its way through... Parker is constantly sticking her tongue out, or rolling it over her teeth. It's kind of funny.

6. Parker is moving to a new room at school. We LOVE her teachers, and are sad to move up, but I think the new room will be good for her. They needed room for some new tiny babies in Parker's old room. She is now in a room with the "movers and shakers".

7. My ten year reunion is coming up in less than two weeks.... I may be a dork, but I'm really excited about seeing everyone!

First Tailgate

2011-09-28T07:46:00.000-05:00

We went to Parker's first tailgate on Saturday. She wasn't feeling 100% and we were later getting there than I had planned, but she seemed to have a good time. Drew was able to stop by for a few minutes too. I look forward to taking Parker to many more tailgates and hopefully games too!

eating on my Auburn blanket...

watching Huck

i'm done with this....

War Eagle!

2011-09-23T22:18:00.000-05:00

Thank you Me-Merri for making my game day wardrobe!

Kicked

2011-09-22T15:23:00.000-05:00

This ear infection has kicked our tail. We are on day 5 of fever, and it is staying kind of high. We had our third doctor's visit for the week (sick visit, well visit, sick re-visit) today and are trying a new antibiotic. Crossing our fingers that this will knock it out in time for the weekend.

Doesn't she look pitiful? In other news... she started pulling up in her crib... down it goes!

Nine Months Old

2011-09-20T18:35:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay. We were waiting on our doctor's visit today... and we are now fighting our 3rd ear infection. Hopefully we will kick these soon!!

It is so hard to believe that we are three short months away from our sweet girl's first birthday!

Nine Month Stats-

Height: 29 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 18 lbs, 2 oz (30th percentile)

Head: 17.1 inches (30th percentile)

At nine months:

* Parker is crawling all.over.the.place. If Drew or I walk out of the room, she is sure to be right behind us.

* She loves to stand up and is beginning to cruise around the coffee table a little bit.

* We used one of our last "baby" gift cards to buy an activity table this month and she loves it. She loves to "dance" to the music.

* She has yet to pull up in her crib, but we are just waiting for it to happen.

* Parker has one bottom tooth. She is so funny running her tongue over the top of her tooth, then over the gum on the otherside.

* Parker still loves her food. We are on stage 3 foods now. She absolutely loves lasagna and chicken noodle. Apples are still a favorite, as well as any fruit mixed with apples. I have found the Gerber organic have better combinations of food, even though they are more expensive.

* We are giving her small amounts of table food. Mostly after her baby food meal. She loves anything with potatoes (mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, french fries). She has eaten rice (and Mexican rice), chipped bbq with no sauce, and baked beans. Not to mention the sweets :). Her new favorite is Cheerios.

* Miss Priss is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothing. We are actually still in a few 3-6 month things, too.

* We have a little girl that loves to talk. She says "mama", "dada", "bye bye", "ya ya", "na na", "lala" and combinations of the sounds. She is starting to wave when she says "bye bye".

* Parker's new favorite thing is to scream. They are happy screams, and she loves it when we scream back at her.

* As seen in the previous post, Parker is officially out of the baby bathtub and is loving the big tub. She splashes and screams. She will sit in the tub until all the water has drained out, and still not want to get out.

* I may regret writing this, but Parker is sleeping SO much better. Around eight months she started sleeping more consistently. Then we got an ear infection. Then a tooth came in. Then another (or the same) ear infection. Now that we are all clear (we think), she has gotten back to sleeping well.

* Parker is still LOVING school. She gets excited when we get there each morning, and I absolutely love the reaction I get in the afternoon.

* Her baby is one of her favorite toys. We love baby, and hug baby a lot. She tries to sleep with baby sometimes, but we pull baby away before she goes down.

* Parker still loves outside, but will not crawl in the grass. It is actually one of the best ways to confine her. If I put a blanket down, she will crawl on it, but not off of it.

* Her typical sitting position is now on her knees. I guess that makes it easier to crawl.

Auburn

2011-09-17T15:39:00.001-05:00

This is how Parker feels about the Auburn game today....

Bath Tub Fun

2011-09-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

Guess who is using the big girl bath tub now?

And loving the freedom she gets from it!

She has even been trying to crawl in the bathtub.

Splashing is oh so much fun!

What did Momma do to my hair?

Parker and Family

2011-09-14T15:33:00.001-05:00

A Special Day

2011-09-13T20:33:00.000-05:00

We had Miss Parker's baby dedication at church on Sunday. We were so blessed to have most of our family and closest friends in attendance. It was a very special day for us, and we appreciate everyone taking their time to come support us.

