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Monday, February 23, 2009

Weekend Wrap-up....


The weekend flew by, as usual! It was pretty low key...I spent most of the day on Sunday studying for an exam I had this morning. Glad that's over! But Saturday was spent running errands and playing around the house.

So....this past Friday, Geoff went over to a friend's house to pick up a really nice jogging stroller that we bought from him for a great price! (Geoff is planning on taking Parker for morning runs when the weather gets a little better....I think she'll really enjoy it). And while he was there, Geoff just so happened to see this little slide thingie that his friend was also interested in getting rid of. So- we really lucked out because we had talked about getting something for the backyard, but didn't want to get a nice swing set until we move into a different home. She seems to really like it. We actually brought it into the house on Saturday (only briefly...not for good!) because Parker was sick (and still is) with a cold and it was pretty windy so we thought it would be better for all to stay inside.



Then we got brave and decided to let Parker try out these new Roll-it painter things.

So we put on her little protective clothing...
and covered her table completely with easel paper. (we also have an easel, but it's still to tall for her now, so we decided to use the table instead)

And began....


Geoff enjoyed himself as well!

Auughhh....Like Father, Like Daughter! Here--both kids.......I mean- Geoff and Parker both paused briefly to check out something really "cool" on Word World at the time. I always say that Geoff can get so mesmorized by the TV... and it looks as though this may run in the family! haha



{Poor baby! Here you can see her puffy eyes due to her cold/allergies/sinuses. She was doing much better today!}



So she did really well. She'd scribble on the paper....then...she would "nonchalantly" try to walk away into the kitchen (and please note that I said try because she never got more than one step away from the table!) or over to the couch...and we could quickly redirect. So after about 10 minutes...the paper was covered....
And we were done!

Friday, February 20, 2009

25 Random things about me...

This is actually something that I wrote and posted on Facebook. Yes- I joined Facebook almost 2 months ago. Mark my words....never say never! It is almost cause, in and of itself, to fulfill that which you say you never will. So anywho- I received this chain-letter-thingie-note where several of my friends wrote out 25 random things about themself....then they "tag" their friends and then they are supposed to write 25 things about themself. I normally don't do chain-letter-thingie-notes, but I enjoyed reading so many of my friends notes, that I decided to explore myself and try to come up with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about myself. Some of you have already seen these so you can ignore it, but I thought I'd post them here as well. If you haven't done this....I encourage you to do so....even if you don't post it anywhere. I really enjoyed the actual act of remembering some of these things...and then some things were just fun to share!

(also- this list really has 27 random things because when I was typing it up I was tired and I accidentally wrote a #6 and a #7 twice...and yes- I could have changed it, but this is my list so that is that....)

25 Random things about me....

1. I have been trying to come up with these 25 random things for the past month.

2. When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. But I have bad eyes...and then the whole engineering thing just wasn't a good fit. I just always thought it was so amazing how people actually walked on the moon. Speaking of the moon, I am also fascinated that we all see the same moon no matter where we are. People in New York can see the very same moon at the very same time that I am seeing the moon. It's neat.

3. I really like numbers. I like how they are infinite, can be added, subtracted, multiplied, divided...how they just make sense and follow certain rules. They just always work out...

4. I usually walk around writing blogs in my head all day long. I only post about 3% of them. The writing is very therapeutic for me and serves as a "journal."

5. Aside from maintaining a marriage and being a mother, nursing school is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

6. Three weeks after I met Geoff he said to me, "I love you...one day I'm going to marry you... and one day you'll be the mother of my children." The rest is history....

7. I used to be really obsessed with remembering dates. And I'm not just talking about anniversaries and birthdays....just remembering random dates that random things happened. For instance, in the 4th grade, my music teacher had a baby. And when she had her baby I thought to myself, "I am going to always remember her birthday." Not that it was an important date for me, but just wanted to see if I could remember that date for the mere fact that I "told" myself to remember it. I did. She was born on April 18, 1990. This fetish with dates continued into high school. Just ask Amy or Crystal. it's not so much true these days. I usually can't even remember today's date!

6. I absolutely love Mexican food. I think chips and salsa should actually be their own food group.

7. I truly have some of the best friends a person could ask for. Sometimes I do not feel as though I deserve them.

8. I performed in the pre-game show of the Outback Bowl on January 1, 1996. Then, in college, I worked at Outback Steakhouse for 4 years (2000-2004).

9. I love to cook. I like trying out new recipes. My food isn't always the best, but I am learning. I used to bake, but since living in this house with my temperamental oven... I don't do it much these days.

10. When I was just a few months old, I was very colicky (and by the way, so was Parker....what goes around comes around...). And my mom was pulling me around outside in a red wagon in an attempt to calm me down when it tumped over....dumped me out....resulting in a fractured skull. I guess it healed just fine??

