Our Little Pumpkin!

When I asked Parker a few months ago what he wanted to be for Halloween, without hesitation he said “a pumpkin!”.  I thought maybe he’d change his mind but every time we’d ask him, he’d always say he wanted to be a pumpkin.  So a pumpkin he was!  And while I know I’m a little biased, I’m pretty sure he was the CUTEST pumpkin ever! 

(He refused to wear the hat with the stem)

Parker was invited to a Halloween party, and it was great to catch up with friends we hadn’t seen in awhile.  Here are the kids all dressed…love it!

Can you tell how much he loved wearing his costume?  He never sits still this long to let me take pictures…

          

From the party we went “trunk or treating” at our church.  Parker loved seeing his Mickey pumpkin fill up with special treats (every now and again he’ll call it candy but usually it’s still a special treat!). 

On Halloween night, we ventured out in our neighborhood to do some trick-or-treating, and let me just say it didn’t take Parker long to figure out it out! 

Parker with his friends, Addison and Ian

Here we go!

Ran into Parker’s best friend, Ethan while we were out 

 

We only went to about ten houses but it was freezing and Parker had plenty of candy in his bucket at that point.  Plus I had bought a ton of candy that I wanted to get home and hand out so we didn’t have a lot left over (for Chad to eat…)! :)

Can you tell how annoyed he was with me for making him take yet another picture?  He was ready to dig into that candy…

And here he goes!  He sat right here and ate candy until we finally told him he had to stop…not that we set a very good example for him, darn Halloween candy!

He loves lollipops but doesn’t understand that you have to suck on them, not bite them!

Now how to explain that he can only eat a piece or two at a time……..

Happy Halloween!

Pampers Game

Chad’s parents came to visit us a few weeks ago, and his dad has been wanting to go to a Panthers game so Chad found us tickets and we got to go watch them play the Packers.  It was Parker’s first football game and he was SO excited to go.  We didn’t think he’d really care much about it but once we told him every time we got in the car, he’d say “We’re going to the Pampers game?”  Yes, Pampers… :) 

Here he is tailgating…he loved this little chair – it was just the right size!

The view from our seats…we were at the very top of the corner of the end zone.  Good view but maybe a little too high for my liking…

Watching the game with Daddy!

With Mia & Papa

Do you think he would look at the camera for one good picture with me?  Nope! (He new word lately…)

We met up with our friend, Jenny at the game!

The view from Jenny’s seat…this is more to my liking!

What a great time…Go Pampers!  Or was it Yankees??  Parker couldn’t keep it straight.  So he cheered for both teams and had a super time!

Parker’s Favorite Place

Parker LOVES to be outside.  He could be absolutely miserable and as soon as we walk outside his mood completely changes.  There’s one place in particular that he enjoys – the little area of mulch just to the left of our garage…the construction site.  It’s the first place he goes when we go out.  He drags all his “diggers” over there and will play there for as long as we let him.  Even during the summer when it’s ridiculously hot, he just loves being there.  I’m happy for some cooler weather so that I can enjoy it a little more too! :)

Sweet Boy!

I don’t think it gets any better than when I came downstairs yesterday morning after getting ready for church and Parker said, “You look pretty, Mommy!”  He is the absolute best!  I think he’s learning from his daddy :)

The Beach House in Oak Island

Two weeks ago our friends Bart, Dana & Ethan invited us to their parent’s beach house for a few days.  Dana, Ethan, Parker and I left a day before the guys so we got an extra on the beach.  We only got to stay for the weekend and would have loved to stay longer but Chad had to work, and I had a workshop the following week.  We had such a wonderful time.  Our first day on the beach was beautiful…the rain held off until we got back to the house.  We weren’t as lucky with the weather the second day.  We attempted the beach, but it was sprinkling as walked down and we didn’t last long.  We ended up taking the ferry over to the aquarium, which was a lot of fun.  Not sure if the boys liked the aquarium or the ferry ride more!  We did end up at the beach that evening since the weather eventually cleared up.  Of course Sunday was a perfect beach day but we only got a couple hours to enjoy it since we had to drive home. 

If I cropped the first two pictures together, I’d have a pretty good one!

Parker was like glue to Ethan & Dana’s sides the entire weekend.  Wherever they went, he went too!