Drew's grandmother (Mimi) made us a christening gown as a wedding gift four years ago. She is very talented, and was afraid that she wouldn't be able to make it when it was needed. We were very excited to see Parker wearing the gown that Mimi made.

The Things They Say....

2011-09-12T13:01:00.001-05:00

I will be back soon with updates on Miss Parker and our life in September... but for now I wanted to share a funny from Kindergarten with you...

We write in our journals every day. The pages are all blank, and of course, we start at the front and use the next clean page every day. And, of course, every once in a while, a child will skip a page or two. So that's where this comes in.

I was fixing a child's journal today, moving "Monday's entry" to after "Friday's entry" because he had skipped a page. He asked what I was doing, so I told him that I was putting them in order... without skipping a beat he says,

"You should have put them right, then I wouldn't have messed up!"

Sweet Baby Girl

2011-08-31T20:48:00.000-05:00

See that sweet baby... I got lots of cuddle time with her today. Cuddle time is definitely something that I love, but I would have liked to get it under other circumstances. You see, when I picked her up from school on Tuesday they told me that she had been fussy all day. And that is just not like her. I guess they chalked it up to her teeth. When we got home, she had a fever. Ear infection #2 (or a continuation of #1). Either way, baby girl does not feel good.

Daddy is on duty tomorrow, with some help from Aunt Mal so that he can get a little sleep :).

Saturday Morning Nap

2011-08-29T08:10:00.001-05:00

One of the Last...

2011-08-27T20:10:00.000-05:00

pictures of these toothless gums.

Parker is currently working on BOTH bottom teeth. One has broken through the gums and you can feel it. The other has not yet, but you can see the white cap, so I don't think it will be too much longer.

Our Weekend in Pictures

2011-08-24T06:43:00.000-05:00

Crawler....

2011-08-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

Eight Months Old

2011-08-15T07:24:00.000-05:00

What a month it has been! I say this every month, but I cannot believe that we have an eight month old! We are not getting off to the best start at being eight months old. Parker got a runny nose late last week, which turned into congestion, cough and fever on Saturday. After a visit to the after hours clinic.... we now know that she has her first ear infection :(... YUCK! She was absolutely pitiful on Saturday. I got lots of extra cuddles.

Now for some more positive things about eight months:

* Parks weighed 17 pounds at the doctor on Saturday!

* Parker is SO close to crawling. She can get up on all fours from her stomach, or from a sitting position. She rocks, and might crawl one or two "crawls" before falling. She still goes backwards, and has even been trying the army crawl lately too!

* Parker pulls up to her knees on her toy basket or anything she can reach. She is working on pushing herself into the sitting position from her stomach and is getting pretty good at it.

* We added lunch to Parker's eating schedule this month. She just eats and eats and eats. There are only two foods that Parker just will not eat: chicken and apples and garden vegetables. I can't say I blame her on either one of them.

* Parker absolutely loves her puffs and yogurt bites now. We're still on sweet potato puffs, but we have some banana in the pantry to try out. She really likes the strawberry and peach yogurt bites. She is doing a really good job at feeding them to herself. Drew and I have gotten lots of laughs though.

* She is wearing 6-9 month in all of her knit things (sleepers, onsies, clothes, etc) but her most of her 3-6 month smocked and dressier outfits still fit. (On a side note, tell me why I put her in something smocked for school and she comes home nasty, but put her in a knit outfit and she comes home without a drop on her?!)

* Parker is now saying "mama", "dada", "bye bye" and all sorts of combinations of those sounds. She squeals all the time. Her teachers told me that she screams "mama" when she gets upset or frustrated at school.

* She is napping okay at school, for which I am relieved. Some days, she is taking a third catnap when she gets home to make it to bedtime.

* Parker still loves her bath. She would stay in the tub forever if the water would stay warm!

Our Busy Week

2011-08-11T21:03:00.000-05:00

Well, we've certainly had a busy week around here. Drew had to work last weekend, then I had Meet the Teacher Monday afternoon. The kids started Wednesday, too. I have a sweet group of kiddos this year, but I have a few who are big talkers! I know that things will calm down soon.

Parker is LOVING school. She gets excited when I drop her off in the morning, but is also SO happy to see whoever picks her up! She is trying REALLY hard to crawl. Here are a few pictures from this afternoon that I think really show her silly personality...

