Short version of a long story...

This month has been pretty crazy so far. Good, but crazy. I am to the point now that blogging about it all makes me not want to blog so here is a very quick version of our lives over the past few weeks... I hopefully won't get this far behind again.

We decorated for Christmas.


My Mom came to visit.


While my Mom was here, Parker sat on Santa's lap for the first time.


Dan and I went to a Duke basketball game. Thanks Mom for babysitting!


Parker had surgery. This is how he felt afterward. The trip to the ER and 3 doctors appointments that followed weren't much more pleasant. But he is perfectly healthy now and very active again.


We had to end with more happy picture. This is Parker eating an ice cream sandwich. It was his treat for making it through each doctor appointment.

Parker Dancing

Caution: Hearing Impaired

I used to have a street sign that said "Caution Hearing Impaired" (thanks to a former boss of mine). I thought it was pretty funny and even though I never hung it up in our home I always kept it. Then we moved here and I can't find it. No big deal, but I do feel like I should make a sign like that and wear it sometimes. Because of a certain incident with Parker today (I will explain later), I have been reminiscing about losing my hearing and life since then. It is absolutely amazing how our body makes up for the things that we may lack or lose along the way. I go most days without any reminders that I hear half as well as most people. But I will never forget how it felt when I realized that I could only hear the wind blowing on one side of my face. It seems so simple, but I do miss it.

When I was pregnant I really worried that I wouldn't hear Parker cry at night or he might get hurt because I couldn't hear him getting into something he shouldn't be getting in to, especially since I can not tell where sounds are coming from. Fortunately, I have a loving Heavenly Father and a loving husband that help pick up my slack. I never questioned why it happened because I knew that if I needed to hear in both ears that Heavenly Father would have healed me. He didn't, but that is ok.

So now to the story. It is actually pretty funny since Parker did not get hurt. Our kitchen has doors and since we didn't want to pay a lot of money for a special baby gate to fit on our stairs we put a gate in the hall before the stairs and then close the kitchen door trapping him downstairs. Well, I babysat for a friend to day and was waiting for her to return with some very yummy lunch. I had opened the kitchen door in anticipation and then Dan called to say hi. While I was on the phone Parker got past me and up the stairs he went. When my friend showed up we heard some noises and since I can't tell what direction sounds come from I figured it was the neighbors. However, my motherly instinct told me to check on Parker. When I couldn't see him downstairs I knew exactly where he was! He heard me coming up the stairs and laughed as he quickly crawled to hide from me. He is so cute! I am so grateful that he has not fallen down the stairs or been hurt because of my inability to know where he is just be listening. Of course,I have probably just jinxed myself so stay tuned...

Happy First Birthday Parker Sven!!!

Here are some highlights from Parker's birthday.

Finger painting.

Opening presents.



Eating cake (which he ate too much of and didn't sleep very well)!



We are so blessed to have Parker in our lives. We love him so much and look forward to watching him grow even more this next year. Who would have guessed, that we would have made such a cute kid?!?

Happy Halloween!

Parker's First Words

Parker has been saying "DaDa" for a while now, but today while he was reading one of his books he said "Duck". It was so funny.

Fall

We took a walk today at the Eno River State Park to see the leaves changing. I love the fall here! It is so pretty. See for yourself.

More Parker

First, I cut Parker's hair last week for the first time. He had a patch of hair on the top of his head that was 3x as long as the rest of it. It looked so funny. I had to cut it. I was amazed at how well he handled it. I put him in his highchair with some Cheerios and he never got in my way or threw a fit. I didn't really get any pictures of the actual cutting, but here is the final product.



Second, Parker took his first stable step yesterday. It was so cute. We didn't get a picture.

Third, Parker got his big birthday present early. I know what you are thinking what kind of mother gives their child their birthday present a month early, but come on does he really know the difference?!? Besides, when there is a good deal on Craigslist you can not wait. And I couldn't wait to give it to him. He loves it!

Duke Gardens and 11 Months?!?!

On Sunday we went to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens for a walk. It is a popular place for walks and picnics on Sunday. BTW, I can't believe Parker is almost a year old! We love love love him. He isn't walking yet, but he is getting there. You can tell that he understands what you are saying sometimes which is fun.





He wants to feed himself all the time now. He loves fruit!


He likes drinking from a straw. He tried to drink my juice box, but it was empty.

I think it is time for a hair cut!

November

I know it is only October, but I just finished a November calendar and wanted to share. I am really excited about it. That is probably why I already finished it. There is a pocket for each day of the month. In each pocket you put a slip of paper that says something you are thankful for and then each day you do service to show how grateful you are for whatever the paper says. I think it will be a lot of fun when Parker gets older. I got the idea from Pottery Barn, but they are really expensive. I made the whole thing for about $15.

Learning

It is incredible how many things Parker has learned this past week. One day within five minutes he learned that he fits in the cupboards and he can climb into the dishwasher if it is open. What will he learn next?

Chesterfield Berry Farm

This past weekend we drove up to Richmond, Virginia to spend some time with Dan's brother and his family. On Saturday we got into the fall spirit by going to Chesterfield Berry Farm (for free!). They had so many things to do. The kids played on tractors and played in a pit of corn. We saw bunnies, goats, chickens, cows and an ostrich. We went on a hayride to a pumpkin patch and picked pumpkins. We watched pig races. The guys shot paint balls and pieces of corn at targets. Oh yeah and we walked through a corn maze. Needless to say, a fun time was had by all.

Future Dentist?

Parker is taking very good care of his new teeth.