Parker's Birthday Invitation

I wanted to post the birthday invitation that my sister Kylie made for Parker's 1st Birthday!
I thought it was SO cute!!!

Here is another cute thing she made for me! I made Parker a DVD of his 1st year & Kylie made this for the intro. THANK YOU KYLIE!!!
Check out more of her cards here.
She makes Birth Announcements, Christmas Cards, Party Invitations, Thank you Notes & MORE!

1 Year Update

I can't believe 1 year ago...I was laying in a hospital bed...anticipating my 1st child being born!

This past year has been absolutely WONDERFUL! Sure there were a LOT of sleepless nights, a LOT of stinky diapers, a LOT of snotty noses, a LOT of dirty laundry, a LOT of tears shed...but A LOT MORE LOVE!!!

This past year has been better than we ever imagined & Matt and I can't imagine our life without Parker. We don't even remember life before a kid! We haven't been to a movie in over a year...WHO CARES?!? We don't. We wouldn't trade our life now for ANYTHING!

He had such a FUN 1st BIRTHDAY!!!

January has been FULL of runny noses, but Parker has gone through the month with SMILES!

His PERSONALITY is SO MUCH FUN! He is full of energy & thinks that he is SO funny! We put these goggles on him today & he just started laughing!

I know you are all going to miss his monthly updates:) But I think now that he is 1 year, I will do an update every 6 months or so, instead of every month...but don't worry...I will CONTINUE taking 100 pictures a day and posting all about his daily activities!

Eating Habits:

Parker drinks whole milk in a sippy cup with every meal-eating about 4 meals a day...he eats almost everything, but is getting pickier as time goes on! He loves pasta, pizza,fruit, bread & almost anything. Foods I have found that he WILL NOT EAT: cottage cheese, top ramen, macaroni potato salad & peaches.

Sleep Habits:

Parker goes to sleep around 8:30pm-still uses a pacifier & HAS TO HAVE his blue blanky. He used to lay down without a peep, but ever since he got sick a few weeks ago...he cries when you lay him down. It usually only lasts 1 minute, before he falls asleep. He sleeps all night long(Yea! Especially after a couple weeks of sleepless nights when he was sick this month!) and wakes up around 8:30am every morning. He always wakes up so thirsty & wants to be held & cuddled for awhile, before he is off to play with his toys. He is still taking 2 naps a day(10:30-12 & 3-4:30), but I don't know how much longer that is going to last. I am enjoying it while I can.

Play Habits:
Parker has a fun little personality now & likes to scream(in a happy way). He LOVES to hide & then pop up and scream with a huge smile on his face, as if to say "Here I am!" He also has this "fake laugh" that he does when he thinks he is funny or when he hears someone laughing at him. He still LOVES to play with his daddy when he gets home from work & cries when he leaves for work. Parker has so many fun toys to play with & loves anything that makes noise and/or lights up! He loves to go on walks & play at the park. He is walking EVERYWHERE this month & hardly even crawls anymore. He is so much fun to be around & plays, plays & plays all day long!

I have been the happiest person in the world this past year! I don't even care about me anymore. I used to get so frustrated with my weight, skin, housework, friends, family,etc...and I would worry about the smallest things. Now all I care about is Parker(and of course Matt!)I am just so grateful to be a mom and all my insecurities seem so unimportant...when I concentrate on how grateful I am to have Parker in my life!

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!

January 27, 2008

Parker turned 1 YEAR OLD today!!!

...it rained for his birthday!!! Parker LOVES the rain & gets SO excited when we take him out in it & let the drops land on his face!:)

We invited Matt's family & my family over to my parent's for Sunday Dinner/Birthday Celebration! When we arrived, our GOOD FRIENDS...the Hubers were dropping off a gift...AND this BIG balloon that HE LOVED!!!
My mom made DELICIOUS homeade sub rolls with lots of yummy sub fixins' and we had brownies & homeade icecream with hot fudge for dessert! *THANKS to EVERYONE for helping make food, salads, brownies, icecream & more!!!

The Birthday Boy loved the menu!

Some of the Family...

More of the family...

Present Time!

Parker LOVED all his gifts & we really appreciate everyone's thoughtfulness!

The Learning Table was a HUGE hit with ALL the grandkids!

Cake Time!!!

It took him a little while to DIG IN, but when he did, he ate & ate & ate...until I decided that he was going to make himself sick:)

At home after a GREAT party, playing with all of his new toys!!!

Thanks to everyone for helping Parker have a WONDERFUL 1st Birthday!!!

