Just her size...

Today we ventured to Target to get Parker her birthday present. I know it's a little early, but we were excited and figured she wouldn't mind getting it early...and it even worked out because when we got there, we discovered that it was actually on sale for $20 off! We wanted to get her a chair that is just her size. She walked straight up to the chair, and climbed on...

She enjoyed sitting...

...standing...

...leaning backward...

...then, of course, she had to go get her ball and sit in the chair with it...

...then we brought out her new purple ball that is almost bigger than her, and she liked to walk around with that for a bit...

...and put the new purple ball in the new chair...

...then we put her in her new chair with the new ball...

...she literally wore herself out climbing on that chair today. We really have to watch her because she likes to sit on the arm of the chair and stand...all things that are not safe. But it was so fun to watch her because you could tell she was so excited to use it because it was just her size...

...and breathe...

I was able to stop and breathe today because I was not in school and was home with Parker! It was the best medicine after a long week! It may be my imagination, but I think she grew an inch taller this week! Seriously...I don't know if it was an inch, but I guess not being with her 24/7, I actually noticed that she grew.

So enough about me and my week. This is something that I have been trying to get around to sharing for about a week or so...

I had mentioned the other day how Parker likes to carry around her pajama pants and this is so fun to her, but actually...what she really does is...she randomly find something (pajamas, a shirt, pants, blanket, etc.) and for whatever reason, this becomes her favorite little 'item.' It remains her 'favorite item' for about 20 minutes or so and during this time, she walks around with it, she may try to pick up her ball at the same time (and gets pretty frustrated when she is not successful...sometimes I have to take this item away from her if she starts throwing her head back and falling onto the ground in a fit for no apparent reason other than this clothing item is making her upset????) and has newly started draping them over her shoulders like a shawl, or putting it on top of her head (I guess she is trying to "put it on" like we put her shirts on over her head). Too cute...


And she also likes to pick up the phone, push some buttons, and then put the phone up to her neck (that's close enough ;). Or even if she's just pushing buttons on the phone and then we say "Hello?"...she stops, looks up at us, and then puts the phone up. Where does she get this from? Hmmmmmm.....

2 days down...2 more to go...

...of my first week back at school!!! They have been long days, with not much time to spend with Parker. Both Monday and Tuesday I left so early that I did not see her until I came home, and yesterday that wasn't until 4:45pm...I told Geoff that I really missed her yesterday...different than I have ever felt before when leaving her....I teared up a few times, but made it through the day. This is all stuff I am not used to. But the good thing is....if I can just get through these first 3 weeks, things will really settle down. I mean- I will still be busy, but my time on campus and in clinical will be decreased. They just have to pack so much into the first few weeks to review skills and hospital orientations and all of that fun stuff.

Parker seems to be doing great. Yesterday was her first day with Miss Alissa and she reported that she "couldn't have asked for a better first day." So after a long day, hearing that made my day. Parker talked and giggled in her carseat the whole way home, and then, was in the best mood for our evening at home. It was some really good, fun, quality family time. I couldn't ask for more.

So that's all for now...just had a little break before my first class starts this morning. Hope you all are doing well!

T-minus 9 hours, 31 minutes and counting...

That's how long I have until I have to leave the house to begin my second (out of 4 total) semester of nursing school (that's 6:30am in case you are wondering). The past 2 weeks I have really been trying to wrap things up here at home...(i.e. my scrapbooking of Parker's first year, planning the birthday party, cleaning the house, etc) because I know for the next couple of weeks I will have plenty of other things to worry about and just trying to get into the swing of things. I am almost done with the scrapbook, and the house is decent....but nowhere near clean (although Geoff says I will never really think our house is clean no matter how clean it really is....this may be true:).

I have tremendously enjoyed being home this summer...a whole three and a half months! I feel that these last months of her first year were some of the best because this is when it seems like she has just learned so much. I had feared that I would miss her starting to crawl or having someone else tell me she took her first steps, but I was here and able to see them with my own two eyes! And although I hate the fact that I have to leave her at all, one thing that will help me get through the semester is knowing that Parker will be in good hands. My assistant principal from my first year of teaching is now able to stay at home with her 2 boys (a 3 year old, and 9 month old) and she has offered to help us out with childcare this semester. I know that she will take care of Parker as her own... and having that kind of peace of mind is priceless to me.

I am a little nervous about going back this semester. I am taking 16 hours (and I only took 12 last semester), but the schedule this semester seems to be a little more forgiving, in that, I will only be in class 3 days one week and then 2 days the next week (alternating). SO in theory- it sounds pretty do-able. The clincher is really finding the time outside of school to study. I just start making myself anxious thinking about how I will have time to get everything done, but I know that things will fall into place and it will work out.

So wish us luck as we embark on this new phase in our lives. On a positive note...one good thing about the semester starting is that in 3 and half months... it will be over... and I will be that much closer to finishing school and hopefully finding a job where I only have to work 2 or 3 days a week!!! There is a light at the end of the tunnel...