Swimming with Kate

2011-08-08T07:36:00.000-05:00

We went swimming with Shealy and Kate last week before school started back. Kate was excited about swimming with Parker. It wasn't until we were leaving for the pool that I realized we left Parker's float at the beach (oops!), but we just played together instead.

Birmingham

2011-08-06T14:36:00.000-05:00

Four Generations (of first born girls)

Love Linley in this one...

Sweet!

Lunch with this cutie!

Such a big girl!

Best we could get of the four of us...

Uh oh! Open mouth!

Beautiful Bride!

First Day of "School"

2011-08-04T07:36:00.000-05:00

Hah! That's a funny face.....^

Wednesday was Parker's first day of "school". (I personally think that "school" sounds better than "day care" even though thats what it really is...) I know that she had fun and will be in great hands.

Now, it's back to work for this momma on Friday....

Beach Pictures

2011-08-03T07:35:00.000-05:00

Sweetness

2011-07-29T14:34:00.002-05:00

This might be my favorite picture from Linley's photo shoot....

Beach Vacay #3

2011-07-26T21:33:00.000-05:00

Flashback..... 2008..... 2010.... Now 2011.

Summer 2011 Vacation was at the beach.

19 people (7 children). One (very nice) house.

We asked that this year's trip be somewhere relatively close because we have 2 children under a year old. I can't really imagine taking Parker somewhere "big" at seven months old. The beach is a big enough trip. The majority of the group is here for the whole week. Because Drew took off work for our July 4th beach trip, we only got his off days, but it's still been nice.

We've been swimming and playing with the camera.

We've been beaching it and playing with H & H.

Parker made lots of new friends and had tons of fun playing. It rained Tuesday so we didn't get pictures playing on the beach with the rest of the gang... oh well! It's been a fun trip!

Photo Shoot

2011-07-25T07:44:00.000-05:00

We had Parker with us when we went to take Linley's pictures. She played and played and played while we snapped away. We took some pictures of her during Linley's "breaks" and we also used her as an example for poses. Here are a few of the ones we took...

Help!

2011-07-23T07:22:00.000-05:00

We were in Parker's room the other day. I was putting up laundry and she was playing in the floor. I turned around to hang a few things up and when I turned back around, she was stuck under her chair...

Who Needs Toys...

2011-07-21T07:57:00.001-05:00

when you have diapers and wipes to play with?

And I just really liked this picture...

Linley

2011-07-19T21:53:00.002-05:00

My cousin, Grace, had her sweet baby girl Linley on July 9th while we were at the beach. She asked Drew and I to come take some pictures of Linley for her since we have a nicer camera. We had a lot of fun with Will, Grace and Linley! We know that we aren't professionals, but I thought we did pretty good. Drew is having fun editing several of the pictures, but for now, here are a few for Grace (and family) to see....

BTW- Major props to newborn photographers out there!!!!

Swimming with Will

2011-07-19T08:53:00.002-05:00

Tom, Amanda, John and Will happened to be at the beach the same week we were. They were staying less than a mile away, so one morning we went down the street to borrow their pool. Tom and John were at the beach, but Parker and Will had fun playing together. It was great visiting too!!

(Sorry, the pictures are out of order)

Popsicles

2011-07-17T07:45:00.001-05:00

Parker had her first (sugar-free) popsicle at the beach! She wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but seemed to enjoy it. It was all over both of us and the counter when she finished :).

Seven Months Old

2011-07-15T10:24:00.000-05:00

Parker is at such a fun age! Drew and I are truly enjoying this stage with her. I have said it before, but we are blessed to have a happy baby!! At seven months....

* Parker is trying so hard to crawl. She can scoot backwards on her tummy, or in circles, but can't quite hold herself up to go forwards. Many people have told us that if she's going backwards it won't be long before she's going forward...

* She is eating really well. Her schedule is down to 4 bottles a day and right now she is eating solids at breakfast and dinner. She is eating a lot at both of those meals, so I think we are going to start a third meal this week. We are also going to try some meat (ick!) soon...

* Parker tolerates peach yogurt bites and sweet potato puffs... sometimes she wants them, others she gives me the funniest face...

*She is taking a sippy cup like a champ! I didn't ever really offer her water in anything but the sippy cup.

* Parker sits up really well while she is playing, but is starting to want to stand up (with support) too...

* She is mostly wearing her 3-6 month clothes, but we are starting to wear some of the 6-9 month as well...

* Parker still talks all the time. She is saying "mamama" and "bababa" mostly...

* She will reach to be picked up, which I absolutely love!"...

