Twenty Weeks

Today I am 20 weeks along and officially halfway through my pregnancy. I'm feeling great and simply cannot believe how fast the time is flying. We'll be holding little Ainsley in our arms before we know it!

Fort Fun

Since it's been rainy the past three days, I've had to get creative to keep Parker entertained. Today we built a fort in the living room using the furniture, blankets and pillows. Parker loved driving his trains through the fort!

Paint with Water

I set Parker up with a cup of water, his paintbrush and paint with water book. I walked out of the room for just a minute and came back to find this. He decided that he would use his hand and the paintbrush to paint. Plus, he just liked playing in the water.

Two Year Check-up

I took Parker for his 2 year check-up today, and he got a perfectly healthy, great report! He only had to get one shot that we were behind on, and now he's done with shots until he is 4! He cried for just a minute after the shot but was fine once the nurse gave him a truck. When Parker and I have to go somewhere (like the doctor, to get a haircut, etc.), I always tell him that if he's a good boy we can get a Sonic drink (he calls it a "Mommy drink") and tater tots afterwards. It works pretty well most of the time.

Here are his stats:
Weight: 26 pounds (25th percentile...highest he's ever been!)
Height: 34 3/4 inches (60th percentile)

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Today our sweet, baby boy turns 2 years old! I cannot believe that two years ago today, at 3:04 p.m., Parker was born. At the beginning, when we were clueless first-time parents and severely sleep deprived, it seemed like the time was dragging by so slow. Now thinking back, where have the past two years gone? His first year went by fast, but this second year seriously flew by. It is bittersweet to think about how fast the time is going because I want to be able to cherish every moment and every milestone and, at the same time, I look forward to all the future holds for Parker and our family. I cannot wait to see him as a big brother to his baby sister. Then, as he gets older, I look forward to the days of t-ball, school projects and activities, family vacations, and the many, many more memories we'll make together as a family.

Parker a little confused (and probably a little annoyed) as I went to get him this morning and was singing "Happy Birthday" and flashing the camera.

Showing Mommy the worm he found while helping Daddy in the garden.

Fun with New Books

Parker had lots of fun today playing with a couple of new books he got in the mail for his birthday (thanks Aunt Tommie). He first colored in, and put stickers all over, his Mickey Mouse book, and then it was on to a paint with water book.

Dis Fun, Mommy

Today when I set Parker's new "choo-choo" train track up in his windowsill, where he loves to drive all his cars and trucks, he looked at me with a huge smile and said, "Dis Fun, Mommy." It was so precious!

Parker's Birthday Playgroup Style

Today at playgroup we celebrated Parker turning two. All of the kids had a great time playing in Tristan's backyard. A huge thanks to Nicki for hosting a wonderful day and for making all the yummy food!

First Swim of the Year

Today we pulled out the froggy pool for the first water play day of the year. The water was still a little frigid, but it didn't keep Parker from sitting in the pool once, throwing all his toys in, and dumping the water from his pool into his sandbox.

He also had lots more fun blowing bubbles all by himself.

This is what he does {along with making a really ugly face} when he gets tired of me taking pictures of him, seriously.

Baby J is a...

GIRL!!! We were thrilled today to find out that we are having a baby girl! Above all, we were praying for a healthy baby, but ultimately we wanted to have at least one boy and one girl. I cannot wait to see the sweet and special relationship between Jered and Ainsley Grace...father and his precious daughter. Everything on the ultrasound looked great, and she is right on track with her growth and development. God is so good! She weighed in at a whopping 1/2 pound and got in the perfect position for us to see that there is no doubt this baby is a girl. I had to make a few returns today at Kohl's and couldn't help but stroll through all the pink stuff.

Bubbles and Boo!

Parker got some new non-spill bubbles for his birthday (thank you Aunt Jody, Uncle Stephen and Anna), and he just loves being able to dip the wand in and blow bubbles all by himself. The picture looks like he is upset, but it is just the complete excitement on his face from being able to blow bubbles. In the other picture, he is playing peek-a-boo with me.

