It's Finally Happened!

Parker is walking! Yay! We have been making him walk everywhere lately while holding our hands, but he has been afraid to let go and walk on his own. While we were in NY this weekend visiting my sister, he finally let go. And while he's still choosing to scoot most of the time because that's what he's comfortable with, if we pick him up and put him on his feet he'll walk. Parker, we're so proud of you!!

Vacation on the Beach

A few weeks ago we took a trip with my parents and Danielle & Mike to the Outer Banks. Despite the fact that the weather was absolutely miserable the entire week other than the day we got there, we had a wonderful time. Our house was in Salvo, just past Rodanthe. Normally we don't spend much time in the house but we definitely got our money's worth this vacation! It rained everyday and the wind blew so hard the house shook. Most of the area was flooded and at one point we wondered if we were going to be able to get off the island!

I'm glad we took Parker swimming the first day because it was the only chance we got to get in. We did walk down to the beach once in between the rain showers and Parker loved walking in the sand (he's still not a fan of the water) and chasing the birds. The mosquitos were horrible and Chad ended up with 15 bites in one walk down to the beach. We attempted a walk one morning but Parker ended up getting stung by a bee twice so that outing didn't last long.

We made a trip to the Food Lion every day to get something that we didn't really need, but it gave us something to do and was the closest thing to us. We did spend some time in Nags Head and went to the NC Aquarium one morning (which I wouldn't recommend to anyone...either we missed part of it or it's just that lame). Since Danielle is getting married in May, I decided we should make her Save the Dates since I have a Cricut. It was a HUGE project and a lot of work but they came out so cute! Not sure I will attempt to make a hundred of something again...

Parker likes the water but isn't so sure about floaties.

Grampie was so happy to see Parker sporting the outfit they bought him in Hawaii last year...he blended right in with our couch!

So snuggly after a nap!

Giving Aunt Danielle advice on her picks for football

One of my favorite pictures ever..love the hairdo!

Aunt Danielle & Uncle Mike taught Parker how to pet an alligator

As Parker would say..."Uh oh!"

We were supposed to stay until Saturday morning but it ended up raining Friday, even though they said it wasn't supposed to so we left and came home a day early. I guess you take a chance with the weather when you plan a vacation at the beach at the end of September. But we had a great time just being together. Can't wait for the next one!

Labor Day in NY

Labor Day weekend we surprised Chad's family at their camp in Speculator, NY. We first drove to my sister's and picked her up and took her with us. We decided to make the LONG trip because Chad's Uncle Bob was home from Africa for a visit. We had such a good time...Chad & I haven't been to camp in about 4 years so it was fun to be back there. The weather wasn't that great but we all enjoyed the break from the hot weather. Parker was happy as a clam because we spent the entire weekend outside, which is his favorite place. I'm pretty sure he'd live outside if we let him! We went on a hike while we were there, and Parker was so comfy in his backpack that he took a nap (which was nice because he didn't sleep very well while we were there). Unfortunately, we were too far from my parents to be able to see my family this trip, but we saw them two weeks later in the Outer Banks. It was a long drive, but well worth it!

Parker loved this swing...can you tell?

It's very difficult to get Parker to look at the camera for a picture these days!

Parker & his Aunt Shannon

Megan & Molly put Parker in this basket about 20 times...He is actually having fun although you can't really tell by the look on his face!

The girls are seeing what it's like to scoot!

So happy! Time for a snooze..

Parker & Aunt Danielle

Shannon, Wade, Megan & Molly

Playdate!

Ian is our neighbor...his mom, Kristi watched Parker last year while I tutored and will hopefully do the same this year. Last week she went to get her hair cut so she dropped him off to play (This was the first time she went by herself...she normally takes him with her!). He is such a sweetie! Parker loves him and thinks he's hilarious. They played with different toys away from each other for most of the morning until I got out the Mega Blocks...they still played separately but were so cute sitting and playing beside one another. At one point, Parker reached over and put a block on Ian's tower but that was it for interaction.

Coloring with Daddy

Eli has had to make several trips to the vet lately for mitaban dips due to mites attacking his poor weak puppy immune system. On one of our trips to pick him up, one of the receptionists asked if Parker liked to color and gave him a little coloring book. We had bought him some jumbo crayons so Chad decided to help him learn how to color. He seems to really like it and is very talented...just look at the final product (ok...he had some help!)!

Here Daddy...let me put a purple on this picture!

Remember how I said Parker had some help?? Well, he must have gotten tired of coloring because after a few minutes, I checked on them and this is what I found!

Yes, I caught you coloring by yourself!

Lucky Aunt Danielle...she has this hanging on her fridge!

July Trip to NY

Why does it take me so long to get things posted on here?? It's only been about a month since we were in NY...

Parker & I flew to my sister's to visit for a few days at the end of July. From there we met Chad in Ilion and dropped Parker off for his first overnight visit away from Mommy & Daddy. We left him in good hands (Chad's family) and of course, he had a wonderful time! Danielle, Mike, Chad & I went to Rochester where my very good friend Julia got married. It was such a beautiful wedding and unfortunately, I forgot my camera so there are no pictures to post! But the four of us really enjoyed our night out...not sure when we'll get to do that again. Chad was only able to spend the weekend in NY so when he went home, Parker & I headed to the lake. My family was there on vacation so Parker really got spoiled! And even though we had the best time, I was ready to come home at the end of the week.

Checking out his ride to NY...he did GREAT on all of our flights. He slept the whole way to my sister's (we were lucky enough to have a direct flight) and played and read books on the flights back to NC. I was a little nervous about flying with him for the first time by myself but I couldn't have asked for a better trip!

Molly didn't go too far from Parker's side while he was at her house :)

Megan, Molly & Parker

Parker's not really into photo shoots these days!

My mom was quite happy when Parker decided to take a quick nap before we headed to the beach. We don't really get to hold him much anymore when he sleeps.

Parker was my dad's sidekick while we were at Sandy Pond.

He didn't let Grampie get out of his sight!

My cousins enjoying the sand couch they built

My cousins, Tyler & Emma

My grandma & mom feeding Parker a cupcake...Why is it so fun to feed babies sweet things?

Parker & his Great Grandma B

Parker's Dedication

We had Parker dedicated on August 8th. We would have loved to have our whole family there but were blessed to have Chad's parents, my mom, Kari & Art there. With most of our family being in NY it's quite a challenge to get everyone in NC all at once. We were a little worried about how he would behave but he did really well and even went to Pastor Don...for a second!

Parker with Pastor Don

Aww...look how good he was during the prayer!

Well, maybe not!

Chad, Parker & I with my mom

Chad, Parker & I with Chad's parents and Kari & Art