* We officially broke the swaddle this month... Her sleep is some better this month...

Sink Bath

2011-07-14T07:22:00.000-05:00

The house we were staying in at the beach had huge, deep tubs in every bathroom. It would be too hard to bathe Parker in those, so we decided to give Parker her first bath in the sink. She loved it!

She also had her first shower last week, but she did NOT like it!!!

Beach Vacay

2011-07-13T07:50:00.001-05:00

We had a great time at the beach with our friends the Baggetts, the Bryants, and the McKinnons! We enjoyed relaxing on the beach, shopping, and going out to dinner. The boys went deep sea fishing, and we all went on a boat ride from Panama City to Shell Island. While we were at Shell Island, a dolphin swam right up beside the boat! We were all in the water but I swam and got the camera. This was the best picture I got!

Saturday was Clayton's birthday. Happy Birthday Clayton! We went to dinner at Stinky's Fish Camp and then went into Destin to play putt putt at The Track. We had a fun time, and I even got some pictures of putt putt as well....

I'm so glad that we had a fun adult getaway!!!

Where We've Been

2011-07-12T07:52:00.001-05:00

We spent last week at the beach! Parker was with us for the beginning of the week, then mom brought Parker back to Auburn and we stayed with some friends. It was HARD to be away from her for so long, but it was nice to have some adult time, too. Stayed tuned for several posts about our beach trip throughout the week... but for now.... our first day on the beach!

Pottery Party

2011-07-03T09:46:00.001-05:00

One of my former parents has a business called "Let's Get Personal Pottery". When I had her son she invited me to several parties, as well as making my Teacher Appreciation Gift. She uses kids' hand prints or footprints to decorate the pottery. She has some really cute ideas! I knew when I had her son in my class that the first year we had a child our parents would be getting pottery for Mother's Day and Father's Day. I hosted a party back in April, but didn't want to post pictures until all of our family had their gifts. Here are a few pictures of Miss Parker painting...

oh my word! she has changed SO much since April!!!

Happy Friday!

2011-07-01T09:22:00.002-05:00

Recipe- Orange Dream Squares

2011-06-28T09:06:00.001-05:00

I used to post a few recipes on the blog....then for some reason I stopped. I'm going to try to start that again. I came across this one and it sounded good, so I tried it a few weeks ago with some friends. It was tasty! And pretty easy too!

(sorry- no pictures)

Orange Dream Squares

40 Nilla Wafers, crushed (honestly you need more than 40!)

1/2 stick butter, melted (I used more!)

2 cups milk

2 packages (4 serving) vanilla pudding

1 8 oz tub Cool Whip

2 cups orange sherbet (Raspberry would be good, too)

Line a 9x13 pan with foil (ends extending over the side). Mix crumbs and butter. Press into pan.

Add milk to dry pudding and blend. Stir in half of Cool Whip. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Add other half of Cool Whip to sherbet and spoon over pudding. Freeze for 3 hours before serving.

It was very easy to half the recipe, but I definitely used more than 40 Nilla Wafers and more than 1/2 a stick of butter. A 9x9 pan served 8 adults easily. I also thought about it... you could use a graham cracker pie crust but it would give it a little different taste...

ENJOY!

Six Month Pictures

2011-06-26T15:35:00.003-05:00

After our success with Parker's three month pictures, we decided to attempt her six month pictures ourselves as well. This time, we headed down to the Auburn University Arboretum to try to take some outdoors. I was hoping for some flowers, but due to the summer heat and drought conditions, most of the flowers were dead. We still had fun with her pictures though. Here are a few of the ones taken....

Six Months Old

2011-06-21T08:57:00.003-05:00

Sorry we're a few days late on this post... We didn't go to the doctor until yesterday.

Parker is at such a fun age! However, it doesn't seem possible that my baby is six months old already!

Six Months Stats-
Height: 27 inches (90th percentile)

Weight: 15 lbs (30th percentile)

Head: 16.6 inches (40th percentile)

Parker is definitely a little girly girl right now. She squeals and giggles all the time. She LOVES being outside. If she is upset about anything, all I have to do is go outside and she will immediately calm down. She is sitting up on her own very well. She still falls backwards occasionally but it no longer makes her cry.

Parker talks a lot. Especially in the car. We will hear her talking to herself, or her toy bar, or whatever lovey or toy she has in her hands. It is definitely a sound I love to hear. She really started with "mamama" this weekend. LOVE it! I know that she doesn't really know what she is saying but it makes me smile!