Walking in shoes...

This evening, since the weather was so nice, we decided to take Parker outside and let her practice walking in her shoes (the only practice she has had is barefoot). She had some trouble in the grass...but then again, that also could have been because she is not used to walking in the grass anyway. But she did want to walk and crawl on the concrete...which I was not a fan of. So one of us would walk with her, holding her hands...and she was not a fan of that. She kept shoving our hands away (too bad we're bigger than her and won that battle!).

Seriously- everyday it seems like she knows or understands something new. Yesterday, she was walking around with her pajama pants (this is so fun for her???) and one time I looked over at her and she was 'scrubbing' the floor with them, then she'd pick them up and shake it out, then she'd start wiping the floor again. I thought this was so hilarious. She had seen me do this the day before. I can honestly say that she makes me laugh and smile every single day. We are so blessed to have her.

(of course, she had to mess with her shoes/take them off, at some point in time!)


(she loved walking up those steps)


(here she is shoving Geoff's hand away)


(I guess she liked going up and down the curb...it really does take so little to amuse her...)

Flashback Friday...

Is it Friday already? Really?? Anyway...the video below is from October 31, 2007. Parker was 6 weeks old. These were the days where from about 7:30 in the morning until 10 at night, she would only take about three- 30 minute naps a day. Yikes. So as you can imagine...most of the time "awake" was spent crying! Don't get me wrong...although these were rough times during the day, she was a great baby at night, and at 6 weeks, she was already sleeping about 5-6 hours straight! My pediatrician said , "this is your trade-off!" And my how her cry has changed! Then the video jumps to November 12th and I just added that in because it was next on the video. Happy Friday!

11 months old...

(you can even see her reflection in the glass)

Well- Parker is now 11 months old. One more month till the big ONE! Wow- this year has flown! And she has learned to do so many more things, just this month! She got teeth # 7 and 8, began pointing at objects with her pointer finger, started having more extravagant fits(!!!), and most importantly....she has begun saying "mama" (the only thing is....I don't think she knows that "mama" means me!)...and this is just naming a few! And how can we forget...she learned how to walk this month. Here are some pictures of her in action....

Correction...

Geoff read the post from earlier today and informed me that I was "lying to my bloggers." I guess I misunderstood what he had said. Anyway- when I said earlier that Parker was throwing a fit because Geoff told her she could not get into the kitchen cabinet anymore.... that was not the case. She was playing with the cabinet door and it kept shutting on her, and this is what upset her and made her throw her fit. This is even funnier to me...

Several things we like to do these days...

Parker loves to pull out all of my blank notecards from my notecard container. Its appeal is now starting to somewhat lose its luster... but a few days ago, this kept her occupied for a good 20 minutes!

She also likes to open the kitchen cabinets. Most of them are safety-proofed, but for some reason, this one is not. Anyway- yesterday while I was gone getting my hair cut, I guess she tried to get into this cabinet...

Then Geoff told her no, and this is what resulted...

(I cannot stand her hair in her face, but now she won't keep a bow in...so I think I am about to have to do her first hair 'trim.')

Her fits are becoming so humorous these days. They're so dramatic. I know I have discussed her "fits" before...like when we change her diaper. But she is constantly redefining her "fit." Now that we know what we're looking at, we really try to let her throw it (and sometimes laugh on the inside)...and then she is usually fine in about a minute or two.

And her newest favorite thing to do is to roll around on the couch. She doesn't get to do it often because it's kind of scary for me because she's all over the place (eventhough I am right there)...but she just likes to fall to her side...and then on her back...giggling the whole time. She also likes to do this on our bed...which does allow her more room.

Flashback Friday...

Today I decided to reflect back on what was going on in our lives exactly one year ago today.

One year ago today, I was one month away from Parker's due date ( which was September 15,2007). Isn't it amazing how last year at this time, this is what Parker was doing...



...and see how far we've come! Now we're trying to figure out what we're going to do for her first birthday! This first year (like all the years) goes by so fast...and they change so much!

And we have lift off...

Last night Geoff and I knew that this was it. She had been taking a few steps here and there (whenever she felt like it), but last night was different. She began taking more steps, going longer distances. We tried to capture some on video, but it seemed that as soon as we turned the camera on, she lost her focus. So this afternoon, we set up the tripod to hopefully catch her in action. This first video is really short...I was trying to prod her with Lola's tennis ball (because Parker wanted this tennis ball). However, Lola got in the way because she wanted her ball...

Here, I am trying to get her to come to me to get her Little Baby, but she was more interested in her book, and then...

Even since these videos she has done so much more walking. She walked all the way from the living room into our hallway!

Just one of those days...

