Just blow!!

So...I got an iPad today...so excited!!  After downloading a few fun apps for Parker and a book for me, I couldn't help but download the birthday cake from the Modern Family episode.  What they don't tell you is that it is not exactly blowing that makes the candles blow out.  Brady and I just spent the last 15 minutes blowing at the iPad trying to figure out what makes the candles go out.  I tried to get some video, but Brady said no...we are getting ready to try it out on Marvin because it is his birthday...this should be good...:)

Things that made me laugh this week...

We ran a lot of errands this week.  Usually, I try to do one activity morning that P wants to do (park, library, etc.).  However, this week, we were preparing for Brady's mom's arrival and our departure  for the states so we had a lot to do--Parker was dragged to the mall more than once!  Here are some of the reasons I was able to keep my sanity:)! 

1.  I almost never go clothing shopping, but I stopped in Zara for just a minute to look.  This video is the reason why we should either go shopping much more often or why we should not go at all...:)  The best part is that he was watching himself in the mirror and practicing a few of his new "street performer" moves...

2.  We found a new park (it was behind the mall, go figure).  On the way, P kept jumping in puddles and then was mad that his shoes and hands were wet... When we finally made it to the new park, I was trying to help Parker off of the train and I hit my head, I closed my eyes for a second...then parker fell.  Seriously, I am that much of a klutz.  Luckily, after I kissed it, P said "there, that's better" and was fine.

P was much more interested in the "backhoe woader" (translation: backhoe loader, we are VERY interested in trucks right now) than the play equipment for a while.


2.  When Parker woke up on Wednesday morning this is how our conversation went...
me: "Did you sleep well?"
P: "Yes, I did"
me: "Did you have good dreams?"
P: "Yes, I did"
me: "Oh really, what did you dream about?"
P: "I dreamed for four minutes"
me: "oh, ok"
Seriously, where does this stuff come from?

4. We found a keyboard with a microphone while we were looking for airplane toys...I wish you could see the video.  He seriously moves his head around like Stevie Wonder when he plays.  Silly Parker.

5.  Finally, Parker wanted to be "Scuba Steve" with the goggles on.  What is it about a baby in goggles that just makes you want to smile?  I'm just glad he finally put them over his eyes and not just on his forehead!

There were lots of other reasons to smile this week, but hopefully these make you smile too!

breaking through the language barrier...

This afternoon we went to the park near our home.  While we were there, a little boy and his dad came who obviously did not speak English.  Parker immediately ran up to the boy and began playing peek-a-boo.  Luckily, peek-a-boo is universal:).  After a while of trying to communicate about who got to drive the "big truck" (ok, so I have no idea what the other kid was saying, but P was saying, "my turn to drive big truck"), they just started barking.  Yes, barking, like dogs.  Apparently barking is also  universal they played great together after they realized all they had to do was "bark".  

Just in case...

Just in case you ever move to England, I thought you might want a heads up on how to utilize electricity here. I know, this is a stupid post (actually, Brady's exact words were "that's exciting...").  I can't help it. Every day, this whole system impacts our day in some way so I felt like I should share--don't worry mom, I've posted a token Parker picture at the end of this!

Here, you have to switch on each outlet in order to use it (aka, every once in a while you forget and your phone is dead after "charging" it for hours).  This also means that, if you have a toddler, you are bound to say "don't touch that," several times a day.  Little switches at Parker's height are just begging for him to mess with them.

Here is an example.  Right now, they are off.

 You also cannot use any type of electrical item other than "shavers" in the bathrooms.  Seriously, it says "shavers only" on our outlet in the bathroom.  I now do my hair in the living room.

One of the biggest benefits of this little system is the kitchen.  Because our appliances are so small, the stove and oven controls are right at Parker's reach so he is constantly trying to touch them.  Luckily, in order to turn the oven on, I have to flip a handy-dandy switch.  I have to admit, I love this and am so thankful that P can't turn the oven on himself!!

I promise, the smudges you see are stains or shadows.  My kitchen is clean...I swear!

Here is my token Parker picture...because my mixer worked with an adapter, I decided to make homemade cupcakes.  This is P trying the frosting (after emptying a kitchen drawer).  I promise he did not try any of the raw cake batter mom...but I did.  Who am I kidding...we're lucky I baked any cupcakes at all!

