Yee Haw

Papa Russ bought Parker his first cowboy hat. He loves to go visit Gigi and Papa Russ and look at their horses. I think he has inherited his Papa's love of horses.

Pool Shark

Parker started taking swim lessons with Drew this May at the Jones Center. The swim instructor has a sequence that she tells the kids: kick, kick, kick, bubble, bubble, bubble, dig, dig, dig. He has the kicking part down. We're getting close on the bubbles. As for the "dig, dig, dig," Parker thinks he's supposed to say "dig, dig, dig" instead of actually doing it. I'm sure we'll get lots of practice this summer at Gigi and Papa Russ's pool!

What goes around, comes around

You might be wondering what's the mark on "Avery girl"? May I present the culprit.....dun, dun, dun....



Pistol Parker. He loves this squirt bottle. We've all been hit by it too many times to count. Lately, his favorite target has been "Avery girl." Here's for all the times she gobbled the food he was about to eat, for chewing up toys, pacifiers, and his favorite hat. Watch out Avery girl.

Latest Hobby

I've enjoyed painting on and off my whole life. I took many art classes all through school. Recently, it is a love of mine again. I'm not really original at it......It's kind of random, but get most of my inspiration from pillows. So anyways, these are two paintings I have done in the past two months.

It's Raining, It's Pouring....

and Parker was hardly snoring. We were looking outside to see how hard it was raining, and before I knew it, this little guy was playing out in the rain. He LOVED it!

Parker & Drew Bear

Yesterday Kelli and I took the boys to lake Fayetteville to try to get some pictures. A few miles and 45 pictures later, we got several good shots. These little guys are fast!

Easter

I really enjoy Easter. I attempt to make my life a celebration of God and His goodness, but I fail daily. Easter is a great time to really think about what Christ did for us. It's fun to eat candy, hunt eggs, and get together with friends and family. But it's really about Jesus dying for us so that we would be forgiven. Amazing. Now that I have a son, I can't even fathom it. What an awesome God.




This year, Parker was really interested in hunting eggs. He was more interested in eating what was inside of the eggs. He had so much fun! It took him a while to learn the word egg (he kept calling them balls), but he finally got it. We had a great time celebrating with our family and friends. Parker woke up to an Easter basket, which he really enjoyed. We then went to Uncle Gaylord's with my parents and Jason & Cindy to eat blueberry pancakes. Jason & Cindy had a little surprise of their own.....They're pregnant!!!! We are soooo excited. Parker has always wanted a cousin! After breakfast, we went to church (kids were in the service). I had spent an hour preparing exciting activities to keep Parker quiet, and I only had to break out the Diego fruit snacks and a book. He said Jaime's name about 10 times (she sat in front of us), but other than that, he did awesome!! He actually fell asleep during worship. I had two different people ask me if I had given him Bennadryl. I have to give credit to God, because it was a miracle! After a very short nap, Parker hunted eggs at our house. We went to the Davis's for dinner and more egg hunting. I'm still full from all the food that was consumed!

Sandbox

I have to give many, many props to my dad for building this custom sandbox for Parker. It has Parker's initials on it and a Razorback! I feel like I have a mini beach in my backyard! Parker loves to dig in the sand, but doesn't especially like the sand on his feet. I'm sure he'll warm up to it! Thanks so much Pop!

Mr. Monkey

Thanks to Gigi for this fabulous shirt! Notice the fauxhawk on the monkey. On Parker's really good hair days, he has a fauxhawk. On the back of the shirt (top left corner) there is a can of hairwax. How perfect!

Little Guy

Parker turned 17 months last week. It's crazy how time flies. I really tried hard his first year to capture every moment. It was easy because the new moments were few and far between. Now, he does like 20 new things a day; some sweet, others not so sweet. He keeps us laughing and he also keeps us on our toes. I started reading "Raising A Strong Willed Child" by James Dobson last week. His latest is "No Mommy" or "No Daddy" when he doesn't want our help. I thought was supposed to be with the terrible twos. With the challenges also come the blessings. He is loads of fun.


Keeping with the "that face" theme...Here's "that face" outside today while we were playing. You'll be glad to know that this hat made it safely inside without Avery gul touching it!

Avery Gul

A more fitting title would be "Stinking Dog", but that wouldn't be nice. Our dog Avery (Parker calls her "Avery gul" which translates to Avery girl) is Parker's best friend. I think I hear "Avery gul" about 100 times a day. Good ole Avery gul got Parker's hat today when he was playing outside. Stinking dog.

That Face Madness

So it's hard to get a normal picture of Parker these days. We're thinking of doing a spin off of the Nelson's "Bumbo Madness" and making it "That Face Madness". Here's "That Face" in the bathtub. You never know where the next one will be!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Snow Fun!

This is the first snow that Parker enjoyed. He loved it. He kept sticking his tongue out and reaching his arms up high. He had fun playing with Patrick and also the neighborhood boys. We really enjoyed the snow but are SO ready for the spring!

That Face

Next time you see Parker, you will have to ask him "Where's that face?" This is what he will do. Thanks to the McGooden's for coining the phrase.

Big Boy

Parker is officially a big boy! As of today, he has been without his pacifier for 1 week. It was hard, but worth it. He has only asked for it once. After many threats from Sarah (a speech pathologist), we decided it was time. He is now 15 months old, 26 1/2 pounds, 34 inches tall, and is finally back in the 97th percentile. He spent most of his first year in the 110th percentile. He is running all over the place and saying about 30 words. It's crazy how much he changes!

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!