Dana, the boys and I checked out Southport our first night there.  It’s a such a cute little town with so much history!

Parker still talks about digging in the sand with Daddy!

This was what was heading our way when we decided to head back to the beach house and go to the aquarium for the day!

Parker wasn’t a fan of the water at first but we forced the issue a little bit and he ended up loving it.

Wouldn’t you say?!

Bart, Dana & Ethan - Thanks so much for inviting us!  We had such a great time!

Paci

Parker has loved his paci since he was about 3 months.  He wasn’t extremely attached to it when he was little, but he would take it if he was fussy and it usually made him happy.  Around a year or so, he started only using it in his crib and sometimes in the car if we were on one of our 12 hour drives (I’m not sure we would have made it without it).  I didn’t want him to have it for a few reasons, one big reason being that it messes with his teeth.  He was pretty good about just using it at night…sometimes when we’d be in his room during the day he’d get Leo, blankie and paci and lay on the floor but he was happy to put it back in the crib when we left.  Eventually he got over that and never used it unless it was naptime or bedtime.  Then about three months ago I noticed teeth marks on the side…then small holes…then the top was dangling and we were afraid he was going to choke on it.  So I ripped it off.  We were a little nervous that he was going to freak out and not sleep.  He asked for it so we gave it to him as is, and he’s been sleeping with it like that ever since.  For few nights he kept saying, “I need a new paci, Mommy” but then he stopped and just uses the one he has.  He doesn’t put it in his mouth, just holds it next to him.  Must be a comfort thing.  I don’t like that we still have to keep track of it but as long as he’s not sucking on it then we’re ok with it!

Our East Coast Tour

We made several stops while in NY as we normally do when we visit– our first was Danielle & Mike’s.  We spent Saturday at the Yankees game and hung out at Jacklyn’s (Mike’s sister) pool Sunday.  It was nice to just  hang out for the day since we got there so late Friday night and had to get up so early Saturday morning for the game.  Parker also took him first real nap in two days, which made him and us much happier!

He was happy to play with the lifejacket but he would NOT put it on!

Ahh!  This is the life!

We didn’t have any swim diapers so Parker just wore a regular Pampers diaper…did you know they could hold so much liquid??

                   

Our second stop was to see Chad’s family.  Parker had been talking about Megan & Molly nonstop for days so he was so happy to see them…and they were just as excited to see him!

Parker loved this swing…nevermind that it’s a princess car!

There’s always freeze pops in Aunt Shani’s freezer!

Parker and the girls spent quite a bit of time riding the tractors.  He just loves it.  I think he might be getting a gator eventually…

Little fish!

Parker consumes his fair share of juice boxes when he’s with the girls.  Sometimes he doesn’t even pay attention to who the juice box belongs to…he assumes they’re all his!

We love you Mia!

It was interesting trying to get a picture of so many little ones.  Poor Megan and Molly were exhausted and done with getting their picture taken, but the little ones were being so silly!

Our last stop was my parent’s house.  It was so great to be back at the lake.  The weather was perfect that weekend and we got to spend a lot of time on the boat and at the beach.  Parker loved playing in the sand and got brave and went in the water…he even ventured in by himself a few times!

Grampie’s boat!

Parker’s first ride on the big boat…he even willingly put the life jacket on!

It’s so fun to watch my dad and Parker now that Parker is older…they have so much fun!

He loves his Nona too…isn’t this so sweet?!

I wish this picture had come out better – and that you could hear his reaction when my sister walked through the door.  Parker wasn’t expecting her and as soon as he saw her he started squealing and threw himself into her arms.  It doesn’t get any better than that!

Checking out Jeter’s autograph!

Who knew sweeping could be so fun?

Check out the size of the fish the guys caught!

My parents don’t have a bath tub at their house, and Parker is not a huge fan of the shower…so the kitchen sink was his only option for taking a bath.  Next time he’s going to have to suck it up and take a shower…he barely fit!

Fishin’!

Picking cukes with Nona

We went blueberry picking one morning…Parker had a good time but he did more eating that picking.  Good thing they didn’t weigh him before he left!

He did manage to put two blueberries in his basket…

We’re so lucky to have such a wonderful family and enjoyed our visit with them.  It’s a long drive but always worth it!