Christmas Day

We had a wonderful Christmas Day filled with great food and fun memories....

Our family on Christmas Day....Sadie's very first!

Parker and Sadie with Cousin Abbey....

It's present time!

And just for fun, this evening I went in search of Parker because I hadn't seen him in a few minutes only to find him watching "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" all by himself in the living room.

Christmas Eve Eve

' Twas the night before Christmas Eve....

Just hanging out....

Nonni and Sadie

Dinnertime fun

Daddy and Sadie

Throwback Thursday

Exactly seven years ago today, Andrew got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. This picture was taken of us that night....

So simply Stephanie giveaway

Just thought I'd let you guys know....my cousin is having a giveaway for one of her handmade diapers and wipes holders over on her blog. Click here to follow her instructions and you just may be the lucky winner!

Throwback Thursday

So I've decided that I'm going to completely steal an idea from my cousin. A couple of weeks ago, she started doing "Favorite Photo Friday" and posting a fun picture from the distant or recent past each Friday. I love the idea, so here's my version....

From before we even got married in July 2003 until Spring of 2006, Andrew was a youth and college pastor. Much of our time was spent at the church or doing fun activities with one of those groups. One Saturday, we planned a spelunking trip with some of our college group. (Spelunking is defined as the hobby or practice of exploring caves.... I just googled it.) Sounds like fun, huh? Too bad we didn't consider the recent rain that had fallen in our area. Here is a picture of our group before our little adventure:

And here is a picture of us AFTER....

That was, without a doubt, the muddiest experience of my life. I can't even describe the mud. I don't think any of us even tried to save our clothes. What a memory....

Cuties and Christmas cards

Yesterday my cousin/BFF, Stephanie, and her son came over for the afternoon to hang out. It's always a fun time when they are over, and you never know what the kids are going to come up with. At one point, Parker came up to me like this.... They are actually glasses that go on his Mr. Potato Head, but somehow he got them to stay on his head for quite a long time. He continued wearing them while playing with Cousin A.

Sadie usually acts like she is too much of a little lady to be very impressed with the boys. Here is a super cute picture that Stephanie snapped.....

Stephanie was also kind enough to watch the kiddos for Andrew and I for the evening so that we could attend Andrew's work Christmas party. Before we left, she agreed to take some family pictures for us....we wanted to get a good one to use for our Christmas card. The kids were rather uncooperative (Parker was super distracted and Sadie wouldn't smile for ANYTHING), but somehow Stephanie still managed to get some cute shots. Below is one of them. Thanks, again, Steph - you're the best!

Lately

I'm back! The last couple of weeks I've been a little preoccupied with the accident (I'll talk more about that in a later post) and then we had company in town. However, I did want to catch everyone up on what we've been up to lately. Sadie is getting more and more mobile. Two and a half months after learning how to roll over, it seems as though she has finally decided to start using her skills. Last week I found her on her tummy in bed for the first time, and now it is a regular occurence.

She also really seems to enjoy her Johnny Jumper.

Parker is full of hilarious things to say these days. The other day he found some Halloween candy and brought me a small bag of M&Ms that he wanted. I told him no but that he could have them later. He asked a few more times before I finally said "no, but you can have them after lunch", knowing that lunch was a couple of hours away. He thought about that for a second before saying "Mommy, I wanna eat lunch". Glad to see that he is applying his analytical skills. Here is a picture of him playing his guitar.

For Thanksgiving, my parents and nieces were in town for several days. We had a really nice time sharing the holiday with them. Here is a picture of Mom and Dad with all the grandkids.

First Thanksgiving holiday with Sadie in the family! Even Molly snuck into this picture....

