Update

I just wanted to thank everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers.  Brady and I are so grateful to have such great friends and family.  As I am writing this, there are still a lot of unknowns, however, thankfully, we are no longer worried about survival.  Wes is still unconscious so we are just waiting to find out what the long-term effects will be.  We do know that he will have a long road to recovery so we are grateful for your continued prayers.

Prayers needed

When Brady and I moved, we knew that we might have to sacrifice weddings and births, but we never considered what would happen if someone got sick. Unfortunately, we have discovered first-hand how hard it is to be half-way around the world when, scariest of all, a parent is sick. Brady's dad, Wes, has been in the hospital since Monday and early yesterday morning we made the decision to fly back. If your reading this, please say a prayer for Wes and for Brady and his brother Cortney.

So close!!!

Parker is so close to two I can hardly stand it!  On Sunday we will celebrate his 2nd birthday...as P would say, "oh gosh, that's crazy." In honor of his birthday week, here are just a few reasons (this week alone) why I love this age...

1.  Yesterday, this is what I heard when I woke up..."MOOOMMMMMMY, I awake. Somebody needs to make me some dinner!" When I went in there and said, "don't you mean breakfast?"  He says, "yes, thank you."  Oh goodness.

2. This is his new dance move...

3.  We were reading the book Dragon Stew (love this book), and in it, there is a picture of dragon poo.  Parker sees it and says, "Dragon poo poo. Somebody needs to clean that up!"

4.  We were letting P go without a diaper (shorts were on), and he is still too young to realize that Brady and I purposely asked him to squat so that we could giggle at his plumber's crack.  We are super mature parents...:)

5. We went to a rugby game this weekend and Parker went right up to the older boys playing after the game and said, "hi guys!"  Luckily, they were sweet enough to let him play too!

6. This is his new favorite dinner pose...we really need to work on this!

7.  We have been giving P two m&ms every time he potties in the potty so now the second he starts to go, he says, "Ooohhhh, I want m&ms!!!"   

This is such a fun age and I am so blessed to get to enjoy every second!!

Pantless Parker

I have to apologize to the grandparents out there.  I know that you frequently check my blog for pictures of Parker and this week, I have not delivered.   I haven't posted very many pictures this week because Parker has been, well naked.  Yes, we are potty training and I have been letting him walk around the house pant-less when I can (don't worry, I have cleaned up my share of messes this week).  To be honest, there have been many instances when I have wanted to take pictures, because frankly, P is really funny when he is naked.   However, because of my fear of jail, you won't see any naked Parker pictures.  Here are a few from this week to tide you over!

Parker insisted on wearing last year's halloween costume...so close, but doesn't quite fit.

He loves these big pillows at the library!

"It's right there," pointing to our house.  The only way I can get them to get home when walking is have him "show" me where we live. 

"hi mom"

Ohhh, I can't walk!

This is one of the first things I heard P say this morning when he woke up.  Last night I fell down the stairs...while holding Parker...scary.   Parker cried pretty hard for a minute after it happened, but I assumed he was mostly scared.  However, he did start limping right away and because he didn't have anyone to mimic, we assumed something really did hurt.  This morning he was limping again and going, "ohhh, I'm having trooouuuuuble walking," and "my foot hurts."  He is still limping with no tears, but I have a feeling we might be going to a doctor later today...shoot!

Hello Piper!

This is Parker seeing Piper for the first time since moving.  This was the end of a 10 minute reunion...if only I would have remembered to turn on the camera sooner!

Friends

This week is shaping up to be a great week.  I have only cried once ( it was over spilled milk...literally) and Parker and I have plans every day this week.  I might be overreacting, but having plans that include kids for Parker to play with and TWO new friends all in the same week is kind of amazing.

I have been so worried about meeting new people and making friends.  I am kind of quirky, sometimes random or sarcastic and often opinionated (yes, I do know this:).   Usually when I first meet someone, I become awkward and often put my foot in my mouth.  Some find it funny...others don't.  The hardest part is that right now, I am not the same person that I was six months ago (I'm still not really sure who I am or whether the old me will come back) and I'm not sure how to let people in if I am still trying to figure all of this out.   That is why I am so excited to have met a couple of people who I enjoy spending time with and don't seem to mind that my child sings "all da single yadies" on a whim.

I am so thankful for old friends, but today I am saying a new prayer of thanks for new ones!

Thankful...

I was so thankful to be able to go home and visit family and friends, but after we returned, I was having some trouble adjusting to life without them again.  Thankfully, a wise friend wrote a post about putting your trust in God and reminded me that I needed to stop trying to do this on my own (thank you Lindsey).  Since then, I have have started re-reading A Purpose Driven Life and trying to remind myself of all of my blessings everyday.  I am so blessed, but this is what I am most thankful for today...