11. I got eye-glasses when I was 3 years old....those coke-bottle looking ones. My mom cried when she saw me in them. The doctor had told her that I had not been able to see clearly my whole life. And it wasn't until I was 10 years old (when I got my contacts) that I was even able to see what my face looked like in the mirror without glasses.

12. I don't think that I want to live to be 100 years old.

13. I really like to read for fun, but do it rarely. When I do read, however, I think I am a happier person. It's such an escape. And then, if I am really into the story--I often think of the characters throughout the day and wonder how they are doing--even though I know the story (and characters) are fictitious.

14. I have a dream of one day writing a book. Don't know about what, exactly--but it will come to me...

15. I want to have 1...maybe 2 or 3 more kids.

16. I never went trick-or-treating growing up.

17. I never knew my grandmother on my dad's side because she passed away before I was born. But I've always felt a connection with her because when I was little I was a picky eater and I didn't want any of my food to touch the other foods on my plate...and my parents would said "Ok, Marianne!" (which was my grandmother's name).

18. When I was little, my sister and I would dress up and use our hair brushes as microphones to put on Reba McEntire concerts. Too bad neither one of us can sing worth anything! :)

19. When I was 3 years old I loved Wheel of Fortune. Every night when it came on I would put on my nightgown and did whatever I needed to do in order to make my "outfit" look like Vanna's dress--it may have been putting on on a belt, making it off the shoulder, etc. Then I would stand in front of our armoire--clapping...walking back and forth...pretending to flip the letters as she did. Yes- this was in 1983.

20. I rode in an ambulance 2 times within the 2 weeks before I left for college. The first time-- I was following a friend to Chili's for lunch before I had to go to work. It was a rainy day...and long story short....I hydroplaned my car into a parked police car (that was coincidentally blocking off an on-ramp on the highway due to a previous accident) totaling both cars. I walked away with some minor bruises, burns from the airbag, and a busted lip. Very fortunate. THEN- 2 weeks later (which was 2 days before leaving for Baylor), I was lifeguarding a group of senior citizens doing a water aerobics class, when I passed out from on top of the guard stand and landed in the water. The senior citizens then backboarded me (per my instruction) and called 911. The firemen remembered me from 2 weeks before.

21. I do not have a favorite color because it wouldn't be fair to the other colors.

22. I married the man of my dreams. For lack of sounding so cliche (which I hate)--I seriously married the man for me. Our relationship is not perfect by any means...but we fit.

23. When I was in high school, my sophomore year, I was the girl on the top of the pyramids and I fell so many times I fractured my L5 vertebrae. It healed and I was fine. I then moved to the bottom of the pyramid. I think I just got too heavy!!

24. My college years were my tough years. Being in a new environment...being nobody...trying to figure out what to do for the rest of my life, etc. They were honestly the best/worst years of my life. I look back on them (well, most of them) with some fondness because they made me who I am today. But definitely would not want to re-live them!

25. I must not be that interesting because I can't think of a 25th random thing for the life of me. But after a month of ponderance....I am done.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

This little piggy went to market....this little piggy stayed home...

Rarely do I get the video camera out just for the heck of it. I usually always have a reason....new shoes, Parker chasing Lola around our living room, walking for the first time, bathtime, first swim, etc...you catch my drift. So tonight we had finished up our dinner by 5:00...and then she had a dirty diaper so we took our bath early and by 5:30 we were done with most of our "routine." So I started thinking (I know...who'dda thunk it??) what are we going to do for the rest of the night? Then it was upon me... I had not videoed in a while, and although I had no clue what I was going to video, I figured it would be interesting to see what I could get. She will be 17 months old tomorrow, so I was hoping to capture some of the new things that she can do now. It was a rip roarin' adventure! Ok- I digress. But anywho- I ended up filming for almost 15 minutes and I just took a few clips to post here. It was so hard to narrow it down because I, of course, think it is all cute, but I know we all have busy lives and so I tried to spare you all but what you "must see."

The following video is kind of redundant because I am trying to get Parker to say more of her words. I think she says a new word or two everyday, but the deal is...she will only repeat them if the earth, moon, and north star is in alignment with Africa and Mars. I kind of got the drift tonight that this "game" annoys her, but I am just trying to capture as many "first words" as I can. Anyway- (man- I am long winded tonight)...the main reason for this one is because Parker started saying "Lola" one day last week...all on her own...no prodding on our part...and it's pretty funny how she says it. Ok- I'll let you watch it now...




This video is of Parker pointing out the facial features of her dolly and then on her own face...


She never did find her ears....but I think she knows they are there???

And the following clip has to be one of my all-time favorites. When I was little, my parents would play "This little piggy went to market..." on my toes. I loved it. And I have done this to Parker maybe 4 or 8 times in her life, but I never get a reaction from her, so I really don't do it that often. And- it has probably been at least a month since the last time I did it. So I was totally shocked when she did this....