New Toys for the Birthday Boy

Parker has been loving all of the new gifts he received for his birthday. Here he is playing with just a few of his new favorites.

Come Have a Ball!

Although Parker doesn't actually turn 2 until Sunday, April 26th, we celebrated his 2nd birthday today by hosting a "Come Have a Ball" themed party at our home. It was rainy and wet so we had to move everything indoors, but the party couldn't have gone any better!

Bathtime Fun

Anna arrived in town with J-Pa and T-Ma today, and she and Parker had so much fun playing together.

Trains, Trains, Trains

Parker absolutely loved playing trains at playgroup today. Brodie and Hayden joined in on the fun, too. Thank you, Kimberly and Creighton, for hosting a fun play day.

Sporting a New Haircut

I took Parker to get yet another haircut today. He did great, especially with a bribe to get a "Mommy drink" (Sonic drink) and tater tots if he behaved.

Wagons and Wheels

On any given day, this is what you can see Parker pushing and hauling around. This boy has loved anything with wheels for as long as I can remember.

Playdate with Creighton

We had a short, impromptu playdate with Creighton this morning while his Mommy went to the doctor to check on baby Griffin. The boys played great together until the very end when Parker did not like Creighton sitting in his chair one bit.

Happy Easter 2009

The closest thing to family Easter pictures as we're going to get this year!

Cheese for Play-Doh

This is Parker's "cheese" smile for me as I tried to capture the excitement for his new Play-Doh.

Egg-cellent Easter Eggs

We spent the morning dyeing eggs for Easter. Parker had a great time and helped every step of the way. Our final product was one happy boy and six pretty eggs!

Drive On Home

Again, Parker has a runny nose and cough that led to a not-so-great night of sleep. I think you can see the sick and tired in his eyes. I debated even going to playgroup this morning since he seemed a little tired and had the runny nose and cough. Against my better judgement, we went ahead to play. During happier times when we first arrived, Parker loved driving this car around. Not long after we had to leave because he lost it when he wouldn't share and couldn't have more cars. So sad, we even missed the Easter Egg Hunt. All the way home he said "nigh-nigh." Here's to an extra long nap today!!

Teeny Tiny Teeth

Not sure what this silly boy is doing, but I love that you can see his itty bitty teeth.

Failed Photo Shoot

Today I took Parker to the beautiful patch of bluebonnets at the entrance of our neighborhood. Our bluebonnet photo shoot failed miserably! This is one of the very few halfway decent pictures I got. Parker just wanted to go back to his stroller and the five cars he brought with us. We will definitely be going back for a second shoot soon.

Pretend Nap

Parker is pretending to take a nap on his bedroom floor just so he can have his pacis because he knows he can only have them when he's going to sleep. What am I going to do when I have to get rid of those things?

Palm Sunday

This is the palm Parker took home from church today in celebration of Palm Sunday.

John 12:12-13 -- The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

Early Egg Hunt

Today our Sunday School class had our Easter Dinner and Egg Hunt. We had such a great time visiting with the other couples, enjoying some yummy food and watching the many, many kiddos hunt eggs. We even got a family picture out of the evening! If you look really close, you can see Baby J just a little.

Gym Day

Parker has been having so much fun at our gym Fridays every other week. This week I even got him to go through the tunnel, down the slide and into the ball pit all by himself. That is a major accomplishment as this preggo momma is not going to be making it through the tunnel and down the slide before long.

Practice Makes Perfect

When I ran into a friend at the store yesterday, she mentioned that her little boy had been practicing his egg hunting for our Sunday School get-together on Saturday. I thought that was such a great idea, so Parker has been practicing his egg hunting. He loves finding the eggs but is not a big fan of me taking them away and hiding them again.

Gettin' (Almost) Naked

Parker often has his pants off when I go get him in the morning or after his nap. Today he had also begun trying to take his shirt off. As long as he's keeping his diaper on, I guess we're good!