"I no like it"

I hear this phrase...a lot.  I was reading a friend of mine's blog and she was talking about feeding solids to her little one and I was reminded of that stage when you are trying so hard to make sure that you are creating healthy eating habits.  I made all of my own baby food and used lots of fruits and veggies and added spices here and there so that Parker would like my cooking at an early age.  At 10 months, his favorite food was peas, whole-wheat rotini pasta, balsamic vinaigrette and parmesan (I know, crazy, right?)  Because we were off to such a good start (he ate almost every veggie or fruit that we put in front of him), I figured that it would be smooth sailing from then on--apparently I missed all of my babycenter.com emails warning me about picky toddlers.  Well, now I have a picky toddler.  I cannot figure out what he likes from day to day.  We will have a sandwich one day and two days later, I will make the exact same sandwich and hear, "I no like that."  Shoot.  Right now, he will always eat strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, hashbrowns (random, I know), noodles and broccoli.  I know, I shouldn't complain because at least most of it is healthy, but Brady and I cannot only eat strawberries, bananas, oatmeal, hashbrowns, noodles and broccoli.  We need a little variety P Diddy and I do not want to start a habit of making separate meals.  Ok, I feel better now.  If anyone has any advice...bring it on!

South Beach

We are trying to take every possible advantage of nice weather while it lasts so we took P to a different beach last weekend.  We went with our new friends that just moved here and their three little girls.  Parker loves the girls (he asks about the oldest one a lot---I think we're in trouble:)  The best part was getting to see the seals.  We happened to get to the right spot at the right time and saw at least twenty beached near the water.  We stopped to eat dinner, and within 30 minutes, the tide had risen and they all left.  Parker loved the seals at the zoo, but he was much more interested in the sand this time...also getting so much braver and walking further out into the sea...scary!  

Don't mind me...

I'm just driving...on the left side of the road (most of the time:)... I have driven exactly four times since we moved here.  Tonight was the first time I drove the the gym, by myself, without using the Garmin.  Oh, and I didn't get honked at once, or almost hit a parked car, or accidentally drive into the right lane after turning right (um, yes, if your wondering, all of those things happened the last time I drove).  I think I just might be getting the hang of this!!

Air Show!

Get excited for the Lowestoft Air Festival!!  Lowestoft is a town near Great Yarmouth, where Brady works, and every year they host a huge air show.  We thought that P would probably enjoy seeing the planes so we took a train and met Brady in Great Yarmouth and then headed over to Lowestoft.  It was great way to spend an afternoon and Parker loved the airplanes!

He also loved riding on the train...as you can tell, he made himself comfortable while eating his sandwich.

We played in a cute playground near the pier while we waited for Brady to finish work for the day.   Parker was a big fan of "driving the boat."

Weee!

This was just funny because it was about 10 seconds after the plane flew by!

Seriously, beautiful day!

Breitling Wing Walkers.  I wish I could have gotten a better picture of the women on top, but I am not quick enough and had only brought my phone and forgot my camera!

Twenty!!!

Tonight Parker counted to twenty...without missing a number...or switching any numbers around.  I know this does not seem like a big deal, but we have been so close for so long that I am just so excited!!  Not to mention that he proved he could do it again in the grocery store later while doing squats...yay Parker!!

Fire-go-work

About three weeks ago, Parker heard "Firework" on a commercial on TV.  Since then, he has been singing it all over the place.  His version is "Baby you're a fire-go-work."  When I take out the jogging stroller, I always turn on the iPod speakers and within the first five minutes he is asking to listen to the song.  Once he hears it the first time, I hear "mommy, baby fire-go-work" every time the song ends.  Which of course means that we listen to that song about 25 times in the course of our run.  Today, the "make me go ah, ah, ah" part just happened to come on when we passed an elderly couple.  I'm pretty sure they looked at me like I was the worst mother ever.  Oops.  It's not bad...it just sounds bad if you hear it out of context...right?

Oh, and I promise that, if he lets me, he listens to "count to twenty" and the "alphabet song" instead:)!

Should I be worried?

Last week, a family from the US moved over here.  We had met them once before and are so excited to have another family that we knew over here.  As an added bonus, they are close to our age and have three young girls, hooray!  Yesterday, Mandy and I met for a while in Chapplefield Mall.  Parker was pretty excited to "see the girls" and immediately turns on the charm once he is in their presence.  It is pretty hilarious.

During lunch, P and Mandy's middle daughter, Gracie, were playing a game...I captured the portion of the game that really made them giggle...maybe I am worried...just a bit...ha.  Oh, and no, they never actually kissed (and yes, that is why I had my camera out...just in case).

This might just be P's first crush...awww 

Is it me, or do they look ornery?

This is right after I showed P himself in the mirror.  He thought he was pretty cute...sometimes  getting him to look in the mirror is the only way to get him to wear what we want!  

That's Crazy!

Parker is cracking me up right now.  Every time he he thinks something is really funny he goes, "oh gosh, that's crazy!"

Seriously, where does he come up with this stuff...oh wait...:)

Right now...