Parker has a fake "cough" that she does if she isn't getting enough attention. She has been doing it for about a month now. It's pretty funny!

It took us a while to get her to eat any oatmeal or rice, but now that she will, she eats like a champ! We have tried green beans, sweet potatoes, squash and pears. She has done well with all of them.

Here is Parker at 6 months old:

Beach Trip Part 3

2011-06-20T11:13:00.003-05:00

Having Parker with us meant that we couldn't spend all of our time outside in the sun like we normally would. We hung out inside and played, walked on the beach in the evenings and played in the swingset.

It was Parker's first time swinging and she loved it!

Of course, we had to travel with half our toys to entertain a certain someone....

We also enjoyed yummy dinner's out! She was a very happy girl this night...

and no... we did not plan to match or coordinate that night.... it just happened!

We had a blast spending time as a family! I can't wait to go back again in a few weeks....

Beach Trip Part 2

2011-06-19T12:03:00.004-05:00

We already knew that little girl loved the pool, so we knew if the beach itself did not go over well the pool would be a back up. Even though she loved the beach, we swam some too. This little one kicked herself all around the pool giggling and squealing! She had so much fun!!

Beach Trip Part 1

2011-06-18T11:12:00.003-05:00

We went to the beach this week to celebrate our fourth anniversary. We tried to start the habit early of going somewhere to celebrate our anniversary every year. For our first, we went to the lake for the night. For our second, we went to the beach. For our third anniversary, we stayed a night at Ross Bridge. This year, when we were planning, we decided that for our anniversary, we wanted to take Parker to the beach for the first time. Yes, it was our anniversary trip, but it was fun to see her experience something new! We had plenty of offers to babysit, but I'm so glad we took her with us....

Experiencing the sand for the first time....

And the salt water....

We have a future beach bum on our hands.... and I'm so glad that she loved the beach as much as we do!

Half Birthday

2011-06-15T07:00:00.005-05:00

Sweet Girl,
It is so hard to believe that you are six(!) months old today! It seems like just yesterday that we found out we were going to have a baby, and now you are half a year old! You have been such a blessing to us. We can't imagine what our life would be like without you in it. We love listening to you giggle and squeal and playing with you! We have so much fun playing with you and watching you learn new things.
We are at the beach right now to celebrate mommy and daddy's fourth anniversary tomorrow, and your half-birthday today. We can't wait to watch you on the beach and play with you in the pool. You are such a joy to us. We love you more than we ever could have imagined. Happy half-birthday Parker Beth!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Play Time

2011-06-11T15:09:00.002-05:00

We have really enjoyed play time since I have been home from work. (I'm sure that Parker enjoyed it before, while I was working). We pulled out her shape sorter last week, and Parker loves it. She has already figured out that if she turns it over or bangs the handle that it makes noise. Who cares about actually putting the shapes in the box!

Success!!

2011-06-09T14:54:00.003-05:00

After about six weeks of trying rice cereal or oatmeal every few days, Parker finally decided to eat it! I don't know what caused the flipped switch. She will eat both the rice and the oatmeal too.

Friends

2011-06-07T14:27:00.003-05:00

Parker and I went to Birmingham for a short visit. We stopped by the Esslinger's house to play! Of course, Amanda and I had to get pictures of the babies...

Will was all.over.the.place. It was hard to keep him still.

Parker did not know what to think about it all. She is still pretty stationary, but is definitely wanting to go.

We had a few sweet moments in there as well. Will and Parker were very intrigued with each other. We have several pictures of them "hitting" at each other. Will even tried to climb over Parker's head at one point!

It sure is hard to get a good picture of 3 kids 3 and under.... This was the best one of all of us!

John was much more interested in the puzzles than in anything the "babies" were doing!

I'm so glad we got a few hours to visit with the Esslingers! I wish we were closer so we could see them more often!!

Silly Girl

2011-06-05T13:55:00.002-05:00

Since she has been rolling so much lately, Parker has decided that it is funny to hang on to the rings and then roll over while hanging on. It's pretty cute, but looks uncomfortable on the way over!

Memorial Day

2011-06-02T09:02:00.006-05:00

Drew's shift had a pool party on Memorial Day. We had a great time hanging out and grilling and swimming. Drew has been blessed with a great shift....good friends and families to hang out with and for him to work with!

Oh- and see Miss Parker sucking on her bottom lip in most of these pictures... we think there might be a tooth on its way in....