Absolutely. Love. It. Absolutely. Love. Her.

Monday, February 16, 2009

A little bit of perspective...

I am so exhausted so this is going to be short and sweet. Today, at my pediatric clinical, I was able to observe in the NICU for a couple of hours. I am not totally for sure that this is the type of nursing that I want to do, but it is definitely under consideration. Anyway- I was able to observe a nurse taking care of a baby that was born at 26 weeks gestation (just a little FYI for those of you who do not know-- 37 weeks is considered term and 40 weeks is what they go by to calculate due date). He was almost 3 pounds. Below is a picture of a diaper that he uses....and yes- that is my school ID next to it (which is the exact same size as my driver's license, but I did not want to post that for obvious reasons :). And also- this diaper was still too big and had to be folded down about 3/4 of an inch. Anyway- the whole reason for me posting this is a) it is something I am interested in and wanted to share, and b) I know that we have all heard of tiny 1-2 pound babies and such, but this baby was almost 3 pounds, and he is honestly the smallest baby I have ever seen in person. I was truly amazed.



And then here is this little Pamper next to Parker's size 4 Pamper....I wish I had a regular newborn diaper to compare it to, but I am fresh out! :)

Monday, February 2, 2009

New shoes..

Well- this isn't Parker's first pair of shoes. But these are something special. Until now, I have always just bought her shoes just "guessing" at what her size is...usually when she is not even with me...at Target...or Babies R Us...or umm...I think that's it. She doesn't really have much of a collection. Until she started walking, I never really had any motivation to put shoes on her. Don't really know exactly why...I mean- her feet would get pretty sweaty and they're not always the most comfortable things, so I guess I just thought, "why bother?" But then the walking began and there is obviously a reason to where shoes when one is doing that activity. Only- the bigger she seems to get...the fluffier her feet also seem to get. Poor baby. I would basically have to buy a shoe size too big just to fit the thickness of her foot...but then they were too long. My friend, Jodie, even gave me a whole bag full of shoes, but they did not work either....it's like they went from being too big one day...to we can't even fit her foot in them the next. So she has this one pair of shoes that she wears with everything these days...


They were cute the first 300 times she wore them (you know how the more you wear something the less it seems to be cute anymore...the newness and cuteness has just somewhat worn off?). These are the only shoes that we had for her that she could wear without leaving these deep red indentions into her sweet little foot. Bless her heart. So this past Saturday, Geoff and I took Parker to the Galleria so she could get out of the house a bit and play in their play yard. And it dawned on us..."Let's try to get her some new shoes..." What a novel idea??? It was a pretty neat (or I guess I should say- new) experience for us. The sales woman came out to greet us...we told her what we were looking for...told her the issues we have been having with her fluffy feet...we measured the length of her foot...and she left to go find us a variety of shoes to try on. Well....there's a novel idea!!! Seriously- we don't buy a shoe unless we try them on to make sure they fit...why did I think that Parker would be any different?? Actually- I think what happened here was that I was not thinking....

So- moral of the story (whew!)....we tried on several pair and found these. I am so proud of them because they fit on her foot with ease (for the time being)...they don't leave deep red indentions...her foot doesn't get all sweaty....and they are cute....and she seems to really like them..

About to leave for her first outing in her new shoes...

She walks so proud...seriously- she has a different walk with these shoes on... I know how she feels...when I have a new pair of shoes that I like...they make me feel different. You know what I mean?

The shoes were really 2 gifts in one...#1 the shoes...and #2 the box that they came in, of course...



The new shoes close-up ...
(I know it may be a little silly to showcase her new shoes like this...but honestly- I hope that I continue to appreciate these "little things" about her that make my days go round)

It didn't take long in her new shoes before she grabbed the stroller and headed after Lola....:)

This video is from tonight. We were about to run an errand to Target when I decided to get the video camera out to try and catch her doing her "new" walk with her new shoes on...but instead...when she wouldn't walk around...I started asking her to say various words that she can say. Let me preface this video by saying: she has the hiccups...I know that I understand her way more than you will understand her...and I didn't think that she would actually say the words on que so I was surprised and had trouble coming up with the words that I know she can say... And another thing!!- her first word was "baby" about 6 months ago...and then she would say it /bwah-buh/ and now she says /bah/.....so frustrating...but still- she is saying new and different words everyday. Yesterday I said, "Aunt Sister" and she said "Sis!"...we praised her and she was so proud. She also said "rabbit" /rabb-uh/ for the first time today. OK...on with the video...
That little stinker never would say "shoe"...but if you noticed...she looked down at her feet and began stomping them instead...

This is a continuation of the video above....I just thought it was cute. I laugh everytime I watch it...
We may need to work on those skills a bit...

And I couldn't resist adding in this last piece...I had flipped the little screen around to where she could see herself as I was videoing...

And to think...this whole looong blog brought about just because of a new pair of shoes!

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