A month in review

Since it has been about a month since I posted anything, I thought I would just do an overview of what we have been up to lately. We took a trip to Memphis, TN a few weeks ago for a big family Birthday Party/Reunion. My grandfather is turning 80 this year, and several of my other extended relatives have big Birthdays coming up....so it was a really good excuse to get together and party! The party was at Mere's sister's house (Linda), and I think there were around 80 people there! Rick (linda's husband) is in a band, so they entertained everyone. Little did everyone know that they were going to be getting some extra entertainment from Parker as well. The minute the band started playing, he started dancing and he did not stop until we pulled him away to go to bed! When the band would stop to take a break, Parker would yell "One more time, One more time." They also let him play the guitar and the drums with them, which he loved. It was so great to see all of the family since we didn't get to go to Mexico Beach this year and see a lot of them! It was a really fun weekend, and a really fun get together!

We have also kicked off the beginning of fall with a few fall festivals, which I love! We went to one in Spring Hill a couple of weeks ago with Mere and Grandaddy, which was a lot of fun. Parker enjoyed sitting in the firetruck and also loved eating corn on the cob and funnel cake! We also went to a festival at Parker's school a few weeks ago, as well as Jump Zone night for his school. Parker had a great time bouncing and sliding around with his teachers and his friends from school!

This past weekend I went to Louisville to participate in the Race for the Cure Breast Cancer walk with Team Rachael Koontz! It was an AWESOME experience, and it was so great to see Rachael walk out during the survivor ceremony with a big smile on her face! It was also really great to visit with some of my other friends up there! Anthony and Parker stayed behind on this trip, and really enjoyed their male bonding time together! They went out to dinner just the two of them on Friday night, which I thought was really cute. They also spent a couple of hours at the park on Saturday, which they both really enjoyed! I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband who is such a wonderful father as well!

On a not so fun note, Parker and I were in a car accident a little over a week ago. It was a very scary experience, but THANK GOODNESS we are both OK. As the accident was happening, Parker was yelling "No Mommy, No." It was so scary because I did not know if he was yelling because he was hurt or scared. Luckily, it was that he was scared and he calmed down very quickly afterwards. It is something I hope we never have to experience again, that's for sure. Once the police came and did the report, and we were finally about to leave I just kept telling Parker "I'm so sorry, are you OK, I love you, etc. etc." He looked up at me and smiled and said "Mommy bonked cars", which was actually kind of funny. I needed that little moment to make me realize that everything was going to be OK!

Other than that, we are looking forward to some more fun fall activities coming up in the next few weeks, and REALLY looking forward to the day that the fall weather gets here and stays here! Oh- and we are talking to Parker a lot about Halloween right now, since he will be a lot more into it this year. He is already obsessed with pumpkins and ghosts! We have been telling him that on Halloween he will go to the door, and when they open it he will say "Trick or Treat." Well, this morning we were all walking out to the car, and when Anthony went to open the door to the house Parker said "Trick or treat, open the door please!" It was so funny! So, stay tuned for more pics from the month of our fall activities and Halloween!!


Happy Fall Ya'll :) (PS....Can you tell I like fall???)

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Parker's school picture

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Sliding at the park with wild and crazy hair!



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The Fam in Memphis



Parker dancing with the band




His first drum lesson :)




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At the fall festival with Mere and Grandaddy




Sitting in the firetruck



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Rachael and I at the Race for the Cure Walk!




Shelly, Terri, Rachael, Stacey and Anne at the Race for the Cure!

Disney On Ice

This weekend Anthony, Parker and I went to see Disney on Ice (thanks to Nick, who got us free tickets from his work...thanks so much Nick!!). When Nick first told us about the tickets I wasn't sure how much Parker would like it. He really does not watch anything Disney yet, and it was going to be 'Cars, Little Mermaid, Lion King and Tinkerbell.' I still thought it would be a fun "free" thing to do...so, I decided to borrow the 1st 3 movies from my dad and let Parker watch them all the week before the Disney on Ice show. He ended up LOVING Cars and the Little Mermaid, which made me feel better about going to the show. Well, I am VERY glad that we went because Parker had a blast. He was so good the entire time, and got very excited about a lot of the characters and songs. The show did not start until 6:30, and we stayed until it was over at 8:30. (Which is past his normal 7:30 bedtime I remind you!) We lucked out and did not have anyone directly in front of us or next to us, which was great b/c it gave Parker more dancing room! He sat on our laps or in his chair during most of the show, but there were a few songs that he just couldn't resist getting up to show off his moves! It was pretty funny!

Parker has already done so many fun things in his short 2 1/2 years of life! We hope he is not getting too spoiled :) That's OK though because we love him and we love being able to do these fun things with him. I guess that is what it is all about! Don't worry though- we won't let him turn into one of "those" kids. He might be slightly spoiled, but we'll keep him well rounded and grounded too!! Here are some pics from our Disney on Ice adventure!





Watching the show wearing his CARS hat!






