Parker is 4 months old…we must be doing something right
So I switched pediatricians. I’ve been putting it off and driving to North Orem to see one great doctor. He makes us laugh and he gives us confidence in our parenting ability (and frankly I don’t want to be preached to anyway…I grew up in a big family, I’ve got a gazillion neices and nephews (that I’ve babysat TONS), I went to 4 years of college focused on marriage, family and human development…let’s just say I felt pretty comfy with the idea of starting a family). I was a little nervous, which is weird ’cause I don’t usually get nervous about things like that, and I was stressed because we are going out of town tomorrow and I’ve been shopping and packing like crazy. However, it went just fine. The doctor was nice, he asked some good questions about Parker’s development andHe even mentioned that Parker doing just great in all the areas where he should be doing well. Do I like my other Doctor better? Of course, something new always takes a little bit of adjusting. But I love that it is a 7-10 minute drive rather than 20-30. With the crazy gas prices I’ll live with the new Doc. BTW, Parker is 25 inches long and almost 14 pounds. (14 lbs may not sound like a lot, but trust me that dead weight in a car seat plus a 28ish pound toddler in the other arm is ALOT.)
Vacation is here and I am super-duper excited. I love going back to Weiser…I wouldn’t neccissarily want to live there, but visiting is so magical. The animals, the wide open spaces, the good, homegrown cookin’ and the non-exsistent speed limit out in the middle of nowhere are all so hard to resist. I’m always wishin’ we could visit more often. Thank goodness for parents who are willing to travel tons so we still see them (and thanks to those same parents for creating all that magical goodness and making a trip home such a momentus experience!) So I won’t be bloggin’ for a few days and I’ll be excited to catch up on all the fun blogs I read. So…if you’re bored….
For fun checkout: www.blokus.com or www.partygamecentral.com OR www.kidsoffthecouch.com
For cool home ideas: www.realsimple.com
For food: www.kraftfoods.com
ENJOY!!
Out of the mouth of our babe
Lanette’s new thing is that we can’t close our prayers until she has said ALL that she wants to say. Usually when she starts repeating things we prompt her and then she finishes. Not anymore! It is pretty sweet though. This morning she remembered to pray for the food, for our family (by name), help us be happy and obedient and thank Thee for Jesus, as she started to close she stopped herself and went back and said to “bless Daddy at work”. I’m amazed…it is a pretty impressive prayer for a 2 year old. The only hard thing is she wants to say ALL the prayers.
So we have a year before we head to Utah State. We figure we’ll probably have a kid during the next 3 years (while he is in school). So here is the question…we can’t fit 3 kids in our car. Do we try and get into something bigger (most likely a mini-van…although sometimes the thought makes me shudder)before we take off to school while Aaron still has a full time job? Or do we wait until the “new arrival” is about to…arrive? (Don’t worry this isn’t an announcement…Park is only 4 months old, but ya gotta plan ahead when it comes to these sort of things) We don’t have very much experience in the car buying business (read NONE) and so we are a little nervous and we don’t really know what to expect. My main beef is with the car guys in general…WHY can’t I fit 3 car seats into my backseat??? Is having 3 kids really that uncommon. When did car makers make the decision that we all wanted to be driving mini-vans once we got to the 3 kid stage. What happened to the roomy back seats of our youth? If we decide to have 6 or 7 kids are we 
going to have to drive a school bus? C’mon car makers. Just ’cause MOSTLY everyone only wants 1 1/2 kids (on average….) doesn’t mean we all want to be driving a European style mini. Where am I going with this? No where really…except maybe to point out that 2 or 3 kids seems like only half a family (since I come from 11 and Aaron comes from 7) and we are just getting started so we have some serious ‘CAR ISSUES’ facing us in the future…especially with gas prices the way they are. Maybe we’ll just move to Weiser and borrow my parents horses. :p
Whatta ya know…she’s a funny girl
I know, I know there are so many posts about Lanette, but she just does so many funny things. Her new thing is to run into her bedroom, close the door and then call one of us to come and open it and then once we try to open it she slams it shut. I tell ya, she gets the biggest laugh. The other day Aaron discovered that she loves to play hide and seek. We had set a sheet over the kitchen table so it was like a little fort and Aaron started calling her. “where’s Lanette? is she under the trash can” as he picks up the trash can and she laughs her little head off. This continued as he looked under various household items. Then he hid in the hallway and she started saying “where’s Lanette” and finally she came out from her fort and went to go down the hallway and Aaron jumped out…she threw herself back onto the floor and laughed harder than she ever had before. Sounds like she inherited my love for games!