Water Baby 2

2011-06-01T13:03:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago, our Sunday School class had a pool side social to honor a few couples who are moving this summer. We took Parker's swimsuit and decided we'd just see how she was before putting her in the pool. Well, stinker didn't nap that afternoon, so after she slept on me (in the 90 degree heat) she was HOT. So Drew decided to dip her feet in the pool so that she could cool off.... next thing I know Parker is soaked! She loved playing in the water... good thing we had extra clothes!

Water Baby

2011-05-31T17:06:00.002-05:00

Parks is loving the baby pool...

One of us still has to be either in it or right beside it for balance purposes, but it's been fun to watch her in there!!!

Rolling

2011-05-28T08:19:00.002-05:00

I posted in Parker's 5 month update that she could roll, but didn't do it often. Well that has certainly changed. Little Miss is rolling ALL the time and very quickly. Here's a quick video!

5 Months Outtakes...

2011-05-27T17:19:00.002-05:00

FBCO Green's Youngest Fans

2011-05-18T06:55:00.004-05:00

Softball

2011-05-17T16:11:00.004-05:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-16T07:49:00.002-05:00

I had a great first Mother's Day! We went to Sunday School and just spent the day relaxing around the house!! Parker took a big afternoon nap that day too.

Drew asked me over and over what I wanted to do for Mother's Day and all I could really tell him was to take Parker to the pool. Since she LOVES bathtime so much, I was (and still am) interested to see how she will do swimming.
I talked to some neigbors and kept hearing how cold the water in our neighborhood pool is, so we decided to go ahead and buy a baby pool for the back deck. After miss priss woke up from her nap, we put on our bathing suits and had some fun. She wasn't sure about it at first, but warmed up to it. I can't wait to see her reaction in the big pool soon!

Five Months Old

2011-05-15T15:48:00.002-05:00

Where to start about our sweet girl at five months....

We are SO blessed with a happy, carefree baby. She rarely cries, so when she does, we know something is up... whether it be sleepy, hungry or dirty! Parker loves to play and laugh.

* She is able to roll from her tummy to her back and from her back to her tummy, although she doesn't do it very often!

* I love the smiles and excitement I get in the afternoon when I get home from work. (I would most definitely love to be a stay at home mommy, but her reaction when I get home is exciting and fun!)

* Parker does not like rice cereal or oatmeal, so we have taken a break on trying either of those for a while.

*She loves to sit up and look around... in laps, on the boppy, in her entertainer, in the bumbo wherever...as long as she can see. We are also practicing sitting up on our own!!

* Has a new-found fascination with mommy's hair (or any other lady with long hair that she can pull on!)

* Parker went to the nursery at church for the first time this morning and did great!

* She is wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes, but can still fit in a few 0-3 outfits. Parks is still skinny, but has gotten some chunky legs and a little bit of belly. I'd love to know what she weighs!

*Parker is able to sleep all night, and has been for 2 months. Now whether or not she does is another story!

Here's our 5 month old....

My Angel

2011-05-12T07:52:00.004-05:00

Pictures

2011-05-10T08:59:00.002-05:00

My Dad stopped by for a visit on the Tuesday after Easter. It was a short visit, but it was great to see him. Parker enjoyed the visit...

We snapped these one day in the swing...

An Easter Post...

2011-05-08T20:59:00.002-05:00

I started this last week, but we kept having computer and/or internet problems.... so I'm just now getting around to finishing it!

I guess it's better late than never. Things have been a little crazy around our house and I haven't had a chance to get pictures off the camera until this week!

We were excited for Easter weekend, because that brought a special visitor from Houston home to see us... that's right... Jager was here! I was very excited to see him, and I think he really enjoyed a playful, interactive Parker. Mom was able to come down for the weekend, too. Unfortunately Drew had to work on Easter Sunday, but Mom, Parker and I went to church. It was Parker's first visit to actual church. We have taken her to Sunday School several times, but have never made it to church. We had lunch after church, then Parker explored her Easter basket(s) and gifts. Here are a few pictures...

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T06:33:00.002-05:00

Love, Parker

My Fun New Toy

2011-04-21T06:52:00.004-05:00

Rice Cereal

2011-04-20T17:16:00.001-05:00

So, Parker is not a huge fan of cereal.... we have a hard time getting any in her mouth! We'll just keep trying.

Relaxed

2011-04-19T12:03:00.002-05:00

One afternoon, Drew and I walked in to get Parker up from her nap, and found her like this...

A Few Pictures...

2011-04-18T16:03:00.000-05:00