Fun Video Friday - Musical Poop Time

Thankful Thursday

1. I'm grateful that we had a small break from the warm weather.


2. I'm grateful that Parker went back to napping (for the most part).


3. I'm grateful I got a nap today!


4. I'm grateful Jake had a safe trip to and from LA last weekend and hopeful that the one to San Fran this weekend goes well, too.


5. I'm grateful Parker fell asleep last night while Dada was telling him a story. That's the first time that's ever happened!
   
6. I'm grateful for Parker's drawings.


7. And last, but not least, I'm grateful for decaf Lipton tea.

Parker a Year Ago

Wordless Wednesday

Totally Talented Tuesday: Parker's Photography

Parker loves to take pictures with our camera. Buttons! *drool* Amongst the dozens I've deleted, here are some I found pretty cool.

Our carpet isn't pink... how'd he do that?

So, this is what the world looks like to Parker!

For a super Totally Talented Tuesday kid, check out Mommy-Momo's blog!

Dana Point Adventure Walk

As promised earlier, here are some pictures from our fun day at Dana Point. Adventure walk to the extreme!

Drumming on the rock


Drumming on the rum barrels
(he's a little obsessed with drumming lately)


Whoa, cool "tractor" truck! What's he lifting?


Yikes, almost didn't make it!


Parker found his name on the tiles... can you see it?
(Hint: look under Nicholas' horse)

Adventure Walks

We have discovered that Parker likes what we call "adventure walks" more than almost anything. More than going to the playground. More than watching cartoons. More than hide and seek. More than sleeping (OK, that's not such a stretch). More than his toy trucks and cars (OK, that might be a bit of a stretch).

He loves to pick up sticks and dig with them. He loves to crunch the leaves under his feet. He loves to play follow-the-leader. He loves to hide behind trees. He loves to point out/count trash cans and "cool" cars. He loves to make up songs with me about the things we see. He loves to pretend to fly and swim. He loves smelling flowers. During Christmas time, he loved the lights and decorations (who doesn't?).

Below are some fun photos from multiple adventure walks.

Counting the trash cans

Mama's favorite plant

Pman's Favorite Blue Truck
(he always asks to go see it)

Real Cherry Picker

Parker's Cherry Picker
(see the wheels turning? He's comparing the two)

Touching the Rough Tree
(Laguna Niguel Botanical Preserve)

Thankful Thursday

Here are my seven days worth of gratitude!

1. I'm grateful Parker still naps at least sometimes!
2. I'm grateful the rain is returning and the heat is dissipating a little.
3. I'm grateful my back doesn't hurt as much today.
4. I'm grateful I found a new dentist who actually did something right!
   
5. I'm grateful we are getting cable (along with phone and faster internet)! Hurray for Cox bundle deals! We'll be paying less than what we're currently paying for just phone/internet!
6. I'm grateful my hubby has been so patient with me lately.
7. I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to meet up with old friends this week.
   

Dada's Christmas Slipper is Also a Hat

Wordless Wednesday

Please visit Mommy-Momo and Through Jenny's Lens for some more fun Wordless Wednesday pics!

Updates and Reflections

We have been busy bees since Thursday and I haven't had much time to sit at the computer (I promise ya'll I will read and return your emails soon!). I'm making a little time here and there today to work on this blog since I have to ice my back periodically anyway. I've been doing pilates again and have had no problem with my lower back ligament until today when Parker and I were reading Mother Goose Rhymes and doing "This is the Way the Ladies Ride" amongst other active songs/rhymes. I wasn't as careful as I should have been bouncing him around on my knees and lifting him up and down. Oops.

Parker Likes Pilates, Too!

This past week has been mixed with blessings and trials. Parker has pretty much decided that he's done napping (I'm still hoping it's just a phase, I mean, he's not even two yet). So I've been trying to implement quiet time at least so I can get a "lunch" break. He has been very good about it and will play and sing in his crib but rarely will actually fall asleep. If he never falls asleep and starts getting antsy before an hour is up, I go in there and set up a timer with the remaining time left so he has a reference, but today, for example, he played in there for an hour and 15 minutes and never cried once. It is nice that when he doesn't fall asleep he doesn't go through the weird afternoon moodiness and tantrums, plus he falls asleep much easier at night and usually sleeps a little longer to make up for it.