This morning I offered her some O.J. in her sippy cup. I usually fill it mostly up with water and then add a little O.J., well she saw that I had put water in it and was about to put in the orange juice and she forcefully told me that “dump it out mommy, it’s gross”. This is a girl that know how to speak her mind. She’s not dumb…she’s knows O.J. is better when it isn’t watered down. (darn…I’ll have to sneak it in more carefully next time!)
I made this little skirt for Lanette and she wore it with pride on Sunday. Cute huh? She’s not picky about designers…or even straight stitches. 🙂
Don’t you just love this picture of Aaron & Parker? Park definitely inherited his widow’s peak from Aaron. He is starting to look pretty grown up. He is turning 4 months old this week and we are trying out a new pediatrician…we’ll see how it goes.
WHAT A GUY!
So this has been kind of an unusual week. I went to a Pampered Chef party on Tuesday night, Wednesday was enrichment and I had visiting teaching on Thursday. I get out quite a bit, Aaron is really great about sending me off to the library or to get a frosty or just do whatever so that I can get a little break and maintain my sanity. But me being gone for 3 nights in a row is kinda outta control. Especially since it was during dinner and bedtime!
Tuesday wasn’t so bad, Parker slept and Lanette went to be without too much trouble. Wednesday was a different story. He called me 3 times this is kinda how it went –
First call: Hey honey, I was just calling to make sure you found the address and made it there.
Second call: Um, I’m calling for a couple of reasons…where is Park’s binkie? Oh, and where is the green food coloring…Net wants green yogurt and we only have white.
Third call: (after a solid 1 1/2) Crying, crying, and more crying…honey could you come home.
So, I raced home and the sad and sorta sweet thing was that Parker stopped crying almost immediately. He wasn’t hungry and he didn’t have a burp…he just wanted me. I felt so bad for Aaron, but it kinda melted my heart that Parker recognizes where his food comes from.
Wednesday went something like this:
First call: (between houses) hey hon, Parker isn’t very happy and I’ve got to go to visit new families with the EQ presidency. So try not to be gone too much longer.
Second call: Screaming, screaming and more screaming…Honey, I think you need to come home now.
And this is what had happened while I was gone. Aaron had given Lanette a bath to distract her while he tried to help the very upset Parker. When she was done she got out and was running around “diaperLess” and while she was climbing all over Aaron (who, by the way, was all dressed in his snazzy church clothes for his meeting) she peed all over his shirt, down his back and down his pant leg. I laughed so hard when I heard and the greatest part…the part that makes me really love my hubby and KNOW that he is a great father is that he laughed too. In fact he said he almost laughed when it happened (he sure can see the humor in life). Instead he calmly explained that we don’t “pee on Daddy”. The guy has been working like crazy and going into work early ’cause he’s overloaded at his job, comes home and watches both kids without any complaints, deals with a screaming baby for an hour and then doesn’t even get upset when is 2 year old tinkles all over him! He wasn’t even upset at me for being gone. That is true love!
By the way, as I’m writing this Parker is on the chair grinning up at me, he sleeps through the night, he hardly ever cries and he falls asleep on his own. Let me just say – he is a great baby. I know it probably makes Aaron feel a little sad that he was so ticked off for some reason, but it is kind of sweet that he is a momma’s boy.
Exercise…
So I promised myself that once Parker started sleeping through the night I would start a 
regular exercise program. I’m sure most of you out there have had the “joy” of starting a new diet/exercise program. It is at times like this when I am especially envious of some of my incredibly sweet sisters / sister-in-laws who have the pounds just melt off when they are nursing. I tell ya…when I am nursing I feel like I’m eating for THREE. I just have this incredible appetite (not just for sweets though that is a biggie.)
