One little monkey jumping on the bed....

When Parker was about 6 weeks old, I called him a monkey... and the nickname stuck. It just fit him so well.










To showcase what a monkey he is I made this adorable little onesie for him.

We have now discovered just how appropriate the nickname monkey is... because Parker is a climber.

Parker Stands on a regular basis, but seems to have no interest in walking or 'cruising' along the furniture, he pulls himself up with the intention to climb, unfortunately for him, he's pretty short still and many things are just too big to climb on.




Here is is after he climbed up onto the base of his bouncy chair.










This is Parker ignoring all the toys on the floor after getting himself onto the bottom shelf of his changing table.

Believe it or not this picture is real, Parker can climb the stairs. Not just one stair.... but all the stairs- he is able to go up the entire flight in just 1 or 2 minutes.Some mornings when he is extra wiggly I have him burn some energy by climbing all the way up stairs over and over.















Here is the monkey after he climbed onto his cousin Hunter's baby recliner. A shot from behind and a picture from the other side of the couch- Who can resist a face like that?

1st Baseball game

Saturday night, we had tickets to the
Diamondbacks game vs. the Dodgers.

It was Parker's first baseball game... he went to a Coyotes hockey game when he was 2 months old, and that didn't go as well... But the baseball game was fun.

Parker has always been a very attentive, observant baby, he likes to look around and see whats going on, Saturday night he had a lot to look at, every time someone would come down the aisle yelling "cold beer" or "peanuts" he would jump and stare at them until they were out of sight.

Parker Behaved better than I could have thought, we were able to stay for the whole game, he didn't even cry once, that's right, a 3 hour game without any fussing.

Jason and Jennifer got caught on the Kiss-Cam where they show couples throughout the ballpark on the Jumbo Tron and have them kiss each other. So we got to kiss in front of 41,000 people.

One benefit of having Parker with us was the free stuff...

When the would-be "cheerleaders" were running around giving free stuff Jason held Parker up and he's just so cute that they couldn't resist... so we got the free stuff.

On the left is Parker chewing on the ball we were given, and then Baxter the Dbacks Mascot about to give us a free T-Shirt.

Parker at home with our new goodies

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Over all it was a really good game, the Diamondbacks won 3-2, and there were a few good plays to keep the game exciting

I just can't get enough

We love our son Parker so much!!! Seriously, we can't get enough of him. So for those of you who feel similarly- this post is for you!

Parker pulls himself into standing position on a regular basis now... usually in an attempt to climb. He doesn't seem interested in walking, just climbing, maybe I'll put up another post soon about his climbing obsession... he's such a monkey



What a big smile :) Still a toothless smile... my favorite!


I took this picture while I was playing peek-a-boo with him






So Parker has also started shaking his head back and forth. Most of the time (like 90 %) He seems to be actually trying to say no, when I'm doing something he doesn't want... but it may just be a coincidence, actually it probably is

In these videos I was feeding Parker Zucchini and he was all done with his snack so I got a few head shakes- I think it's cute, even if he looks crazy (sorry there is no noise, but you're not missing much on these I swear)

Lake Powell

We went to lake Powell with Jason's Family for the fourth of July. The weather was beautiful. The water was nice (like 78-80 degrees). And we got to spend lots of time with family


Here are a couple pictures of the area where we 'parked' our houseboat.








About to go swimming... I look tan in this picture... but I assure you it's only in comparison to the ultra-white men in my life







Jason and Jennifer on the Jet ski in the background, with Kody and Julie on the other jet ski.

Of course with the cute babies around, we HAD to get some pictures of the boys

Kyle and Parker are cousins that are just 2-1/2 weeks apart- and they are VERY different from each other, Parker is a skinny baby and Kyle is much chubbier than Parker, Kyle has a darker skin tone and much darker hair, Parker is kind of laid back and likes to just watch whats going on, Kyle on the other hand wants to play and crawl all the time. It was fun to watch them together

Here the boys are both eating fruit from their little baby feeders...

And playing on the floor, the are both chewing on the little strings on the back of those little bears...

And playing with uncle Steve...

Parker steering the houseboat (with his mouth OF COURSE)

Six Month Update

Parker was six months old on Saturday, the 28th. We had his doctors appointment today. He's doing great- he's a healthy boy. He is 27-3/4 inches tall (90th percentile) and weighs 16lbs 15oz (50th percentile).

Compared to six months ago- when he was born he was 20-1/4 inches long and he weighed 8lbs 2oz... He's grown 7-1/2 inches and more than doubled his body weight

The last six months have flown by- I always heard moms say that they can't believe how fast their child is growing and I thought I understood... but I didn't until I became a mom too- it really is unfathomable how he could grow and change so much so fast.

Here's an update of all things Parker at the six month mark....

He's such a happy baby- everywhere I go I get comments about it, when I pick him up from the kids care after I work out- they always tell me that he's so laid back and never cries- he's happy nearly all day long and I LOVE the smiles I get when I get him out of bed in the morning.


