Go Hogs!

Just a little shout out to our Hogs....Beat Wisconsin!

Christmas

Well, it went as quickly as it came.....Christmas that is. Oh how I love this time of year! We had a lot of fun spending time with our family! We consumed way too much food. I hope you too had a great time celebrating Christ's birth.

Ugly Sweater Christmas Party

So, we had our anual "Ugly Sweater Christmas Party" this year. Our community group had some rockin sweaters. I thought for sure Patrick would win, but when I saw Sarah's "Twelve Days of Christmas Sweater", I knew she was the winner. Oh and she was! I have included pictures of us and Sarah. I hope everyone has a blessed Christmas!

Let it snow!

Even though it was just a little snow, we still enjoyed it. Maybe Patrick and I more than Parker. I think it was just too cold for Parker to really have fun. He did like the sound of snow when he walked. We are already looking forward to the next snow.

Wow Hair!

Wow. That's all I could say yesterday morning when I walked into Parker's room to get him up. We have started scheduling monthly hair appointments for him. Isn't that crazy? He's only 14 months old.

Thanksgiving

Psalm 107:1 Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!

I praise God for all of His blessings, especially family. We had such a great time in DeQueen. We missed Jason & Cindy and Clay & Esma though! We enjoyed spending time together, food, food, & more food, and visiting Jason & Cindy's new home.

Little Stinker

This year's costume suited Parker just right...he felt pretty stinky on Halloween. We enjoyed a fun night at the Millers with our community group from church. We had soup, smores, & hot apple cider. All of Parker's buddies were there: Jane the bear, Spiderman Max, Superman Grant, Jack as Jack Jack, Superman Drew, Abe as Yoda, and Luke the Lion. Kids in costume is one of my favorite things!

The Crag

On Sunday we went hiking at Hawksbill Crag with our community group. It's hard to see, but that is us on the crag. We enjoyed many beautiful fall leaves. Of course it's not a hike without a jump pic. There is nothing like fall in the Ozarks!

Oh Boys!

So last night we kept the McGooden boys for a few hours. It's always a treat to be around them. They're hilarious! Here a few things that I overheard them saying:

Grant was lifting up his shirt and pointing to his outtie belly button.
Max's reply: "It looks like he is peeing."

Nate: "Grant, stop chasing the dog"
Grant: "But she wild"

Max was telling us about his visit to the dentist:
Max:"I have to use "florlide" so that I won't get any more cavities."
Patrick: "How do you get rid of cavities?"
Max: "You have to play lots of sports; that's what I'm doing."

Sweet Babies

Today Kelli Davis, Carrie Tucker, Vicki (Gigi) and I took the kiddos to Mt. Sequoyah to take fall pics. We had so much fun! It was such hard work. I'm not sure what Jane, Parker, & Drew are looking at. I didn't get one picture of them all looking at me. This is as good as it gets.

Sweet Boy

I love this picture of Parker. We took it a few months ago, but I just wanted to share.

Birthday Boy

Well, it's hard to believe, but on Thursday Parker will be 1. We had a Razorback party on Sunday with our community group and family. Parker had a blast! God has blessed Parker with a lot of friends and family. It's so cool to see God's blessings so early in Parker's life. He enjoyed playing with the kiddos and eating. He entertained us as well. Thanks to everyone for making it a special birthday for Parker!

Where's Your Nose?

One of Parker's many tricks is to point to his nose, except he typically sticks his finger in it when asked, "where's your nose?". Typical boy! Some of his other tricks include:

Calling the Hogs
Signing: please, more, eat, & all done
shrugging when you ask "what's up"
making a pig noise
holding up his finger for "This little light of mine"

Colorado

We just got back from a week in Beaver Creek, Colorado. We had a blast! Rich & Renee met us there for part of the week. We enjoyed hiking and hanging out. It was really nice to get to wear fallish clothes for a week. The weather was perfect. Not too shabby in NWA either.

Burba Ann

My roommate from college, Jennifer Burba (better known as Burba), came in town last week for a visit. We had so much fun catching up on life and reminiscing. I know a lot of you that read my blog know Burba. She is quite a girl. Parker is very found of her. We hope to see you soon B.

Flexible

I caught Parker sleeping like this the other day. How can babies be so flexible? He definitely doesn't get it from me!

Fun at the Lake

This past weekend, we went to DeQueen to visit my family. On Saturday, we went to the lake. Patrick, Parker, and I enjoyed tubing. Parker really enjoyed tubing-if you can call it that, we barely went at all. Next time you see Patrick, make sure you ask him why it's not a good idea to put your gum in the water.

Thanks Pop!

My parents have been visiting since Sunday. Parker loves spending time with his grandparents! Today his Pop surprised him with this wagon. He LOVES it! He had ridden in Grant's and Abe's wagons and thought it was the best. The whole time he is in it he has a huge smile. Thanks Pop! We look forward to many fun times in the wagon.

Chocolate Pie

This past week, Parker and I went to visit my parents and grandparents. One of my reasons for going was to learn how to make my Nanny's homemade chocolate pie. It's one of my favorites. Last Wednesday, mom, Parker and I went to Oklahoma so that I could learn how to make her pie. I had such a great time. Now the real test will be making the pie without my grandmother there. I'll let you know how it goes. Future visits will hopefully involve quilting and learning how to make her apple pie. Grandmothers are such a treat!

9 Months Old

It's hard to believe, but yesterday Parker was 9 months old. He had his 9 month check up with Dr. Froman. He weighs 24.4 pounds and is 31 1/4 inches long. Dr. Froman said "he's a big boy" at least 10 times. He's completely off the chart for his age group. This is so crazy to us since we are of normal size. We are, however, very thankful for our little giant.

Jane & Parker

Parker's other love, besides food, is sweet baby Jane. I think more than anything they enjoy each other because they are the same age and at the same stages...well kind of. Parker isn't crawling, but other than that they have many things in common. Carrie and I meet weekly for accountability and have started taking the kiddos swimming. These are pictures of them swimming in Gigi and Papa Russ's pool. They loved swimming and Parker loved splashing. There is something about babies in swimsuits!

I Want More!

Patrick decided to share his lemonade slushy with Parker. He couldn't keep him satisfied. Parker would make the funniest faces everytime he wanted another bite. We couldn't stop laughing at him. He is so animated.

Lost Valley

My parents came up for Memorial weekend so we decided to take them on a hike. Patrick and I love the Buffalo River area and do not make it there near enough. Dan and Carol advised us on going to Lost Valley. It was beautiful! There were caves and very small traces of waterfalls. It was Parker's first time to go hiking. He really enjoyed the backpack. This is definitely the first of many more hiking trips to come.

PDK 7 Months

Even though this picture is almost one month old, I had to share it. I think that it captures Parker's personality. He will be 8 months old on Sunday. Some of his favs: food, of course, laughing, making people laugh, and scooting on his bottom. He has not mastered crawling yet. He's thinking about it, so we will see how long it takes if it happens at all. He is 23.3 lbs. He's HUGE. Everyone keeps telling me that his growing will slow down...well it hasn't. I'm looking forward to when it does. I'm not sure how much more weight my arms can take!

Florida

We had an early vacation this year and went to New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It's a perfect little town about 45 minutes from Orlando. Patrick's grandparents live there, so we went to visit them. We enjoyed time at the beach, pool, and lots of yogurt! His grandparents own the California Yogurt shop there (they're originally from California). Parker loved swimming in the pool, but was a bit confused about the ocean. He did enjoy lots of sand! I'm still finding it everywhere.