NOT a day at the zoo

So yesterday we got up and headed to Denver for a fun-filled day at the zoo. It was one of their free days, and a deal like that just can't be passed up. We were telling Parker all about the animals we would see, and I was already imagining how cute my next blog post would be with the pictures of all the fun we had. Then, about five minutes from the zoo, we were slowing to stop at a stoplight when our Jeep was hit very hard from behind. I still don't really remember the sequence of events. I just remember hearing the kids screaming, and opening the back passenger side door to look at Sadie. I don't remember getting out of my seatbelt or opening my door -- which means I probably didn't look to see if there was traffic before opening my door (we were in the left lane of a three lane road). I was obviously freaking out and worried mostly for the kids. In what seemed like seconds bystanders were coming to help, several of whom were *not a coincidence* off-duty doctors. As I was getting Sadie's car seat out, I noticed that Parker was still in his car seat and I told Andrew to get him out. Andrew said that he couldn't because Parker's door was jammed shut, and even today Andrew can't remember getting Parker out or how he got Parker out although he did. Once we had gotten out of the vehicle and were over to the side of the road, I realized that the truck behind us had hit us, causing us to hit the car in front of us and them to hit the car in front of them. I was still freaking out and had discovered a giant goose egg on the back of my head when the ambulance showed up. The kids appeared fine, but obviously we were so worried about them. The EMTs said right away that they wanted to take us to the hospital to at least check out Sadie since she couldn't tell us if something was wrong or hurting. As we were heading to the ambulance, we walked behind the Jeep and I got a brief look at the damage which actually made me more scared than I already had been. The police officer later told us at the hospital that the entire back end of the Jeep was pushed in at least 10 inches and the back window was completely shattered. They loaded us all in and we were off to the hospital. On the way to the hospital, Andrew's neck started hurting so they had him lie down....neck brace and all. Long story short, they ended up admitting Andrew, Sadie, and I for a short time, and we were all released within 4 hours. We are SO grateful for our safety because we certainly realize that it could have been much worse. Once out of the hospital, we started trying to figure everything else out. The police officer had also told us that our vehicle was taken to the impound which closed before we were done at the hospital, so we had no way to get our belongings out of the Jeep which was also not drivable. In addition, we had no way to get home so my cousin/BFF, Stephanie, came from Colorado Springs to pick us up - THANKS, STEPH! This morning Andrew went back to Denver to clean out the Jeep while I made calls about insurance. Fortunately, the guy who hit us took full responsibility and had already started a claim with his insurance. We are praying for a smooth and fast response as we really want to get this resolved easily. I will keep you posted on the situation as things happen. We appreciate your prayers. Oh, and just to give you an idea of the impact, Andrew found our garage door opener (previously clipped to the driver's side visor) in four pieces in the BACK of the Jeep.

Wishing Star Farm

Today we went to a local farm called Wishing Star Farm for their Fall Festival and Pumpkin Patch. I really wanted to take Parker to a pumpkin patch this year, and we decided on this one because they had some other attractions in addition to the pumpkins. This was their last weekend of the season, so there weren't many pumpkins left but we still had a great time....even though the wind was blowing like a monsoon. Not kidding. Wish I was.

Parker going for his first pony ride!

He loved it and got to ride twice.

They also had barrel train rides. I wasn't sure if Parker would be cool with it once he started pulling away, but I needn't have worried. He rode three times and was more than happy to roll off without us.

See -- here he is waving bye bye.

Me and the kiddos stop for a picture. As you can see, I wasn't lying about the wind.

Parker and Daddy also participated in duck racing. As the water was pumped, the rubber duckies would make their way across the tube to the other side.

This is the part when I really thought Parker would freak out. He doesn't usually even take well to big dogs, so I figured sheep and goats would be a no-go. Again, I was wrong. After only a few seconds to warm up to the idea, he was feeding them grain like a pro.

Here he is feeding one sheep while another is trying to kiss him???

They even had a 100 foot slide! Here is a picture of Andrew and Parker on their way down.

Parker really loved the corn crib. It was basically like a sandbox, but instead of sand it was filled with corn kernels. He could have played in it all day.

We had a really fun time and brought home some pumpkins that we plan on carving so stay tuned for that. And finally, Sadie is 6 months old today....my little baby is growing up so fast.

The cowboy and the frog

If you somehow failed to notice, yesterday was Halloween. We've never really celebrated Halloween before....I guess I always figured we'd wait until the kids were a little older. So I hadn't made any plans for this year until our good friends, Corey and Blythe, invited us to come over for the evening. Even after that I didn't plan to do costumes or anything until I happened to find a frog costume in Sadie's closet that someone had given us. I know, not girly and, at best, gender neutral, but it was EXACTLY her size and of course she looked darling in it, so I thought why not try to find Parker a costume. Easy peasy, right? Not so much. Everything was picked over (I can't imagine why) and I had a very hard time trying to find something a) in his size, b) not scary or weird, and c) not ridiculously expensive. I was a woman on a mission so three *yes, three* hours and six *yes, six* stores later, I finally came home with a cowboy and it ended up being perfect.

