Monday, December 17, 2007

Getting Ready for Santa

It has been a while, so I will try and update as best possible. Things have been really hectic for us since Thanksgiving, as I am sure they have for everyone. We went to Paducah the day before Thanksgiving, and came back to Nashville late Thanksgiving night. We spent the rest of the weekend at home and with our families. The trip to Paducah was our first "roadtrip" since we got the DVD player for the car, and it was a MIRACLE! A huge thank you goes out to the inventor of the portable DVD player, you have saved us a lot of screaming, stress and headaches :) Parker is now an excellent car rider....95% of the time! I never thought I would be one of those moms with the DVD player going in the car all the time, but hey...ya do what ya gotta do when ya gotta do it. Ya know? Here are a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving.



With Daddy at Thanksgiving

With Mommy at Thanksgiving

Since then, we have been busy getting ready for Christmas. We decorated the tree, which Parker really enjoyed helping with. He was very excited the first time he saw it, and loved pulling all the ornaments out and taking them to the tree. He wanted all of them to be hung on the bottom in the middle, right at his reach of course! We tried to put the "soft and unbreakable" ornaments on the bottom...just in case. He has actually done really well not messing with them, and prefers to go up and give them all kisses. We also put him in his little Christmas outfit to try and snap the "perfect shot" for the Christmas card this year. Boy it is tough to get a 20 month old to stand still in front of the tree and smile! So, then there was the trip to see Santa. I was really expecting this to be quite traumautic...for both of us. He actually did better than I thought, but it was still pretty funny. I let him walk up to Santa, and Santa asked for a high 5. Parker gave him 5, was smiling at him, laughing, etc. Santa gave him a toy to play with and he loved that too. SO, Santa said it was time to try and put him on his lap. Oh brother, once we did that parker LOST IT! He was not having any part of that. So, santa put him down and said that we would try something else. He pulled a chair up next to him, and had Parker sit on my lap instead of his. I told Santa that I did not want to be in the picture, and his exact words were "Don't worry, that's what technology is for, we'll crop you out!" What a creative and hip Santa he was :) If you look real close, you can spot a portion of me...but, for the most part, you really can not tell. I almost wish they would have just taken the screaming shot though. Every child needs a screaming Santa picture...don't ya think?
Anthony and I were able to go up to Louisville for Deon's annual Christmas party, and we had a really great time. Parker has also had some playtime with a few of his friends lately as well. He got to go see his friend Ethan when he was in town, and they had a great time playing. His friends Lana and Calvin came to see him also. It had been about 6 months since the three of them were together, so it was really cute to see them all interact now! They are at such a fun age!
My mom is still keeping Parker on the days I work, which has been an absolute LIFESAVER. We are on a couple of waiting lists for some daycares, and are also checking into some Mother's Day Out programs. We are going to look into things further after the New Year and make a decision on what to do from here. Parker is loving being with his Grammy K though, and they have gotten in their own little routine. He is very happy with her!
So, now it is a week before Christmas and I am 95% done with my shopping, so I guess I am doing pretty good. I'm pretty sure Santa is going to be REAL good to Parker this year, so I'll have to update you on that after Christmas. For now, here are some pre-christmas pictures! I hope all of you have a WONDERFUL Christmas and New Year's!!!


Checking out the tree



Hanging ornaments
Santa's Little Helper
Smiling by the tree



Being "Mr. Serious" by the tree




Picture with Santa...can you find me in the pic??? :)




Ethan kept saying "Just look, don't touch Parker." It was the cutest thing ever! Ethan is so sweet to Parker, and is so nice to share all of his toys.



Parker, Calvin and Lana. It was nearly impossible to get the 3 of them to sit together to take a picture since they are always on the go in different directions! We had to turn on the famous Backyardigans, which only Parker and Lana cared about. So, Parker and Lana are watching their show, and Calvin is working on his ABC's :) Aren't they cute though?


There was no miseltoe around, just some moms who kept saying "give kisses, give kisses." How sweet though!












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