Sleep Time

AUNT MARIE....

PARKER DOES NOT WANT YOU TO READ THIS POST. JUST SKIP RIGHT OVER TO THE NEXT ONE.

I can't help it, I just love this thumb sucking, belly sleeping, spit all over his sheets little guy.

Isn't his mullet ridiculous?? I know it is bad luck to cut a baby's hair before their first birthday... but I'm pretty much over the mullet.

The Host

Doesn't Max look like a sweet boy? Max decided to give his entire family (minus the Lloyd gang) a Christmas present to take home to open later. Between Christmas night and Monday afternoon all of us were hit with Maxwell's highly contagious stomach bug. He took the "regifting" theme one step too far.

Worn out

The holidays wear Parker out.

Christmas Night

(A rare Ken post)
On Christmas afternoon, we all headed down to Corydon for the second half of our Christmas festivities. All the travelers arrived about the same time, and after visiting with Grandma Emily for a few minutes, we headed to the house for some food and presents.

The boys all had a great time playing and opening all their presents. Parker even received his very own tea set from his wonderful grandmother! Just like she got me one when I was a kid. The boys all actually liked playing with it. They each had a cup and I imagine they were discussing the advantages of the cross-stitch over the loop-stick-pull stitch.

Once the boys had calmed down with the help of their afternoon tea, we managed to wrangle them onto the couch for a photo. Harrison, Parker, and Max looked super sharp in the shirts their grandma gave them. We had to have a stand-in for Leo and I think Heart Bear did pretty well.

Parker and I were doing our best to stay warm and look good while outside. (Thank you J for letting me borrow the coat to complete the look.)

Christmas Morning

Santa was here!

Marie, Jay, Taylor and Parker looking festive.

Parker and his Grandpa Santa

You should see this kid open a present. This one was double wrapped, and he still tore it open in record time.

Best present for a baby ever! He has been playing with this table nonstop. He also pushes it around the house like a walker.

Texting a lady friend.

The whole gang Christmas morning.

Granny's Birthday

In classic Ken and Jess form, we managed to take nothing but pictures of Parker on somebody else's birthday. My mom's birthday is on Christmas, so before we opened presents we had a birthday party!

Seriously... the kid loves treats.

So does Taylor....

Santa's Helper

While we were messing with the camera, trying to figure out the best settings for a Christmas picture, Parker decided it was time to rearrange the presents. He kept moving the big ones around the room, and trying to hang the little ones on the tree.

He also took off a few bows...

Christmas Card Fail

We tried to set up a cute Christmas photo with Parker in front of the tree. It was a hot mess from the beginning. Our star was crooked, we forgot to close the curtains to remove the dining room light reflection, and Parker wouldn't sit in the chair for more than 2 seconds. Christmas card fail.

11 Months

I say this every month... but I cannot believe that Parker is 11 months old! He just seems like such a big guy now. He eats everything you put in front of him, he loves dogs, and playing with a ball. He is standing on his own, and cruises around on the furniture. There really is no spot in the house he can't explore. He is still saying "dada" "dog" and "ball"... no "mama". I'm sure it is just an oversight on his part. We just love our little man!

(We also need to figure out how to take better pictures of a moving target. Our lens worked really well when he just laid there, but now our pictures are always blurry. Don't worry... we are working on it.)

Santa's House

It really isn't Christmas unless you stand in line and wait to see Santa in his house. We braved the weather and took Parker to see Santa. He did pretty much what I expected, and removed all emotion from his face for his picture. He did start to have a meltdown after a couple of pictures, but Santa was nice enough to let him play in the tree to avert a total meltdown. Santa is a nice guy like that. These are some of the pictures I took while they were taking the regular picture (I am too lazy to scan that pic). They are really blurry, but fun anyway.

Getting ready for a meltdown.
(Yes, I took his picture instead of picking him up. Is that wrong?)

Thanks for the distraction Santa! Parker said he would stop crying if Santa gave him that Wii in the corner... and a sucker.

Breakfast with Santa

Parker had breakfast with Santa a few weeks ago. He stuffed his belly full of french toast and eggs, then got to chat with Santa for a bit. What a great Saturday morning!

He wasn't scared of him... but was definitely not loving him.

I worked the night before, so I was pretty impressed with myself to be picture ready.

He loves fish tanks. LOVES them.

Big Boy Shoes

Parker got his first official pair of "big boy" shoes! Cousin Bekka got the P man his first pair of Converse All-Stars. They are high tops and have laces and everything. Super cute!

Don't get excited.. he isn't walking yet. He will stand alone, but drops when he wants to move somewhere else. He looks like such a big boy!

Stockings!

I finally finished our Christmas stockings! I have been wanting to make stockings for years, but the timing was never right. I committed to this being the year, and I made it happen. I bought about a dozen sheets of felt from Michaels and got started. The hardest part was coming up with a design for each stocking, then getting the sizing right. I hand stitched all of the colored thread, and used my machine to attach the lining to the felt. It was quite a time robber. I already had the batting, embroidery floss, and lining fabric, so this project cost less than 10 bucks!! I will put names on them next year... I was slightly over it. Overall, I am really happy with how they turned out!

Hung on the half wall with care.....

Parker's

Mom's

Dad's

I lined each stocking with fabric so it would hold more weight. Lets be honest.... I need my stocking to practically pull the hanger off the wall.

EDIT: I should add that I was the Home-Ec student of the year while I was in Middle School. Embarrassing... yes... but still funny.

I Shall Call Him..... Mini Me

Alright... maybe he does look like me.

The first picture is Jess about 11 months old, the second is Parker at 10 months.

Play

I love watching Parker play. He seems like such a little boy and less like a baby every day.

Open the door.

Take the ball out.

Put it back in the top.

Happy Guy

Doesn't he just make you smile?

Good Brother

Parker loves picking up toys and handing them to Russell. They are usually Russell's toys, but he will take them no matter what they are. What nice brothers.

Turkey Nuggets

I've made Parker several new foods again! I made a mushroom sauce pasta, turkey nuggets, turkey and veggies, turkey and cheese pasta (can you tell we froze Thanksgiving leftovers?), and tomato and cheese risotto. He has gobbled up all of them. The only one that gave him some hesitation were the turkey nuggets. They are basically a bunch of blended veggies, ground turkey, and an apple, squashed into a nugget shape. You know you want to try them.

It isn't a promising face, is it? He wanted to inspect it for any visible veggies.

I liked that! (I let him try it with ketchup later... BIG hit!)

Caged Animal

We finally broke down and put up baby gates. Parker likes to throw his toys over them and squeal with delight.... until he realizes we aren't giving them back.... then he cries.

I like that he first tries to talk Ken into letting him out, then he tries to claw his way out. Good luck, buddy.

Chillaxin'

Chillaxin' [chi-laks-in]

-verb
1. The act of chilling and relaxing simultaneously
2. To kick it with mom and dad, while scoping honeys at Home Depot (see photograph below)

Starbucks

We took a family trip to Starbucks for breakfast the other morning. Parker demanded a Peppermint Mocha, double whip, 2 peppermint pumps, whole milk.... instead he got some apple juice. He was still happy. I made the mistake of giving him quite a bit of my healthy (read "full of fiber") english muffin. His diaper was NOT happy with that decision.

Straw practice.