Friday morning Parker and I spent a few hours in Dana Point (blog with pics on that to come later). Friday night and Saturday were fun family time...

For Example:

Playing "Drums" With Dada

... along with getting some chores done. I had to get an oil change for my car, so we put the car seat in Jake's truck so that he could take us home and not have to sit there for a couple of hours. The only way it would fit properly was facing forward with the base off, so after all that work rearranging the thing, we decided to just go ahead and keep Parker facing forward now even in my car. He loves it. He sits in the middle and gets to watch everything going on. He likes to say "green light go!" "yellow light slow..." "red light, stop!"

Sunday we dropped Parker off at Grandma and Grandpa Munns' house for a sleep over and Jake and I went to Jenny and Steve's house for dinner and adult conversation! Jenny is an old co-worker and friend of mine. We are thinking of taking a big leap into home ownership within the next year and Steve has agreed to help us out with our search, all while doing his regular job and working on Pepperdine's MBA program! Jenny is also working and completing her nursing degree. What a busy couple!

Monday I met up with a couple of old friends from high school (Christine and Sara) while Jake got the condo to himself and finally got to spend some quality time working on recording more music. I had so much fun catching up with Sara and Christine. I hadn't seen Sara in probably ten years! Fortunately Christine and I have had the opportunity to get together a few times since then, but it's never enough. It's interesting to see the different paths we've taken in life and how much we've grown up (but not aged - no never that), yet each of us still seems to have the same personality/roles we had in high school. It's good to see some things never change and we love each other for who we are, through thick and thin, good and bad, and all that mushy stuff. I can't wait to meet up with them again!

Today Parker and I watched a good portion of the inauguration ceremony. I can't believe how emotional it was for me. Now that I'm older, I appreciate more what kind of history I'm living in today and I am hopeful that President Obama will make some positive changes to this wonderful country. I'm not sure Parker will remember this day, but I enjoyed celebrating the moment with him. He held his hand over his heart while the soldiers sang the National Anthem and I was so proud of him and our country.

Thankful Thursday - OK, Summer in Winter?

Parker is taking a long nap (say what?) and I'm feeling a little wordy today, so I'm going to start my Thankful Thursday list with a little update on this week. Remember last week when I was jumping for joy at the "spring-like" weather? Not anymore! It's been hot and dry this week with some Santa Ana allergy instigating winds. *insert grumpy face here* Parker decided not to nap both Monday and Wednesday, deciding instead to play in his crib and poop and then not wanting to go back down after I discovered his treats. Today as I was putting him down, he said he wanted to go pee-pee on the potty. Of course. I put him on the potty and waited. And waited. Where's that pee, dude? So the timer comes out. I start to take him off the potty and he cries, "poo-poo." Oh, Lord. Well, after Monday and Wednesday, I decide to take him at his word and give him some more time. Nothing happening. I saw that he was enjoying my company (me on the bathroom floor = annoyed as heck!) and decided to risk leaving him alone on the toilet in the hopes it would hurry things along. I told him to call me when he was all done. He whined for awhile, was quiet for a little bit, started cheering and I went back in. He had tinkled a tiny bit. I asked if he was all done and he insisted again he had to go poo-poo. So I left again. It didn't take very long and he was crying saying he was all done. He insisted he had done a "little poo-poo," but I think it was just gas because he was farting and pointing to his "bum-bum" as he was saying this. *laugh* His birthday present from us is his own potty chair. I'm hoping that will free up my time spent in the bathroom, but dreading that instead it might instigate a half-naked Parker running around peeing everywhere. Yikes!

Parker just woke up so I'll quickly wrap this up with my Thankful Thursday list as he gradually wakes up with milk and cartoons...

