Myrtle Beach

The day after we got back from NY after visiting my sister we continued our east coast tour and headed to Myrtle Beach to meet Chad's family. Parker really enjoyed spending time with his cousins, Megan & Molly. They were so cute with him. Molly is like a little mother and was at my side for every bath, diaper change, etc. She loves dolls, and I think she was a little disappointed that he didn't want her to feed him his dinner or give him his sippy cup like a bottle. They had a great time playing in the sand, watching cartoons, and chasing each other all around the condo! We had to come back a few days earlier to work but they came back to our house for two days after they left the beach so that was nice to look forward to. But of course the trip went way too fast!

Aunt Shannon, Molly & Parker

Here's a rare moment that Parker was actually wearing his hat and sunglasses. Check out those knees...he fell while running by the pool.

Pizza face...and another scrape on the nose from his fall by the pool!

Family photo...cheese!

Alligator Adventure

While we were in Myrtle Beach, we took the kids to Alligator Adventure. It was a huge hit! Parker hadn't ever really been to a zoo or any place similar so he loved checking everything out. It was a pretty neat place, even though reptiles are definitely not my thing. I'm going to have to learn to like them since I'm pretty sure Parker will want to go back!

I have never seen someone feed an alligator before...this guy was just tossing big pieces of raw chicken down to them and the alligators would all go after it. You can only imagine the sound it made when their jaws snapped shut!
Aunt Kari, Parker, Megan & Molly

Megan taking her turn pushing Parker in the stroller... now it's Molly's turn!

"Where's the alligators go??"

So cute!

Parker got a chance to touch this baby alligator!

Parker with "MeganMolly"...that's what he calls the girls. I guess he figures if he says both names he'll get one of them to answer. One of these days he'll figure it out!

Push up pops sounded like a good idea since it was such a hot day. It started out very neatly...

but it didn't stay that way! This is mild compared to how he looked when he was done. He was so messy and sticky I couldn't even get a picture of him when he finished...he had it everywhere!

A Few Days at Aunt Elle & Uncle Mike's

After Danielle's shower, Parker and I got to stay a few extra days. Here's a look at how we occupied ourselves during our visit...

A picture of the girls (and Parker) before they left...I need to photoshop Jenna in here!

Water painting...even more fun when you're painting your favorite train, Thomas!

Parker helped Aunt Elle make breakfast...cracking eggs is pretty tricky!

Aunt Elle & Uncle Mike set up an egg hunt (several egg hunts actually)...one M&M per egg to keep him going and to prevent a belly ache!

Having a look at the eggs he'd already collected!

Parker is fascinated with the treadmill and eliptical in the workout room...Nona was happy to oblige and let him have a try!

The pool table was also a huge hit...what a face!

The highlight of Parker's visit...going to see the train! It runs right by Danielle & Mike's house, which sometimes makes putting him down for a nap or to bed a little tricky...Just when you think he's about asleep a train goes by and he'll roll over and say "train!". One morning we walked down and waited for one to go by. In typical Parker fashion, he showed no emotion but I know he enjoyed every second of it!

Parker's first time coloring easter eggs. We started with the traditional way...

...then we moved on to tye-dying them!

The final product...so colorful!

Parker loves his Aunt Elle and Uncle Mike...and I'm pretty sure they feel the same way about him! Thanks for making our visit so much fun!

Danielle's Wedding Shower

April 16th was my sister's wedding shower. We surprised her with a 50s themed shower...she was convinced it was a candy shower since she loves candy so much (we both do). But she's also into the 50s and my wedding shower was a candy shower so we couldn't have the same theme for hers. There was a candy table so I guess it was the best of both worlds! I think the best part was that her fiance, Mike suprised her with a cake from the Cake Boss! His sister, Jacklyn designed the cake and then they drove to Hoboken several weeks before the shower for the consultation (they don't take orders over the phone or email so they had to drive all the way out there). Parker & I flew in two days before the shower to the LaGuardia airport so Mike picked us up and we went from there to get the cake up. I'm not sure if I was more excited to see the cake or about going to the bakery. I didn't think I was going to get to go in but Mike fabricated the story a little bit and told me that the woman who took the order said to give the order slip to the guy at the door and drive around to the back alley and someone would bring it out to us. So I got out and gave the very confused door guy the slip and said I'd be out back waiting for them to bring out the cake. Well...apparently she had said they "might" tell him to drive around back to pick it up. The guy at the door came around back and said they needed us to come in and pick it up so we all got to go in! I can't believe how many people were in there...it's just as tiny as it looks on tv....and Mike said it was much busier the day he went to order it. There was also a line way down the block of people waiting to go in and the people that work there say it's like that 7 days a week! We got to see Frank and Grace while we were in there. And since this was a surprise for Danielle we were a little worried when Parker started saying "cake cake" as we drove home! Luckily he got it out of his system and didn't mention it again after we dropped it off and Ann Marie's house. :)

