Parker Update

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Parker got a little messy today trying a new food - Carrots - and he liked them, some did make it into his mouth. He has also tried rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, and apple sauce. His favorite at this point is apple sauce, he eats that like I eat chocolate. He also wants to try drinking out of my glass, but I think I will save that skill for later.

Parker has also started to crawl. He is really good at going backwards and just this week he started going forward as he tried to grab the Sunday paper. It's not the most perfect crawl yet, it's more of a side scoot but he uses both sides and he gets where he wants. It's tons of fun watching each new development.

Voting Early

Is anyone else tired of the campaign ads and calls? I am, so I decided I would vote early and avoid the lines and mess on election day. Well, not this year. I went to my early voting station (which happens to be at the West Jordan Fire Dept.) and I should have known something was up when the entire parking lot was full and cars were parked on the street. Luckily. I found a spot within the parking lot. I loaded Parker up in his stroller and headed inside, to find a huge line! I had to wait a good 45 minutes before voting. I guess that wasn't too bad as I heard others next to me lament about a longer line when they had come earlier and decided to come back when they had more time. Thankfully, Parker was happy to watch everyone in line. I enjoyed listening to the political conversation around me, with the hot topic being how we should do away with the electoral college. While I was voting, Parker really started to make some noise, maybe he sensed I was voting for a democrat (don't worry it's not the one you think). It is a great sense of accomplishment when you walk out with your chest held high showing off your "I Voted Early" sticker. Be sure to vote!

Adventure at Joes Valley

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

On Saturday we headed down to Joes Valley to winterize cabins. We picked up Jason and Larissa along the way. After dropping Larissa off at her parents and a quick bathroom stop at Grandma and Grandpa's in Orangeville, we headed up the mountain. It was fun to see my cousin Jessica and her family who were also up visiting Aunt Kaye and Uncle Lydell. It was the first time I had seen her little guy who is a few weeks older than Parker.We met up with Jeremy and his boys and Philip and his boys. While the "men" went to work, I babysat the 5 boys. It was quite cold when we first got there, but it warmed up nicely as the day went on. The boys and I read stories, timed ourselves in races and measured how far we could throw rocks. There was also a little wrestling going on and some Simon Says. Later in the afternoon it was time for me to feed Parker and the boys wanted to play outside, so I told Hunter he was in charge and they were not supposed to leave the cabin's yard. A while later I hear a child screaming, and Hunter rushes in to tell me that David has fallen into a cactus. Poor little guy, he got it pretty good in his hand and knee; I sent Jason to get tweezers from Aunt Kaye and told Nathan and Hunter to go get their Dads. David was really brave as his Dad pulled out most of the needles, Jeremy and I got a few too, but I mostly just held on to him. He had a few yummy smarties to help with the pain; he was a real trooper. I think I would of been pretty upset too. We finished up around 5:30 and headed back down, picking up Larissa, but not before stopping at Grandma and Grandpa's again to pick apples and have a yummy dinner--thanks Grandma. To read more about the adventure visit Jeremy and Hillary's blog (there is a picture of a rat).

Parker 6 Months

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Parker is 6 months today. Can you believe it? He is 19 lbs and 26 inches according to my home measurements. He is growing up so fast. I am happy to report that the spitting up has decreased significantly, so thankful (laundry only once a week now). Parker loves to roll around and he rolls pretty fast, usually right out of the room we are in. We are just waiting any day now for the crawling to start. He is a real people person, he loves to smile and babble at everyone, but especially other babies. He just started eating bananas this week and loves them so much more than the rice cereal. Parker newest thing is making a fish face and blowing in and out; I hope I can get a picture of it one of these times. His new favorite toys are not the toys themselves but the tags, and he knows how to find them no matter how much I hide them, especially on his baby gym; I think I may need to resort to cutting the tags off. He is becoming very curious and wants to hold whatever I have, you should of seen me trying to sign up for an activity at church, he was fast in grabbing hold of the paper and making a origami project of it. We are so blessed to have him and I look forward to every new day.

Witches & Rain

Monday, October 6, 2008

We had a great General Conference weekend. On Friday night my sister Becca and her family joined us after they attended her husband Justin's mission reunion. They watched Parker for a bit while Brooks and I went out on a mini date to Jamba Juice. Becca and Justin also stayed over and watched conference with us on Saturday. In between sessions Brooks and Justin went to help a neighbor in our ward move and Becca and I headed to Gardner Village to take a look at the witches they have set up all around. It was raining, but not too hard so we decided to attempt it. We had a great time and took a few pictures. Maya loved the witch with the cats running around under her skirt. Parker didn't like it when I covered him up and he couldn't see, it was either that or get wet. Luckily there were a few places in the village to find relief from the rain. While Justin and Brooks went to priesthood session, Becca and I decided to attend ladies nights at Robert's Arts and Crafts. They had giveaways and as always happens Becca won a prize and I didn't. One of these days I will win something.