Leo the Lion

While my sister and Mike were in Las Vegas, they got Parker this lion. After much consideration for the perfect name, they finally settled on "Leo" and were hoping he'd love it. Well, obviously he does! He's been sleeping with him at night, and now as soon as we get in his room at naptime or bedtime he reaches for him. Thanks, Aunt Danielle & Uncle Mike!

Did I Hear a Lawn Mower?

Parker has taken a huge interest in lawn mowers lately. He usually hears one while we're outside and reaches out like he's saying "take me to see it". One evening while he was outside playing, Chad starting mowing the yard and he would not rest until Chad came and got him. He was so happy to be "helping" and was not a happy camper when Chad put him because he got too heavy. Luckily, it was bath time anyways so we went inside while Chad finished mowing the backyard. Now he knows how hard it is to push a cart while carrying Parker around the grocery store!

Just Like Aunt Danielle

If you know my sister, Danielle, you know just how much she loves ketchup. She eats it on all the normal things - french fries, hotdogs, scrambled eggs (is it normal to eat ketchup on eggs??), but she eats A TON of it on all of those things. Well, apparently Parker loves it too! We had hamburgers and potatoes for dinner and he was so cute dipping pieces in the ketchup and then eating them. I think he had the most fun smearing it all over his tray, which is typical these days. Eli really enjoys this too because pieces of food usually go flying and he is more than happy to clean up the mess!

Speaking of Wagons...

Parker got a wagon for his birthday from my parents - actually it's my dad's old wagon that he rode in as a kid. I wasn't sure that he was going to like it and was worried that he'd just try to climb out. But he loves it! He is content to just sit and ride up and down the driveway and hasn't tried to get out once. I would like to put some sides on it just in case, so we can take him for a ride somewhere other than the driveway. Grampie - Add that to your list of projects in the fall!!

Chad had just finished cutting down two trees in our backyard that came down when a huge tree from next door fell into our yard during a random storm this week, which is why he's so sweaty. And don't worry...I was on him all morning to make sure he drank enough sowe didn't have any repeat episodes in the ER!

Can we just go one more time, please?!

And yes, I too think the Swagger Wagon video is hilarious. My friend& I always talk about how we will NEVER drive a minivan - But then she emailed me that video. I don't know, it might just change my mind....Or maybe not!

Nona & Grampie Visit

A few weeks ago I sent my mom a text telling her that Parker was starting to pull up on things. Well, her and my dad decided they wanted to see it in person so that day they booked their flights to come visit the following week! This surprised both Chad & I since they don't do anything that hasn't been planned for at least two months or more. It was fun having them here, and I know they really enjoyed spending time with Parker. One morning we got up really early (to beat the heat) and took Parker to play at the park. They had fun pushing him in the swing and playing on the toddler playground. And I enjoyed just watching and taking pictures!

Grampie taking a turn pushing Parker

Nona taking her turn

They have a trail that's right near the park so we thought we'd go for a walk and check it out. Unfortunately, Parker wasn't really in the mood so we didn't make it too far!

Mom & I like going for coffee when we get together. I usually have to hide it from Parker because he always cries and wants my cup. He was very happy when I handed it over, although I had to take it away within a few minutes because he started chewing pieces off the bottom!

Time for a Trim

While at the lake for Parker's birthday, Aunt Brenda suggested that it might be time to give Parker a haircut. Actually she just wanted to trim up the hair around his ears, which Chad & I wanted to do for quite some time but didn't want to have to pay someone to just cut that little bit, and I wasn't brave enough to do it myself. Parker just sat and played with some toys while she cut it. It looked so much better...Thanks Aunt Brenda!

P.S. Aunt Brenda, would you mind giving him another haircut when we see you at the end of July? He might need a little more than a trim around the ears though... :)

Happy 1st Birthday Parker!

Parker was lucky enough to have three celebrations for his first birthday! He celebrated with Aunt Kari & Uncle Art on his actual birthday, went to NY Memorial Day weekend to celebrate with our family, and then had lots of his friends over for a cookout to celebrate a few weeks later.

Here are a few pics of our celebration with Uncle Art & Aunt Kari:

Testing out his new "Retro Rocket"

Uncle Art made Parker his first birthday cake...who knew he was so talented??

Not so sure about the cake at first...

Obviously he was a fan - He ate every bit of it!

We decided to make the LONG trip to NY on Memorial Day weekend so we could celebrate Parker's birthday with our family. Chad ended up taking an extra day off so we were able to surprise my family and get there a day early. We left at 4pm on Thursday evening, thinking Parker would sleep most of the trip. Unfortunately that didn't happen...he slept on and off from 9-12 but was wide awake from about 12am on. I was a little worried that he was going to be miserable when we got there at 3:30 and he only slept for a few hours before he was ready to get up for the day. But he was so happy! I guess he loves Sandy Pond as much as the rest of us. My mom worked so hard to make sure everything was perfect for the party and of course, it was! Thanks, Mom for making it such a special day for Parker!

His very talented Mia made him four birthday cakes - here are the truck and race car. The other two were a teddy bear and a #1.

Reading a book with Great Grandma D. and Aunt Shannon

He obviously liked his cake...

He started out licking the frosting and grabbing at it with his hands - Eventually

he gave up and just went face first into it!

So tasty!

Parker and his cousins, Megan & Molly

I'm still waiting on pictures of his third birthday celebration. Somehow I didn't get one picture on my camera! Parker had such a fun time playing with his friends. Our house hasn't seen that much activity in awhile, and at one point I'm not sure we could have fit one more toy, person, or baby in our livingroom! Debbie did an awesome job with the cakes - She made a 3-D baseball and a baseball field. We were so glad to have so many friends come to celebrate with us!

I still can't believe Parker's one year old already...those first 12 months flew by! He's such a sweet boy and we love him so much!