Parker, the cowboy

Sadie, the frog

Corey and Blythe had their house all done up and even had a smoke machine

They were definitely in the spirit of Halloween!

Our family ready to head out to trick-or-treat

I wasn't really sure how Parker would react as we started out, and at first he was very shy and clinging to Andrew. By about the third house, he was saying "thank you!" and by about the tenth house, he walked right up and knocked (hard) on the door. As we were leaving that house, he said "bye, see you next week" and from there on out he was an old pro.

Parker and Daddy

Me with Sadie

We finally made it back to Corey and Blythe's where Parker was eager to help pass out the rest of their candy to trick-or-treaters. We had a great time eating some super yummy food and playing games. Thanks again, guys, for having us over!!! It was a blast, and now I can't wait until next year when we can do it all over again....well, minus the mad costume dash, of course.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that....

Yesterday, my cousin/BFF participated in a craft fair. She is SUPER talented and makes various handmade items. The turnout was a bit disappointing which left her with a lot of items. So, hop on over to so-simply-stephanie.blogspot.com to check out the items she made. In particular, there are lots of baby items that are perfect for gifts, etc. If you see something you like, let me know and I'll pass it on or feel free to leave a comment on her blog. Trust me, the items are even cuter in person than in the pics. Below is a picture of Sadie and I at her booth.

In my last post, I said I was going to start sharing some "Parkerisms", and I have since come up with some more:

-- He insists on using one of Daddy's real guitar picks to play his toy guitar, but he calls it a 'pick-i-nic'.

-- He loves to boss Molly (our dog) around, and will even stand at the back door yelling "Molly, get in here right now".

-- A couple of days ago, he was playing with some toy cars in the kitchen and talking. Once I started listening to what he was saying, I realized it was this...."It's not a race, it's the Piston Cup" - a line from the movie Cars.

-- He says "First of all....."followed by something else.

-- He got the movie Pinocchio for his birthday, but he calls it 'Pick-i-no'.

-- He loves to pray and will say a string of unintelligible things followed by "amen".

I'm sure I will come up with more again because he is seems to be at the age where he is doing or saying something completely new every day that I've never seen from him before. Hmmm....I wish being completely potty-trained would be one of those things. Below is a picture from yesterday when he put on a pair of my boots. I thought he might seriously hurt himself, but he was having so much fun I couldn't stop him.

Little Miss Sadie Lady is also doing many new things:

-- After a while when it was a bit of a struggle, she now LOVES to eat solids. So far she's only had rice and oatmeal cereal, bananas, and applesauce....all of which she seems to very much enjoy. She even makes a "mmm" sound as the spoon is going into her mouth.

-- She smiles a lot. For a long time she just didn't smile much, and I was starting to think that she might be one of "those" babies. Thankfully, she's not.

-- She is extremely ticklish, and really laughs when tickled. And when she laughs, she gets the hiccups.....every single time.

-- Her cry would make you want to cut off your ears. Honestly. Don't just take my word for it. Ask anyone else was has ever had the *pleasure* of hearing her not-so-sweet baby cry.

-- If she was an Indian, her name would be No Hair Little Nose. I'm guessing there is no more explanation needed.

-- She is perfecting her death grip which she uses on everything now, especially my hair, my clothes, anything I'm holding, and anything going into my mouth.

-- She is very interpersonal and let you know quickly if she would like some more interaction.

-- She is sleeping at least 10 straight hours at night. Hallelujah.

-- I am told (a lot and often) that she looks like me.

Overall, she's a really good baby. I can't believe that she is almost 6 months already, and I'm trying to prepare myself for the next step of her becoming mobile. Below is a picture taken tonight after she finished with some cereal.