...and yes...towards the end of his party, we heard the news that our Beloved Prophet, Leader & Friend...had passed away. I want to be sad, but I just can't allow myself to be. When I look at his life, what he has given to my life & the thought of him being with his wife again...I am happy beyond words! Thank you for being EXACTLY what this church needed...touching more lives than you will ever know...putting a smile on everyone's face...serving the Lord faithfully your entire life. You will be missed...Goodbye for NOW...but not forever.

American Idol

Any American Idol fans out there???

I usually really enjoy American Idol, but haven't watched yet this season...because I also like Biggest Loser & they are on at the same time. Plus, it is auditions right now & while I enjoy some of them...sometimes they drag on. Well..I found out that my childhood FRIEND...Brooke White...made it to Hollywood!!! She was the last one to tryout at the Chicago auditions! Watch her audition here
She is one of the most genuine people in the world! The last time I saw her was about a year ago, when Matt & I went to a concert that she did at the Mesa Arts Center. She is married now & is living in California...but her family still lives in Mesa, in my parent's stake. Check out her AMAZING VOICE & MUSIC HERE
Anyways...IF she makes it as far as the VOTING rounds...you BETTER ALL VOTE FOR HER!!!
GO BROOKE!!!
I will DEFINITELY be watching the rest of the season!!!

Oh ya...any Biggest Loser fans sad to see Bette-Sue & Ali...Team PINK-Mother/Daughter team from Mesa, AZ go home last week???:(

What a Mess!

Last week I made some red sauce pasta, which Parker just happens to LOVE! I have re-heated leftovers for him a few times this past week. Sunday after church, I heated some up for his lunch. It is usually a bit messy(gets red sauce on his hands) but not too bad. I left him in his highchair until I heard him throw his sippy on the floor(that means he is out of food, I have come to learn)

I walked in the kitchen to find THIS...

How in the world did he get this ALL OVER HIS FACE! Well...I know HOW...but WHY did he smear his hands all over himself!?!

I laughed...took some pictures...and into the bath he went!:)

All Clean!!!

Now for a little story about my favorite little boy:)
Remember how we have no insurance for the month of January?
Matt started a new job & our insurance kicks in February 1st, so we sat Parker down & had a little talk with him & said it would be really nice if you had a HEALTHY January:) {Even Matt hasn't been playing Basketball...which he usually plays every Tues, Thurs & Sat...just to avoid injury & that is AMAZING that he isn't playing! } Well, Parker's body had different plans & Sunday, Jan. 6th...goop started coming from his eyes & he appeared to have PINK EYE:( We tried home remedies, since we don't have insurance...keeping his eyes cleaned, benadryl ,ect. Friday, Jan. 11th rolled around & not only were his eyes getting goopier, he wasn't able to sleep at night, was all congested & was running a fever...so I took him to the doctor, despite the NO INSURANCE factor. The Dr. prescribed some eye drops & discovered he had a double ear infection & prescribed some antibiotics.

Great...Right!?! Not too bad. We had to pay a little extra money out of pocket, but worth it to have our little guy feeling better!!! 1 tsp...twice a day...10 days...antibiotics are gone...which brings us to Sunday, Jan. 20th . Parker is happier, less congested, etc(see above pictures of him eating lunch) Sunday night rolls around & he has a NASTY cough! He CAN'T sleep...every time I lay him horizontal, he starts coughing up a storm & goop is constantly running from his nose. Sunday night was MISERABLE! Monday rolls around & he is still coughing & is just acting like he feels MISERABLE! He also was running a fever in the middle of the night. We go throughout our Monday...and 4pm rolls around & I decide to call the Dr. to see if I can give him cough medicine or something, because he can't sleep! I described his cough, fever, congestion & she said I should bring him in. (With so much RSV, bronchitis, pneumonia going around...I didn't want to risk it & decided to take him in). She asked if I could make it to the doctor by 4:40pm, so off we went! Poor Parker felt miserable & when the doctor walked in, he started to scream! I think he remembered him looking in his ears a short 10 days ago!
To make a long story...longer...his double ear infection had gotten WORSE:( Poor boy!!! He prescribed the SUPER antibiotic for ear infections(why didn't we get this in the 1st place?) & also gave him a dose of antibiotics through a shot in his leg:( By this time, it is after 6pm & we are the only ones in the whole office(they were SO nice to get us in!) & we had to wait 20 minutes to see if he had a reaction to the shot. No reaction...and we were on our way home...stopping to fill his prescription & grab dinner...getting home at 7:30. The prescription should also help clear up everything going on in his head...since his nose, ears & mouth are all connected-Which is probably why he screamed every time he coughed, because it was putting pressure on his ears:( Parker slept MUCH better last night, still had a hard time...but at least it was better than the night before! This morning was ok...other than the CONSTANT runny nose & when he sneezes, I feel like I need a beach towel...to clean up what just came out of his nose! He was having a hard time going down for his nap...coughing up a storm, so I pulled his swing out, so he could sleep upright & he was swinging next to me...when he starts coughing & throws up ALL OVER!:( Poor boy. I hope he isn't getting the stomach flu on top of all of this! Into the bath he went & after he was all cleaned up, he practically fell asleep before I got him dried off. He is napping now & I REALLY REALLY hope that he can sleep good & wake up rested!