Time goes so, so fast.  Everyone tells you that it will, and it's not that you don't believe them, but until you feel it zooming by, you don't realize just how right they were.  When I first found out I was pregnant, I was shocked, happy, excited and scared.  I can still remember praying that the little person growing inside would be healthy and that I would be the best mother possible.  I worried about every decision I made and at the time, didn't realize that I wouldn't stop worrying...ever.   I wondered who the little person inside of me would become and what he/she would look like.  I never dreamed that Parker would be that person and that he would completely exceed every expectation I could ever dream.   Being a mother is the most incredible, frightening and fulfilling experience I have ever had and I look forward to every day that I get to spend with my little man.  

While I was pregnant, I was transitioning into a new job (with lots of extra work and traveling), finishing my masters and frantically trying to prepare for this unexpected blessing.  Because I had just started a new job, I had to put in hours within just a few days of Parker being born; finishing projects and going in for a couple of hours so I wasn't "that team member" who didn't pull my weight.  I was completely enamored with our baby boy, but I just never feel like I got to take time and truly enjoy every moment.  I read other about friends' babies milestones and wish that I would have taken the time to blog more and record every date and time of Parker's milestones.  Don't get me wrong, I know what age he completed them, but I just wish I would have took the time to really stop and enjoy them more.  

Because of this, being able to stay home with him is amazing and I am eternally grateful for this gift that I have been given.  Right now, I am the fixer of all things broken, the healer of all ouchies, the finder of everything lost and the comforter of every bad feeling.  Right now, his head fits perfectly under my chin when he sits on my lap to read a book.  Right now, he still looks for me in while he's playing with other kids to make sure I'm still there.  Right now, Brady and I are still the most important people in his life.  None of these things will be true forever.  Some of them might not remain true next week.  So, for now, I am going to enjoy every moment and soak in every line of "baby you're a fire go work" and  "all da single yadies" (Parker's version).

I love you little man!

LONDON!!

One of the absolute best parts of living here is our ability to travel.  Norwich is considered kind of out of the way to everyone who lives here, but for us...it's perfect.  I love history and architecture so London is a haven and because it is only a two hour train ride, it is a perfect weekend trip.  Actually, the train ride is fairly comfortable and is relatively reasonably priced.  This was the first time we were really able to act like tourists in London and we had a blast just walking around and taking in all the sites.   We know that we will be back at least a few times a year, so we were really able to just relax without feeling rushed. 

Here is a look at our trip in pictures!  Next time we will spend more time in some of the sites we really want to take tours of, but this was a perfect first trip!  I apologize ahead of time for some goofy pictures; I am slightly obsessed with the instagram app on my iphone. 

Parker was so excited to ride like a big boy in the taxi!!

This is a picture in Whitehall Gardens right with what used to be Whitehall Palace in the background.   It was where the the royal family lived for centuries until the fire.

Big Ben

It was raining (of course) and P fell asleep in his stroller, but we had to make sure we had proof he was there:)!

Westminster Abbey

Us beside the Thames River with Parliament and Big Ben in the background

I wish you could have seen me trying to climb up here to get a picture...this is in Trafalgar Square at the base of Nelson's Column

Parker petting the lion saying, "good lion"

Olympic Countdown in Trafalgar Square!!!!

Shaftesbury memorial fountain in Piccadilly Circus.   It reminds me of London's version of Times Square.

The Tower Bridge.  They say if you wave to someone on the bridge as you are going under, you will have good luck for 5 years.  We did so bring it on!!

Another instagram picture of London Bridge..

Parker on the boat ride.  This is how he prefers to wear his sunglasses these days. ..

London Tower

A view of the London Eye.  I think I need to remember to pack dramamine if we go on this one...

This is the "ultimate sharing sundae" I ordered to surprise Brady with at the hotel.  He was asleep when I got back to the room.  I am too embarrassed to post the "after" picture considering I didn't have anyone to share it with...:)

Another picture of Westminster Abbey with the Instagram touch:)

I seriously love anything vintage and love making pictures look like I was born 50 years ago.  I am such a nerd!

I think it is safe to say that P is officially tired of the camera...

Shakespeare's Globe theatre. This is pretty exact reconstruction of the 1614 theatre.  Pretty awesome.

This is The Anchor, one of the oldest pubs in London.  Shakespeare's original theatre didn't have dressing rooms so it is said they came here to change "and have a pint" between acts:)

Sunglasses seem to be P's signature accessory these days so I couldn't help but capture him showing me his "surprised" face while wearing his sunglasses two inches from his face! (oh, and yes, I am one of those crazy moms who is teaching my child random emotions so that I can laugh at his expressions)