staying busy

between playing with hayden in the mornings,

going to play group 3 times a week,
enjoying some beautiful weather outside,
and the daily dishes, laundry, dinner making, cleaning
parker and i have been staying pretty busy!
last weekend, parker and i went to utah
to stay with my cousin's 3 cute girls.
we had a blast.
parker loved all the attention he got from the 3 of them
(so did I!)
and he LOVED their dog cooper.
he was in high heaven all weekend.

while we were there we got to go swimming.
the pool started out really shallow,
and gradually got deeper.
parker was a little hesitant at first,
but warmed up fast and loved walking in the water.

utah had some beautiful weather that weekend,
so we headed over the the park on afternoon.
we are so ready for summer!

and if you were in rexburg today,
you would have thought it was summer.
sunny skies and 55 degrees!
EVERYONE was outside at the park,
and more than 1 person was wearing shorts.
we very much enjoyed the afternoon with daddy all to ourselves!we printed the first 2 years of our blog into a book,
and it is absolutely parker's favorite book.
sometimes i have to hide it from him,
cause i get tired of looking through it!

snow fun

this winter has been the weirdest winter

ive seen here in rexburg.
its been warm. (as in like in the 30's)
and we havent had much snow.
the snow that we do get melts the next day.
its been wonderful.

the other day, jared decided
to take parker out to play in the little snow
we did get.

i told him he wouldnt even be out there for 2 minutes
before parker would start to cry.
he wasnt a fan of the snow last time we took him out.
but to my surprise, he loved it!
i would peek outside the window every now and then
to see my two boys playing in the snow.
it was precious.
parker loved it.did i mention we have a train tracks
like 10 feet from our apartment?
everytime a train comes,
it sounds and feels like it is going to come
through our living room.
luckily parker has gotten use to it.
it no longer wakes him up during his naps,
thank goodness.

even if we have had one mild winter,
im so SO ready for summer.
but i guess maybe we should get to spring first.....

a new do

parkers hair has been out of control for a while now.

at play group on friday we noticed his was as long, or longer,
than some of the girls hair.
so we decided it was time for a hair cut.
my friend rachel did it with just the clippers,
and after watching her do it, i said,
"that looks easy enough, i could have done that!"

and drum roll please.....
he used to look like a hobo child,
but now i think he looks so handsome.
and so much older.
he is not my little baby anymore!

he is VERY VERY shy.
and its really quite embarrassing when we are at the store
and a cute little old lady comes up just to say hi and
comment on how cute he is, and he starts to cry and scream
bloody murder, like the old lady is trying to pull his eyes out or something.
he will absolutely be the screaming kid in nursery.
for sure.

ive been doing lots of reading lately.
just in january i read 6 books!
The Help
The Lucky One by Nicholas sparks
The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks (so DUMB!)
and i finally got my hands on the Hunger Games Series.
I loved the first two, but cant decide how i feel about the third one.
i am excited for the movie to come out in march!
i love reading.
but now i need a new book or series to start on.
any suggestions?

jared is still busy with school and work.
he is counting down the days till graduation in april.
we cant wait to have him home more in the summer before grad school starts
so we can do more of this:but with green grass in the background

a playmate for parker

it's the middle of january,

and we have no snow on the ground.
seriously?!?! are we even in idaho?
im LOVING this warmer, snow-free winter!

parker got a new playmate a few weeks ago.
my friend and next door neighbor
has a little boy who is just 6 weeks
younger than parker.
we get to play with him in the mornings
while his mama goes to class.


parker was not a fan of him the first week and a half
but we are slowly warming up to hayden, and they will sit
and play for a few minutes together everyday.

parker also got another new playmate this past week.
marcus kade myers was born to chuck and diana on wednesday!
we went to see him today, and oh my heavens...
he. is. precious. all 6 pounds of him.i may have thought for one split second,
''awwww, i might want another one of these!''
but the thought left as quickly as it came when diana
mentioned she had been up ALL. NIGHT. with him.
i was happy to pass him back to his mama
and leave, knowing i was going to get a full night sleep.
because did i mention with hayden coming over to play
parker has been sleeping like a champ.
8:00pm-8:30am. love it.

but marcus is adorable, and charlee is one great big sister.

we all thought parker was so little,
but after seeing him next to marcus today,
we decided he sure isnt so little anymore!

he is understanding so much.
when we ask him to go get his shoes,
he brings us his shoes.
he does the same with his socks too.
and after we get his coat on, he is walking over
and banging on the door to go outside.he can sit down when we ask him to sit down.
he recently learned how to spin in a circle.
he can give kisses, and blow kisses.
and we are practicing our spoon skills.
he is becoming a great little helper.
he especially loves to help with vacuuming, sweeping,
and folding the laundry. he is also starting to figure out how to
"push my buttons"
and throwing small temper-tatrums.
especially after all his fruit snacks are gone.
holy hannah, you'd think the world was gonna end.
i often hear myself praying for patience every day.
he loves books, and any kind of ball.
and loves to play with his daddy.
he loves to eat, and would eat all day if i let him.
his favorite snacks include cheese, graham crackers, yogurt,
fruit snacks, and anything im eating.
though some days im not quite sure
if we will make it to bed time alive,
i sure love this little dude of mine.