So much for a HEALTHY JANUARY:( Poor little guy:(
I REALLY REALLY hope he recovers SOON...hopefully before SUNDAY...so he can PARTY on his 1st BIRTHDAY!!!

I'm in L-O-V-E...

With THIS kid!!!

He is honestly the HAPPIEST kid in the entire world! He is such a FUN little guy---Matt & I can't get enough of him!!!

oh ya...since his cute smile is showing off his chompers, it reminded me that tooth #7 came in last week!:) He thinks he can eat ANYTHING with those 7 little toofers!

Valentine's Day Specials

My amazing friend Kylee sews AMAZINGLY cute clothes and my friend Melissa makes ADORABLE beanies & bracelets---check out their website at www.ragdollclothing.com !!!

I just wanted to share her latest Valentine's specials with all of you!

3 Kids in Diapers!

This past weekend, we babysat my CUTE nephew Tanner & my CUTE niece Gemma, while their parents took Craig, Emily & Mason to ride the Polar Express in Flagstaff. We stayed overnight at their house on Friday night & played with them all day on Saturday. We had so much fun with them & they were SO GOOD, which helped make it more enjoyable for us!

Tanner just turned 3 in December, Gemma turned 2 in December & Parker turns 1 in January...so they are all almost exactly 1 year apart. While we had a GREAT time, we will definitely NOT be having 3 children, each a year apart...or we might go insane!:) I really really really don't know how my sister-in-law Julie does it! She is amazing!!!

Gemma & Parker had so much FUN together & were found at each other's side most of the weekend!

Little Gavin

My cousin Bethany's baby is in the hospital right now...they recently found some problems with his liver & will possibly be undergoing surgery on Friday. I know some of you know her & if you would like an update, go here

PLEASE keep Gavin & their family in your thoughts & prayers!

Hallie's Birthday

My ADORABLE niece Hallie turned 2 yesterday!

She had a FUN birthday party at my parent's house
Licking her CUTE cake!

And I got to play with my niece, Abby(Hallie's little sister) & she was all smiles:)

UNFORTUNATELY...this boy missed the fun party...because of PINK EYE:(

(Thank YOU Matt for staying home with him, so I could go to the party!)

His BIG round brown eyes just aren't the same all swollen...but he still has a big smile:)

He is SUCH a trooper when he is sick. On top of pink eye, he has a nasty cough & runny nose...but he just keeps on smiling! OH...and of course this couldn't have come at a better time...since Matt just started a new job & we have NO INSURANCE!

He got a sucker & a warm bath tonight to help him feel better:)

Happy Birthday Hallie!!!

Hope you feel better SOON Parker!!!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to YOU!!!

We had a great New Year's Eve/New Year's Day...

My friend Marissa was in town, so Crystal Morris & I and our hubbies & kids met at Gecko Grill for dinner. It was fun to catch up with Marissa & her 2 boys are adorable! I wish I got some pictures of them!

After dinner we went to Rob & Julie's for their New Year's Eve Party. It was so much FUN!
Parker had a blast, as ALWAYS he is in HEAVEN in their playroom! Yes...he is playing the piano AND singing in the microphone:)

Grandpa & the boys...watching cartoons

Most popular event of the party...playing Wii!

The Girls...(and sometimes Parker) were found in this Princess room most of the night:)

Sparkler Time! The boys had so much fun!

We even lit a few small/quiet fireworks

Gemma knows how to party! (I caught her sneaking up on the dessert table!)

THANKS for a FUN party Rob & Julie!!!

The next day...New Years...my girlfriends & kids, met at Peter Piper for lunch(so that everyone could see Marissa) The kids had a blast as always!

After lunch, it was off to the desert! A New Year's tradition in my family!
We have so much fun visiting with all of our cousins, eating food, building a fire, drinking hot chocolate & MORE!

The only problem THIS YEAR...was that it was FREEZING! It probably wasn't really that cold, but it was SO windy...it made it seem REALLY cold!!!

What a FUN day!
And to top it off...we found out that my gorgeous, talented, funny, amazing sister-in-law Heidi is pregnant!!! YES...she is the one with the daughter that is 9 days older than Parker. No...our next child will not be a week apart from hers---But I'm SOOOO happy for HER!!!