You know how they say that exercise actually gives you more energy? Well, I believe that is true…the problem is getting the engery up to actually exercise. You might be thinking that it doesn’t take that much effort to slap on some old clothes and get your “sweating to the oldies” groove on, or that all it takes is will power and determination. Let me just say that when you have a 2 year old hanging on your leg it IS kinda hard to get your workout clothes on and it is doubly hard to do the much required sit ups (required if you don’t want to look like you are 6 months prego) when said 2 year old wants to lay across my stomach when I’m trying to do sit ups. I get a good laugh though…’cause it is pretty funny to be trying to do leg raises and have Lanette lay across my legs (I’m strong, but not that strong!) NOW for all of you “will power and determination” people out there, you are right that is what I need, but I find it hard to gather all that power when I’m up 3 times in the middle of the night for random reasons (I guess my body just isn’t used to the sleeping through the night routine yet). I’m a sports girl…always have been and it is hard to get used to doing any sort of exercise by myself. (Let’s face it a GAME of volleyball or basketball almost makes you forget that you are exercising, almost.)
However, lest you think I’m just spouting off complaints I have worked out everyday this week (actually living up to my goal – quite and accomplishment for a NON-goal oriented person). I was just thinking as I was making breakfast, entertaining Lanette and lifting weights this morning that I’ve got to cut back on the multi-tasking. Any suggestions? And let me just say…getting up earlier than Lanette is just NOT and option. 🙂
Oh, and I went to a 
Pampered Chef party last night (great food, of course) and I just can’t believe how many cool kitchen gadgets are out there. I especially loved the part where the lady says that they really have stuff for people in every price range. I of course snicker to myself and think about the look on Aaron’s face if I bought a $20 ice cream scoop when I can buy one at the dollar store…I know, I know it is quality stuff, but still the dollar store ice cream scoop gets the job done now doesn’t it?! So if you own the $20 gadget…enjoy. I’ll be enjoying my extra $19. 🙂
In other news…our garden looks awesome! Thanks to our friends Paul and Cindy Curtis 
‘cuase they grew these from bulbs and then we transplanted them here and managed (miracle of miracles) to get them to bloom! Pretty huh?
Zippy’s broken…but Mommy fixed him!
It is all the rage in the bloggin’ world to talk about our fathers. I guess I’m falling to the peer pressure, but I just had to say I’m grateful for my own father (who was always there to comfort me and treated me like a princess so I coul gain self worth), and for the father of my 2 adorable children (who surpasses my expectations of fatherhood almost daily!) To my Dad and to my husband…I hope you know I love you and I appreciate all that you do and have done for me! If you want to see some cute pictures of Aaron with our kids go to his blog.
Haven’t done much the past few days…father’s day, FHE and dealing with a 2 year old who is seriously considering pushing me over the edge ’cause she won’t take a decent nap…and I fixed Zippy. This story really started a few days ago when I was re-assembling Lanette’s bed after nap time (and by that I mean putting back about a thousand stuffed animals and books and 3 blankets) I lifted up the blanket to see a lone Zebra leg on the floor. It was pretty funny. Actually the funny thing is that she kept saying “Zippy’s broken” in a sad voice…but she still wanted him to be apart of her Noah’s Ark like bed collection. So I finally fixed Zippy…and she has been blissfully running around with him all morning. One thing about the girl…she is LOYAL. Once she latches on to something she loves it forever!
And what has Parker been doing lately? Just being his adorably cute self and smiling like crazy! I know I sing his praises all the time, but especially now when he has finally settled into an AWESOME sleeping routine. He has his 4 month check up next week and it seems like time has been flying by since he was born. That alone must be a sign that he is a good baby. I know, I know…I gotta stop braggin’ about him, but I just can’t help it. He makes me smile. 🙂
How does your garden grow…
We did it! We did it! We actually got something to grow! A few weeks ago I decided that I was going to make a BIG effort and commit to watering the garden in the morning and in the late afternoon ’cause I’m sick of killing everything within a 100 mile radius. I’ve been VERY faithful with my watering and have found that it is 
actually a nice break. I plan to go water during times with Aaron is home and that way I get a little time outside…call it my outdoor meditation time if you will….all I know is that it works! We have a little tomato and a little pepper. Our zucchini plant is starting to get flowers on it and we planted some green onions from seed and they are coming up as well! The only problem is we are going out of town for a week at the end of June and I don’t want them to die. I guess I’ll have to get brave and ask someone to water them for me. What a pain.