1. I'm grateful for the morning snuggles with my hubby
2. I'm grateful for Neil-Med Sinus Rinse (seriously, all allergy sufferers should try this, and non-allergy sufferers too!)
3. I'm grateful that we managed to survive with only running the AC twice this week.
4. I'm grateful to have discovered that Parker will nap with his door open... it's been too hot/stuffy to keep it closed, even with a fan!
5. I'm grateful that it appears my thyroid medication is kicking in and I have more energy and patience for Parker.
6. I'm grateful for workout videos that I can do while Parker is sleeping (or awake for that matter).
7. And last, but not least, I'm grateful for our play dates with the triplets! It's interesting to watch Parker learning how to interact with other kids.
   

Silly Boy!

This first video is going to need some interpretation. One day recently I walked in on Parker playing with his trains. The red one was saying "Hello Thomas" over and over. I quickly and quietly grabbed my camera so he wouldn't notice me. By the time I had started rolling, he had stopped saying that and it seems as though he was thinking of the next step in the conversation. Now here's what I believe he was trying to say: Thomas was asking the red engine, "your name, choo-choo?" (repeated several times) and then "how about... how about... (sounds like Richie?)". Then the red engine gets very upset and exclaims, "NO!" *laugh* Can you hear it, too?

Playing with Thomas and
"What's Your Name, Choo-Choo?"

And this one is just fun to hear him count before he throws:

Counting and Throwing

Finally, Some New Songs!

Jake and I are downright tired of Jingle Bells. When Parker wants us to sing it, we are literally slumping our shoulders, singing in monotone. OK, that's exaggerating, but I can't wait until he finds a new favorite song. So, I've been on a mission to introduce some new songs to Parker's repertoire. Here are a couple of the latest songs he's been learning (this was from the first day he sang the ABC's... I'm so happy to have caught it on video!):

ABC's

Happy "Poop" Day
(well, it sounds like it, doesn't it?)

Thankful Thursday: Spring in Winter

So many things to be thankful for this week, but the biggest thing I'm grateful for is this Spring in Winter weather! Spring is my favorite season... after about, what... maybe three weeks of "winter" here? Ha! So, here are some other things I'm grateful for this week, many of which I swear are a result of this weather!

1. I'm grateful for a small boost in energy this week.
2. I'm grateful for all our "adventure" walks.
3. I'm grateful for yesterday's moment of sitting outside with Parker, making up silly songs together.
4. I'm grateful for all the good naps this week *knock on wood*!
5. I'm grateful for each day Parker's verbal skills keep growing and his funny little personality shines through... he can sing some songs all the way through... even if they're a little muddled, but it's so cute he remembers the order and everything. If we try to sing something out of order, he'll say, "no, no" and start singing the right verse. He's a very particular guy. Has to have things just so... I'd like to say he got that from his Dada, but who am I kidding? I'm so anal it even freaks me out sometimes. But the elephant memory... that's DEFINITELY from Jake. I can barely remember what I was doing 10 minutes ago!
   
6. I'm grateful for the two times this week Parker told me he needed to use the potty. Once pee-pee, and once poo-poo. Wish he'd tell me every time, but we're letting him set the pace 'cause we don't want to push him before he's really ready (or maybe it's us not being ready)...
7. And last but not least, I'm grateful to have a routine back in place. The lack of set routine from the holidays was really throwing me for a loop. (See... what'd I tell ya? Anal! Not that anyone's arguing that point...) :)
   

Visit from Joe Dawg and H-Bomb!

We had a fun visit from our old friend Joe and his son Hayden last week. We hadn't seen them in over a year! Our schedules are off just enough to make it nearly impossible to get together. Parker loved playing with Hayden. They played with Parker's new Play Doh and Hayden brought Parker some cool boats for the bath tub. Parker tried to catch Hayden at one point to tickle him, but H-Bomb was too fast for us. It was so strange because I still think of Hayden when he was Parker's age, and now he's almost 7! They really do grow quickly, don't they? Today I was rocking Parker in my lap and reading to him and realized how big he was compared to me. It made me a little sad. I'm glad to have had that visit from them for a couple of reasons - because we miss them, obviously, but also because it was a good reminder to me to slow down and appreciate Parker and our time together now. Here are some more fun pics from their visit... Hayden started running and hiding as soon as the camera came out, and it took dozens of shots before I finally caught him. *laugh* Silly guy!