overload

i LOVED how our family pictures turned out last year,

(thanks to jared's cousin, Desirae)

so when my TALENTED friend jessica offered to take our family pictures,

of course i had to jump on that band wagon!

she did my make up and took our pictures.

and im SO HAPPY with how they turned out!

she took over 200, and we got some REALLY good ones,

thanks to parkers WONDERFUL aunt carissa and uncle kyle

who came to help get him to smile!

but just to prove that all of them didnt turn out so cute,

and also because grammy allred and aunt stacey want to see more,

here is a picture overload.

thank you so much kyle and carissa for coming to get parker to smile!

tired of looking at us yet? 

there are LOTS more, but sorry mom and stacey, you will have to 

wait to see them when you come up.

parker is going to be up from his nap soon and i need

to get some stuff done! 

enjoy!

like a hawk

since we live across the street from porter park,

you can usually spot parker and i there multiple times a day. 

and even though we go play there a lot,

im having a hard time letting my little dude "go." 

i follow him like a hawk, and never leave his side.

ive gotten better at letting him try things by himself.

 but sometimes my heart skips a beat 

when i see him almost fall off the step

or almost fall over the edge of the slide. 

and sometimes there are lots of bigger kids playing and running, 

and not paying attention to little dudes like parker.

which is fine, they are kids, thats what they do.

but sometimes i have to remind myself that i am 

a mother at a public park, 

not the teacher on duty at recess. 

it was pretty rainy here for a few days straight 

keeping us away from the park and stuck inside.

we read many many books. 

parker loves his books. like really loves them.

somedays, all we do is read books.

and i have to be honest, some days i just

dont wanna read the three little pigs anymore!

but i will because parker loves it, and i love him.

^i love how he is squatting in this one.

every afternoon when parker wakes up from his nap,

he knows he gets a little snack, and heads straight to the "cupboard."

and boy does he sure get feisty if he cant get the snack out himself.

and sometimes he is a little impatient and doesnt wait until his pants are on.

  i so wish we had a fenced in back yard for him 

to run around and play in.

our options, besides the park, is either the parking lot in the front of

our apartment, or on the train tracks behind our apartment. 

and so again, i follow him like a hawk when we are outside our apartment.

i let him help me clean the toilet the other day.

and im pretty sure he thought it was the coolest thing

since sliced bread. 

jared recently got his motorcycle permit, 

he borrowed his dad's bike for the week and loved it.

me, not so much. apparently neither did parker. 

i just love him. love him. love him. love him.

my parker boy

we've had a rough couple of days here in the rucks home last week.

parker was either crying or whining ALL DAY LONG.

i was losing my patience quickly, and told jared every night,

"seriously? how do people do this more than once?" 

parker doesnt like us to stick our fingers in his mouth,

but i finally got one finger in, and sure enough, there was a sharp little molar poking through.

i think i would have been crabby too. 

he woke up this morning a completely different kid, and i told jared,

"okay, now i know why people do this more than once."

seriously, its crazy how the good days completely wipe away all the bad days

when it comes to kiddos.

and now everything you wanted to know about my parker boy!

i just cant believe how big he is getting. 

minus the tempertatrums, this 12-18 months has been my favorite age so far.

parker really isnt saying very many words yet, but he does say a few: 

mama, dada, ball, bubble, jesus, amen, and occasionally all done.

and he can now tell us what sound a puppy, kitty, duck, monkey, lion and snake can make.

he is an absolute pro at using his fork and spoon.

he still loves books and would sit and read them all day if we sat and read them to him.

he loves his water. ive tried to give him juice multiple different times, and he doesnt care for it.

he will drink milk in the morning with breakfast and at night, but definitely prefers water.

he must get that from his grandma allred. 

he is a people watcher. (just like his daddy)

when we take him to the park he is very content to watching the other kids play

before he braves the toys with them. 

 we love going to the duck pond. 

and throwing rocks into the water.

we've discovered chalk:

and enjoy wearing mom and dad's shoes:

in just the short 17 months he's been here, he sure has taught me a lot,

mostly patience. and i try really hard everyday to be patience with him. 

this mom thing has been the hardest thing ive ever done in my life.

but good days, or bad, i sure love my parker boy.

weighing on my mind

its amazing how quickly blogging and facebook seem to be taking over our world.

i love being able to keep up with old friends through thier blogs and facebook.

and am the first to admit, if i dont get on the computer all day i feel so "out of the loop."

back in january i was reading a friends blog and she had a link to The hansen family blog.

they are your typical lds family living in dallas texas. just graduated from law school bought their first house, and living the all american dream. they have 2 cute boys.

atticus is 4, and isaac is just about 6 weeks younger than parker.

in january atticus was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor.

ive been following their story since janauary, and atticus is absolutely a 30 year old man

trapped in a 4 year old body. he is so witty and too smart for his own good.

since january, things have gone from really good to really bad to really good again for him.

just this past week though, things have taken a turn for the worse, and sweet little atticus will probably not be on this earth much longer. 

im not really sure why im writing about this. ive never met this family in my life. but as i read the comments left on thier blog im blown away by how much love and support is shown to this family by their family, friends, and even complete strangers.

and everyday i read updates on atticus, im reminded how precious heavenly father's children are.

and all of a sudden reading the same book to parker for the 50th time that day isnt a "chore."

and ill read it 50 more times until he goes to bed at night.

and his temper-tantrums that he throws when we leave the park dont seem to bother me as much.

  because he is able to run and play.

and he is happy, and healthy, and at home with me, not sick in a hospital.

what more could i ask for on this beautiful mothers day?

 so if you remember, keep sweet atticus and his parents in your prayers.