Dancing to Little Mermaid



Daddy and Parker after the show in front of the Sommet Center

Labor Day at the Lakehouse

We spent our last "official" weekend of summer at the lakehouse for Labor Day weekend. This year my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Bub, and my Aunt Lisa and Uncle Alan came to enjoy the weekend with us! (Sharon is my dad's sister, and Alan is my dad's brother) It was SUCH a great weekend, and I think everyone had a blast. Everyone did a combination of the usual lake activities- such as being lazy...swimming...boating...laying out on the oasis island...eating...drinking...skiing...fishing...sitting on the porch talking...and of course watching Parker put on a show and be the center of attention! It was a great way to end the summer, and we always look forward to the following summer when we can do it all over again! Oh- my dad already bought Parker a pair of "toddler skis." He is determined to get him up on ski's by next summer....we'll see about that Dad :) That might make mommy just a little bit nervous! The tube- maybe...but ski's...I don't know about that yet!

I am always sad to see the summer end because I LOVE all of the fun things we get to do over the summer. HOWEVER, this year...I am really ready for some cooler weather and I am getting excited about some of the "fall things" we have coming up. Here are some pics from our Labor Day weekend!






Parker Chillin', Relaxin' and Swingin' on the deck





The Fam





Alan, Sharon and Dad





Grammy, Parker and PawPaw





Alan, Lisa, Stacey, Anthony, Dad, Mom, Sharon, Parker and Bub

Backyardigans Live

Last weekend we took Parker to see the Backyardigans Live Show! As you all know, The Backyardigans is his favorite TV show still to this day! When we found out it was coming to TPAC, we knew we had to take him. His friend Lana loves the show too, so Jennifer, Stephen and Lana came down from Elizabethtown, KY to go with us! The Live show was The Tale of the Mighty Knights, which also happens to be one of Parker's favorite episodes...so it was perfect. They gave all the kids a shield when they walked in and we also bought them both a light up wand. Parker and Lana LOVED the show! It was very cute to see them smiling, dancing and pointing to the stage saying "Pablo, Tyrone, Knights" etc, etc. They were both really into it and barely took their eyes off the stage the entire time. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, you were not allowed to take pictures during the actual show. I tried to snap one during the intermission and some lady that works there came up and told me I would have to delete any that I took in the theatre. Leave it to me to practically get kicked out for trying to take a picture of my kid :) We did get some cute ones after the show, so I thought I would post those!

San Diego

This blog is actually not about Parker believe it or not :) A couple of weeks ago, Anthony and I were able to take a vacation...just the two of us...to San Diego, CA. We were very excited since we were WAY over-do for a trip with just us! Our friends Kevin and Caraleigh were getting married in La Jolla, CA- which was the reason for out trip out there. The wedding was at Caraleigh's parents home in La Jolla, and the entire thing was absolutely beautiful. We were very excited to be able to share their wedding day with them, and we had such a great time. Congrats Kevin and Caraleigh :)

Anthony and I also crammed in as many other touristy and fun activities as we could while we were there. We went to Seaport Village, the Gaslamp District, took a Harbor Cruise, went to a Padre's game, went to the beach, went to the Hotel Del Coronado, walked around downtown A LOT, ate at a ton of good places, and relaxed by the pool at the WONDERFUL Marriott resort we stayed at on Coronado Island. We both fell in love with San Diego and the beautiful weather there! We had SUCH a great trip, and we are so glad we were able to go!

Parker stayed with my parents while we were gone, and Anthony's parents watched him one day also. It was so hard leaving him, but we knew he was in such good hands and every time I called to check on him he was having a blast. I was very excited to see him once we got home and it melted my heart when he gave me a big hug and said "Miss you mommy" when he saw me for the first time.

I am attaching some pictures from the wedding and from the rest of our trip. Enjoy :)




THE VIEW FROM OUR BALCONY AT THE CORONADO RESORT




KEVIN AND CARALEIGH'S WEDDING!




US AT THE WEDDING :)




CORONADO BEACH




PADRE'S BASEBALL GAME




OUR SELF-PORTRAIT ON OUR BALCONY :)

Off to the fair we went....

So, we ventured out to the Williamson County Fair again this year. We took Parker last year and had a good time, but this year was even better. He was able to do SO much more this year, and was a lot more into everything. There were several toddler rides that he could do, which he loved. He kept saying "again, again, one more time, one more time." There was also a large petting zoo and he got to ride a real pony! They also had a little "fake farm" set up and the kids got to wear an apron and do various farm activities. They fed the fake chickens, milked a fake cow, and picked fake fruits and vegetables. At the end you took your stuff to the market and sold it for fake money to buy something at the store. Parker picked out animal crackers with the money he made! It was a really cute idea, and Parker seemed to enjoy it! Oh- and I can't forget the pirate bear that Anthony won for Parker...which only ended up costing us $17 in games :) Here are some pics from the fair!

SURPRISE!!!

My friend Rachael,(who I have mentioned in previous blogs) just recently finished her treatments for breast cancer!! In honor of this awesome milestone, my friend Terri and I threw Rachael a Surprise party last weekend! We had a lot of help from Rachael's family and friends in order to pull of such a mega stunt! It was very hard to keep this a secret, but I am happy to report that Rachael was VERY surprised when she walked in the door to see a ton of her friends and family wearing pink and yelling "SURPRISE!" She has been so amazing throughout everything she has been through the past 8 months, and it was so great to be able to celebrate with her! I am attaching a few pictures below from the night!




Rachael, Carl and Evan walking through the front door..."SURPRISE!"





AGD Girls! Sarah, Anne, Terri, Rachael, Shelly, Emily, Jamie, Stacey, Shannon, Melanie!





Rachael's family had survivor shirts made for their family...so cute!






Carl, Rachael and Evan! What a cute little family :)