The cake was so good! Vanilla with chocolate ganache...we normally don't eat left over cake but I'm pretty sure every bit of that one got eaten.

The record has the name of their song "Stand By Me" and their names and wedding date on it.

We were so happy with how all the decorations came together since the 5 of us planning it didn't get together until the morning of the shower!

Danielle with Parker & Camryn

The centerpieces

The happy bride-to-be as she got to the party!

Parker found someone who loves to dance as much as he does!

The night of the shower we had Danielle's bachelorette party. We did a wine tasting and played games at her house. It was so fun to have the girls all together for the weekend...It's hard to believe the wedding is just 9 days away!

Jebby

A few weeks ago I was able to get together with Jenny, who I have been friends with since I was little and lost touch with for a while. It was so great to see her again and for her to finally meet Parker. He loves "Jebby" just as much as I do (He's starting to get the hang of saying Jenny now but Jebby just sounds so cute!) Now that she's in Charlotte and we know it's not that far of a drive, I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of her!

Jenna & Derek's Wedding

On March 12th, Derek & Jenna said "I do!" That's right...Thee Baby Jenna got married! Growing up, that was my cousin Jenna's nickname. She was a pretty big deal in our family since when she was born my sister and I were old enough to hold her, play with her, and she was pretty spoiled by everyone else too. The wedding was so beautiful...Jenna looked like she stepped out of a magazine. It was obvious how much they adore each other and I know they're going to be so happy together!

The happy couple

Jenna and her family

My cousins Kyle and Jordan with Danielle and I

Emma - Jenna's younger sister and MOH...just look at that face! We all tried to avoid looking at her during the ceremony because she always had big crocodile tears in her eyes and we'd all end up crying.

Who let my child eat dirty snow??

Danielle, Mike and I

It feels like we've been talking about the wedding forever and it's hard to believe it's come and gone. Now Jenna & Derek are living in California and have been married for a month already! Time to start counting down to Mike and Danielle's wedding...just a little over a month to go!

We're Baaaack!

I know...it's April and I'm posting Christmas pictures. I could make a lot of excuses like my computer was broken for a month after we got home from NY and that I've been really busy, all of which are true. But I'm sure I could have found some time between then and now to catch up...I'm so far behind that it was just easier to put it off. In fact, I'm only going to post a couple pictures from our Christmas in NY and PA so I can keep updating and not be so overwhelmed! We had a wonderful time visiting our families. Parker was such a great traveler...thank goodness for one Mickey Mouse dvd and a portable dvd player. Yes, we watched the same Mickey dvd over and over and over for hours on end...but it kept him happy and that was all that mattered! We started our northeastern tour in PA and had Christmas at my Aunt Brenda and Uncle Craig's house with my family. We then traveled to NY to see my grandparents. From there we went to visit Chad's family and celebrated the holidays with them. After a few days we moved on to my sister's and had Xmas with Danielle, Mike and my parents. Then, a day late due to a huge snow storm, we traveled back to my Aunt Brenda's so we could be there for Jenna's bridal shower. We spent a couple more days there and then finally headed back to NC. I absolutely loved spending so much time with our families. Everyone made such a big deal over Parker and he was quite satisfied being the center of attention. But it's a lot harder traveling with a toddler and next year we've decided to stay home for the holidays. We want to start our own family traditions. And I have to say - it will nice having everyone come to visit us!

Parker with his cousins Megan & Molly

Chad, Parker & I with my parents, Danielle & Mike, and my grandparents

Our annual picture with all the kids. The couch gets a little more crowded every year...the kids are getting bigger and there's a lot of more of us! Tyler and Derek were missing this year. And Uncle Craig never finds it old to peek his head in the picture...can you find him? :)