Parker tag

Parker's cousin Hyrum tagged him so now we get to share 8 things about our little Parkey (as he used to call himself)

1.Doesn't show his true colors to just anyone. Parker really isn't the same around other people as he is around us. Even around people he really likes he is quite reserved and quiet. He really thrives in his own element (a.k.a. home with the family) and doesn't like to be taken out of it or anyone put in it for extended periods of time. For example, anytime we go somewhere and Parker gets sad he comes up to Andrew or I and says "I want a hug and go home". It sure is a shame he doesn't open up to more people because he sure is a cutie once you get to know him.

2. He's very good at memorizing books, songs and movies. I am always surprised to hear him singing along to a random song while it's playing on the radio. Parker even loves singing along to one of Andrew's French Cd's that we always listen to. Memorizing movies is also another one of his many skills, even if he has only seen the movie a couple of times I'll find him quoting line after line.

3. He loves to pretend to be animals. His favorite thing to be is a dinosaur, and he does a pretty good job, Carter is actually scared of his dinosaur. Other animals he likes to pretend to be are dogs, tigers and frogs, but my personal favorite is his horse. He is the cutest horse, he gallops and neighs perfectly.

4. He is quite the copycat. He likes to do anything his big brother is doing . He will often follow him around step by step and repeat whatever Carter says.

5. He is very cuddly, and a bit of a mamma's boy. Andrew and I really enjoy how cuddly he is, considering how Carter was never that way. He always comes up to me for no reason in particular and gives me a big hug and says, "look mommy, I give you hugs!" I love it.

6. His favorite toys- anything with wheels. Out of all of those things, he likes the train the best. If we go to Disneyland without riding the train , Parker is devastated. He also loves firetrucks, if we ever see one he gets so excited and says so emphatically "Wow, look at that firetruck, it's so cool!"

7. Has recently discontinued nap time. This is a new development that I am not so fond of, especially considering that Carter still takes naps. I really don't know what to do with him because he still fights going to bed early even though he is exhausted. Hopefully we will work something out soon.

8. He is a very sensitive and caring boy. Parker really is a sweetheart and we are so happy that he is a part of our family. Sometimes we worry he gets left behind in his brothers overactive shadow, but we love him and he holds a special place in our hearts!

We are going to tag Alyssa

Carter updates

Since Andrew and I aren't able to afford preschool, at least not here in Irvine (the cheapest we have found is $265 a month!) we have been trying to teach Carter from home. We were able to get a few preschool books from the book store and in about two weeks time he has gone from only being able to identify a few letters and numbers to being able to identify all his numbers and letters and telling us the sounds for most of them. He also knows all his shapes and colors. I am not trying to brag or anything I am just really impressed with all he has retained in such a short amount of time. I was worried about him being ready for kindergarten, but I think if he keeps this up he will do just fine.

Carter has also recently shown quite the interest in the baby and talks about him all the time. Last week we made the mistake of telling Carter the name we are thinking about for the baby. He now calls the baby by his name and tells everyone about "Baby Tristan in my mom's tummy."

This is a conversation we had this morning.

Carter: "Mommy, I am so excited for Tristan to come."

Me: "Yeah, me too."

Carter: "I am going to take such good care of him."

Me: "What are you going to do for him?"

Carter: "I am going to give him bath's and give him hugs and I will let him sit on my lap when we go for rides in the van. I love Baby Tristan!"

Finger Paints and Legos

When we first got finger paints Parker didn't think they were so hot. I thought that if he just got his hands dirty he would realize how fun it was, so I made the mistake of putting his hands in the paint and he flipped out. He acted as if I had just given him some deadly disease, so after he calmed down he took to dancing in the living room while Carter got messy. After a few times of Carter trying out the finger paints Parker came around and decided to try it too. He now loves it and will play longer and get messier than Carter.

Carter loves building with his blocks, sometimes I am impressed with his creativity. This one is a ship that he actually built in just a couple of minutes. I just wish I could get the same focus and devotion while trying to teach him his preschool material.

Preggy pictures

Mom, this is for you! I think that having someone take pictures of me is one of my least favorite things, especially when it is of my growing stomach. I had forgotten how much I disliked it, but here I am after many requests I finally have posted pictures of my pregnant belly thus far. This picture was actually taken a little over a week ago and my belly has grown since then so maybe in a few weeks I will post another picture. While on the subject of our pregnancy, we had our full extensive ultrasound yesterday and everything looks good and the baby looks healthy and, yes, the baby is still for sure a boy!

Enjoying Conference Weekend

Before having kids I never realized how much they get in the way of you doing pretty much anything for longer than five minutes. This includes talking on the phone, paying bills, doing dishes, making dinner, playing games of any kind and of course listening in church. I don't think Andrew and I have really been able to listen to conference since Parker was born. Luckily this conference weekend was a little different, the boys slept for both of the afternoon sessions and were pretty good during the morning sessions. I realized how much I enjoy watching Conference and was surprised when the two hours flew by, as opposed to when I was a kid and would count down the minutes until it was over.

Carter also seemed to realize that conference was special. Last night after blessing the food for dinner Carter said, "Thank you for conference Daddy!" I thought it was very sweet, but us watching it and him knowing it was important sure didn't persuade him to want to watch it. While getting ready to watch the last session he said to us "Conference sure is a long movie." And when given the choice to watch it or take a nap the clear winner both times was taking a nap.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to be counseled by our church leaders twice a year and hope that in the future the boys will have the desire to watch and will enjoy Conference as well.

Trip to the San Diego Zoo

My Aunt and Uncle came and stayed with us a few days and while they were here we were able to go to the San Diego Zoo. I would say that my favorite thing by far was the orangutan's they had such personality and loved playing and interacting with people.

Our weekend in Vegas

We went to Las Vegas last weekend for a baby blessing of our nephew. Andrew's sister and brother-in-law were nice enough to let us stay with them, which Carter loved because they had a really big back yard with a trampoline and a playhouse and four wheelers. Parker also really loved the four wheelers and was always asking to ride it.

Are you as fast as me?

So I tried out this speed test and these were my results



86 words

Speedtest

Easter Fun

We had a lot of fun Easter weekend, this is also the first time that Carter and Parker really got excited and enjoyed doing all the activities. Parker loved coloring the Easter Eggs,he could color the same egg for about 10 mintutes before he would dye it.

We also did an Easter Egg Hunt with some neighbors. Both of the boys did a pretty good job of finding eggs.

The boys each had a bubble gun in there Easter basket, which they played with all morning long out on our porch.