So this morning, we woke up, went about our business as usual. Only today....a few special things happened that made this day "just one of those days." Around 9am or so, I walked into the restroom and noticed that the water in the toilet was a little cloudy. I didn't think much of it because I had told Geoff last night that the toilet needed to be cleaned, so I just figured "he must have cleaned it" (um...seriously...don't know my I assumed that) and that was just the cleaning solution left in the water. Wrong! I looked down, about to flush the toilet, when right as I am flushing it, I see that the water level has already started to fill up before I pushed the handle. But it was too late...the message that was supposed to be sent from my eyes to the brain to the hand, was delayed and I flushed it anyway. However, with my quick reflexes (yeh right) I quickly reached underneath the toilet and turned the water off (thinking I am so smart). Only when the water was completely turned off, the water continues to flow . So I call Geoff and pretty much tell him he needs to come home (if he can) because this something that is going on needs to be fixed and toilets just aren't my thing. So a couple of minutes before Geoff gets home, I decide to call my dad to ask him what he thinks. He quickly asks me if the bathtub is full. It is. So this means we have a backed up sewage line. I just laughed. Hahahahaha. Of course it's a backed up sewage line! Anyway- as horrible and unfun as all of this sounds...we called the City and they were actually out here and had it completely fixed by 10:15 or so. Now that's what I call service!

Oh, but there's more. Parker and I take a quick trip to Wal-mart (if there really even is such a thing as a quick trip). I pick up the things I need, get out my coupon book....realize....I left my wallet at home! Ughhhhhhhhhh! I instantly think to myself..."I'm just going to leave and I'll come back another time. I'm through!" But then thought about how I will have to go through that store again to get the things that I need, so I would just rather go home, get the wallet, come back (and stand in the longer than usual lines). So I asked the greeter at the front of the store to watch my buggy...I get Parker...load her up...come home....get my wallet....go back....all the while, Parker has fallen soundly asleep. So we get to the store, she surprisingly stays asleep on my shoulder the entire time. Finally got my groceries...put Parker back in the car....(still asleep)...got home...and she is actually asleep in her crib as we speak.

So-moral of the story...I did have some fun things happen today, but they definitely turned out better than I could have imagined. So I say... if this is as bad as it gets....I'm doing pretty darn good!

Sleeping beauty...

Today, Parker went down for her afternoon nap at 3:00 on the dot. She usually naps about an hour, to an hour and a half. Anything more than that is a surprise. So today, she made it a little longer than that...At 5:00, I thought she would be waking up soon, and honestly, I don't really want her to sleep past 5:00 since bedtime is just around the corner. But at the same time, I like for her to wake up on her own, otherwise she is a bit grouchy (don't know where she gets that from). So I opened her door, emptied the drier, put another load in...made some slight noises so that maybe they would gently wake her up. No such luck. So then I thought..."I always say that I want some pictures of Parker while she is sleeping, but I never take the chance because it is an extreme rarity for me to ever want to wake her up!" (she is a pretty light sleeper). So this kind of becomes funny to me because I take so many pictures and she still does not wake up!!! Anyway- 5:30 rolls around and I just picked her up and rocked her and tried to make waking up the best I could. She was only whiny for about 15 minutes or so. Anyway.........here are the pictuers of sleeping beauty...

Is there anything sweeter?

Flashback Friday...

This is a new thing I am going to try...every Friday I am going to 'flashback' and reminisce about something in the past. We'll see how this works out...

So a couple of weeks ago, I had some of my friends from college over (from the first time I was in college). Anyway- the subject was brought up how when we started going to Baylor, 10 years ago this August, we could buy gas for $.79 per gallon. Yes- you saw that right..."seventy-nine cents per gallon!" At the time, this price was even 10 cents cheaper than Dallas. I could seriously fill up my little corolla for $8.00 TOTAL!!! And that was even when it was on empty!!! So if my calculations are correct...that means that gas is about 4 and a half times more expensive these days!!! Geeeeez!!!

So that's the flashback story of the day...

Crayons..

I've been meaning to do this for a while now, but today I finally remembered to go down the crayola aisle at Wal-Mart and got some crayons for Parker. I decided not to do the coloring book and figured that she could just use typing paper...but then decided to go back at the last minute for manila paper since it is bigger. I was so excited to get home and see what she would do with them. The other day she picked up my ink pen (that was closed, thankfully) and started acting like she was 'writing', so I thought...well- maybe she would actually do some writing with these.

No real 'writing' took place today, but she did really enjoy them, and made some concerted effort (or so I believe).

Here she is when she first put the crayons in her hands.

Then she drew a few very light lines...(the ones you can see are mine)

Oh wait....let's go put some crayons in my bumbo seat...

Then she 'colored' a little bit more...

So all in all, the event was successful. She never even tried to eat the crayons!!! (this was actually surprising to me). She did break the end off of one of them by crawling with them back and forth from the paper to the bumbo seat, and then made a few marks on the tile...but other than that...no harm done.

I was telling Geoff how she really does watch everything that we do because she does imitate us sometimes. Like when I stick out my tongue...she will, too. Maybe this isn't such a good thing...