My Happy Boy .




He is strong, He can sit up for more than 15 minutes at a time, he rolls all over the house, he 'army crawls' everywhere (he doesn't really get his tummy off the floor) He has even started pulling himself up- he doesn't get all the way into standing position, but pulls himself onto his knees so the crib has already been lowered.


Parker pulling himself up onto his knees.





Here's a picture of him after he climbed on the the base of his bouncy chair (its about 4 inches off the ground, I was impressed that he got up there).


He's smart- like most babies Parker is learning something new all the time. It's amazing and exciting to watch him figuring things out.

He babbles a lot and it's SOOO adorable, he has started saying 'dada', he doesn't know what it means of course, but Jason thinks it's awesome.

He's been acting like he's teething for a long time, but no teeth yet.

He has figured out his fake cry-

He loves to play with paper and make it crinkle and make noise-- he also likes to eat it-A LOT, takes after his mom--- I used to eat paper when I was in 1st and 2nd grade

If hes laying down and he's excited then he will pick up both legs and slam his feet into the ground a few times, if hes standing and he gets really excited then he just stomps one foot... either way I think it's super cute

Here's my cute 6 month old dressed like Winnie the Pooh

Fun with the Dono-man

My nephew Donovan stayed with us from Wednesday night until Saturday evening while his mom was having her baby and recovering in the hospital. It was a lot of fun having him around- and it kept me busier to have him AND Parker.

We have a cute little park by our house that I don't make use of because Parker is a little bit too small... but I took both the boys one morning (it was HOT even though it was 6 in the morning) it was fun, even Parker enjoyed it I only got one good picture of Parker- he was so distracted by everything he kept looking away





During one of Parkers naps, Donovan and I played with Cornstarch and water (and food dyes) he thought that was awesome...




we played air hockey and Foosball in our loft- he didn't seem to understand the Foosball, but loved the air hockey. Donovan "helped" me cook.



He and Parker got along well, Parker seemed to think that almost anything Donovan did was funny- Here they are playing blocks together.





We got to visit his new baby brother in the hospital and then Saturday night when my sister and her husband came to pick him up Donovan was so excited to see them that he just stood there laughing, and laughing and laughing- I got some pictures of my adorable new nephew while they were here Saturday Night

How adorable!

I'm an aunt-- again

This morning my older sister Gina had her second son Hunter Stephen. Hunter was born via C-section. He's 19-1/2 inches and 7 lbs 14 oz. We're going to go and try to see him tomorrow morning.

While Gina is in the hospital with the new baby her two year old son Donovan is staying with us. It's been fun having the two boys so far--- we'll see if it keeps up that way.

Next up: my little sister has her first baby (a girl) due September 1st. I'm excited, Parker is going to have so many cousins around

Over 70 lbs

My parents are living in eastern Europe and so obviously they don't get to see me often, I look a little different than I did a few months ago... So this is for them to see the difference.

So Jason and I got married two years ago, and upon getting engaged I stopped playing soccer and volleyball, I got a new job, where I just sat at a desk all day, and I "slowed down" in general so I began to have time to eat three meals a day instead of like one or two. So I quickly began to gain weight, I soon hated the way I looked and decided to join a gym.


A couple weeks later I found out I was pregnant- which for me meant I was TIRED!!!! No working out for me. The last month or so of my pregnancy I couldn't stop eating, adding to my weight gain problems.
Well every year my parents get us Pajamas for Christmas, it's the only thing we get from 'them' all other gifts were from Santa Claus- It's goofy I know, but it's tradition. So they of course got me Pajamas for Christmas this year, and a few days later I had Parker.
Then, a few days after coming home from the hospital I tried to wear these pajamas- sadly they didn't fit, and I couldn't blame it on my stomach from the pregnancy- I couldn't get them even close to all the way up- I was too fat. So I stopped eating sweets, stopped drinking soda and started working out six weeks after the birth. So far I have lost 72 pounds since the day I was admitted to the hospital. I'm about 25 pounds lighter then I was when I first got pregnant- and the pajamas fit, with room to spare. I'm so excited, I fit in my clothes, and feel healthier.



So here's a picture so my mom and dad can see what I look like now-

These are the pajama pants that I previously could not even pull up all the way- now I have room to spare!!!

Too Smart

So I know every mother thinks that her child is a genius-- and of course I am no exception. But I have some pictures that I think are both funny and they prove that Parker is too smart for his own good.

I fed Parker some solids and then Igave him 4 ounces of formula afterwards- well yesterday he didn't want to hold his bottle up by himself, and figured out a way to get his milk without having to hold his bottle- see--- way too smart, and also lazy

Big Boy Chair

I put Parker in the recliner today- it's cute because it's so much bigger than him... I loved it so much I had to take a picture, and I just loved this picture--- it's just so Parker

I love him!!!