Parkerisms

I haven't really done this before, but I thought I would start putting some "Parkerisms" on here 1) for you to get a laugh out of and 2) for me so I will one day remember them. Here are some of the funny things he says:

"Are you kidding me?"

"You're a silly goober"

"Hi, baby gu-wa" (that's how Andrew and I occasionally say it....he probably doesn't even properly know how to say 'girl')

Last night, he kept calling Andrew "sweetheart".

It's been snowing all day today, but Parker calls it "smowing".

And a funny story from today: Parker is constantly referring to things as "a BIG ONE"....cars, planes, anything really. Well, today I was changing his diaper and he was poopy. We've been potty-training for a while now, and although we definitely have a ways to go, he's doing OK with No. 1, not so much with No. 2. So as I opened his diaper, he leans up to see what he *made* as he always does and says "it's a big one?" and I said "yes, it's a big one". He responds by saying "it's amazing"! I bet his dad taught him that.....

Parker watching it "smow"
Sadie is growing up in front on our eyes, and it won't be long until she's sitting up all alone. Here's a picture of her doing just that....before she fell over.

Here is a picture AS she was falling over....

And finally, a picture of my little children

Speaking from experience

Ok, so this is going to be a different post than I normally write, but bear with me. Being a parent is one of the most wonderful and most difficult things I have ever experienced in my life. Before having kids, I never understood the excitement over the tiniest of accomplishments or the emotional lows of wondering if you'll simply make it through being a parent for the rest of your life. Today as Parker threw the mother of all fits as we were going quickly (trust me, I NEVER linger with the kids) through a store, a couple of thoughts went simultaneously through my mind. The first was "Supernanny, where are you when I need you?" and the other was "I can't believe I ever used to think poorly of people when I would see their kids acting this way". And I guess that's really my point of writing this. The next time you see a parent (dads aren't immune, either, although they do have an infuriating way of being more effective *scary* than moms are) struggling with a child, don't assume that they aren't as horrified as you are at the behavior of their kid. Don't assume that the child is undisciplined, and don't imagine how you would handle the situation differently. For all you know, that mom is going to cry her eyes out on the way home out of frustration and desperation, feeling helpless and overwhelmed, but knowing that she has no choice but to persevere because her child (whether he knows it or not) is counting on her to do just that. Chances are pretty good that she's not trying to garner the attention and evil eye of every adult within a 1/2 mile radius. She's probably just trying to run an errand, or buy groceries, or look for a birthday present for someone, and now she's going to have to figure out when she can find the time to come back because right now she's got to go home and deal with her child. Whew....didn't just reading that sentence wear you out?!?! So the moral of the story is next time you're somewhere and you see or hear a kid acting up, remember what it was like for you or imagine how you will feel when it IS you, and give a little grace. I know I will.

Crafts and cousins

For his birthday, Parker got some painting supplies. I have to admit, doing crafts really isn't my "thing" but I know how much he enjoys it so I'm trying to change my attitude. Plus, they actually have some really cool things now like super washable paints and Color Wonder products. If you don't know what Color Wonder is, it is markers/paints/etc that are clear and only turn to color on specific Color Wonder paper. In other words, if your little angel takes off with a marker and draws all over your house/walls/floors/furniture/belongings, it will never show up. Whoever came up with that idea is my idol. Seriously.

Painting with Color Wonder finger paints

Painting with what Parker called a "toothbrush"

He had a lot of fun

In other news, Sadie turned 5 months a few days ago and it seems like she is changing and learning new things every day. She has started grabbing just about everything and tries frantically to stuff it in her mouth. Here is a picture of her demonstrating the 'grab-and-stuff' technique.

And finally, Andrew was out of town on business for a couple of days and Stephanie was kind enough to watch the kiddos while I went to work. She and Cousin A also decided to spend the night, and after all the kids were in bed we had a good old-fashioned slumber party complete with chick flicks, brownies, staying up until 3 a.m, and chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Maybe not the smartest decision we ever made since we can no longer recover by sleeping until noon, but we made some great memories and proved that we aren't old ladies just yet. Below are a few pictures she snapped while I was at work. Thanks again, Steph!

Sweet Sadie Lady

Cousin A LOVES to kiss Sadie

Second generation BFF

Between aspens....gotta love Colorado!