When I was checking on Lanette today during her nap (she struggles to stay in bed at nap time, but doesn’t have a problem at night) she said she wanted to sing “Daddy’s song”. I had no idea what “Daddy’s song” was so I asked her which song she meant. She said, “….Go Cougars” and put her hand up in the air! 
It was awesome! We took her to 4 home BYU football games last year and since they had a killer season we got to sing the cougar fight song A LOT! Can’t wait to help her learn all the rest of the words during this season!
****P.S. Parker is on 3 nights in a row of blissful sleeping…wonder when I can consider it a habit?****
2 nights in a row…it must be a sign!
PLEASE, please, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLease, plEASE, PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE,
Please, please let it be a sign! Parker has slept through the night the last 2 nights -IN A ROW!!! And when I say through the night I mean from 10:30 -7:00 – it ROCKS! I feel like I have so much energy and I’m not cranky…at least not from a lack of sleep. There are other things that can make you cranky – like a screaming 2 year old, but she has been pretty happy lately so – life is GOOOOOD!
We had a play group with some girls in our ward yesterday and it was a blast. It is always so much fun to hang out with people who are “working” the same job you are. We even got brave (well, Aaron did) and invited a couple from our ward who has a daughter Net’s age to have F.H.E. treats together. It was so fun to get to know them and afterwards we were so glad that we had taken the first step ’cause they are way cool and want to hang out some more. In the words of one of my brother-in-laws, who says hanging out with other married couples is like dating, our first “date” went well. hahaha. That Dan is one funny guy. So…if you haven’t dated any new couples lately go for it!
Parker’s new tricks
LOOK AT ME I CAN GRAB MY TOES!! I LOVE TO GRAB OTHER THINGS TOO AND I’M STARTING TO SUCK ON MY HANDS!
It was almost 10 pm last night and I was just getting ready to feed Parker. I love the night time with Parker. He gets our undivided attention and he responds like crazy. He gives some of his best smiles at night. I was just sitting there playing with him and then out of one of those great big smiles came a little squeal and then a little giggle. In just a few minutes he went from smiling baby to laughing cherub. The craziest thing about a babies first laugh is that is makes me emotional. When Lanette first laughed I remember laughing so hard and being so excited that I kept saying “oh my gosh I’m going to cry!” I felt that same way last night. I guess it is because there is something so amazing about hearing an innocent child laugh. We still get that excited when Nettie laughs uncontrollably at something. Let me just say that Parker was cute before, but the new laughing Parker is irresistible!
***A laugh is a smile that bursts. (Mary H. Waldrip)
***Laughter is the shock absorber that eases the blows of life.
***What soap is to the body, laughter is to the soul. (Yiddish Proverb)
***Laughter is an instant vacation.
I hope you find something to laugh about today!
Wish I could fall asleep anywhere!
I know I got lucky that Lanette started sleeping through the night at 2 months old and I know I shouldn’t wish so much that Parker would get to that stage, but I do. However, even though Parker doesn’t sleep through the night he can fall asleep anywhere. Laying on the floor, on the chair, in the bassinet, in the car seat, in my arms and apparently in his exersaucer. I was making dinner and I looked over to see that he had fallen fast asleep. It was so adorable…and he stayed asleep when I moved him to a more comfortable place. He must get that from Aaron ’cause I am kind of a picky sleeper. I have a hard time with weird noises. In our first apartment we had to turn off the fridge at night so I could sleep (it made the LOUDEST squeaking noise). In our next apartment we had hardwood floors above us…big mistake, trust me you don’t want to hear every thing that drops or moves around in the apartment above you. Then we had a water issue at our next place…I don’t know if you can imagine squeaky pipes, but just imagine a high pitched squeal all night long, or our upstairs neighbor playing video games with the base turned all the way up at 5:00 am on a Sunday when you are prego. There have been a few other issues that I won’t mention…and now finally we live upstairs – heavenly.
So people say Parker is a spittin’ image of me,but I’m not sure I see it. I think he doesn’t look like Aaron, and he looks more like my side of the family, but does he look like ME or just like my side of the family? What do you think?
They looked so cute before church yesterday I just had to take a picture. Isn’t it crazy how you think your own kids are the most adorable kids in the world?
Funny Things 