Thankful for Gymboree and the chance to meet new people.

Thankful that Brady loves me unconditionally (even when I am a crazy person)

Thankful for that the church has room for me at Mommies and Toddlers.

Thankful that Parker only peed on my leg for a second before I got him back on the toilet.

Thankful that my new friend Mandy wants to go on a run this week.

Thankful that I got to talk to my parents on skype today.

Thankful that we are all healthy and safe.

Thankful that this is how my son chooses to read at the library...:)

Oh the perils of potty training...

Disclaimer...I have now become one of those people who has blogged about my child's bowel movements...leave now if you must...:)

Yes, I have finally written it down which means we must be serious...we are potty training.  I know, I say we like I am also learning to use the potty (don't worry, I think I have that down).  In all seriousness, potty-training makes me feel like an idiot...a big idiot.  I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing and it doesn't help that we started potty training almost six months ago, but then slightly disrupted his life by moving across the world.  Let me give you a timeline of where we've been...

April: P wants to use the potty.  I let him experiment and try a few times and then just left the potty chair out so he could get used to seeing it there.  Never was completely interested (not too mention that everyone told me that he was just too young).

May 10th...ish...: P really wants to start using the potty at least a couple of times a day (so excited!!)

May 14th: We move into my parents basement...Parker completely loses interest in using the potty...

June 23rd...ish...: P again gets very interested and starts using it a few times per day...

June 28th: We land in England and move into a hotel...again P completely loses interest in using the potty...

July 6th:  P tells me "Elmo wistens to his body," and I ask P if he is listening to his body and has to go to the bathroom.  He says yes and goes #2 for the first time in a Starbucks (we had been reading the Elmo potty book and in it Elmo's mom tells him to listen to his body).  

July 10th: We move into our house and P loses interest...again...

Within the last month, Parker has wanted to use the potty a few times here and there, but then other times has been completely adamant about not going.  I had recently decided that I wasn't even going to mention it until after his birthday, however, yesterday, he told me, "I haf to go to bafroom," in church so I took him.  I figured it was a sign that we should go full force.  I just don't know if I should force him to go every 20 minutes even if he says no?  Seriously, I just feel lost and am worried that I am going to have a 6 year old in diapers!!!  

Say What?!?!

For the last several months, I have been trying to teach P to sing the alphabet.  I was getting discouraged because it seemed like no matter what I tried, he still sang it like this, "ABCD ABC ABCD ABC."  If you sing that in tune with the alphabet song, you'll realize that it kind of works.  Well, yesterday, I tried singing the "EFG" part and Parker continued to sing the rest of the alphabet!!  Apparently he has been holding out on me...good job Parker!

Today

Today I read Day 2 of the Purpose Driven Life; this chapter always makes me smile...
Today I cried on the phone to Brady...while he was at work...wife of the year...:) (oh and did I mention that it was because the mommy/toddler group didn't have a spot for me....drama queen)
Today I was thankful for black beans...despite all odds I finally found a grocery store that carries regular black beans...now if I could only miraculously find Rotel my grocery shopping would be complete:)
Today I discovered a new area to run, and Parker let me listen to four songs before we had to turn it back to "Firework"
Today the church lady emailed me to tell me there was room for me in the mommy/toddler group after all...so maybe I overreacted?
Today Parker gathered his own crowd as he danced to a man playing the clarinet..:)
Today Parker walked into a pole...like mother like son...
Today Parker did lunges with me at the park...seriously, love this kid...

Notice his pants are only half-way up today...yay!

Soccer (or should I say football)

We went to our first soccer game on Sunday, yay!!  Don't worry, I talked to Brady's coworker and he assured me that we can still call it soccer (thank goodness, we don't want any confusion in the Alexander house:).   Before Sunday, I used to like to pretend that I knew a thing or two about soccer because I played in high school (seriously, even typing this makes me laugh...we all know I only played to hang out with my friends and eat chili-cheese coneys without feeling guilty).  Brady and I were really excited to go to the game.  We've been lucky to take Parker to live football and basketball games since he was born and we decided we need to take advantage of any live sport we have available.  Lucky us, it is premier league soccer, and let me tell you, their fans get really into the game.  They have lots of coordinated cheers which I know isn't that impressive in itself, but when you consider how fast the game moves, it is.

Anyway, the game was fun (even though we lost), and Parker absolutely loved it!  I'm pretty sure we'll go back! Here are a few pictures (I didn't see anyone else with a camera so I was too embarrassed to take more than a couple).

Go Canaries!!

Parker even picked out his clothes to go to the game.

Prayers for Paxten

Today I am saying many extra prayers for Paxten Pearson and her parents Libby and Blake.  Paxten has been fighting cancer since the beginning of December and had recently gone into remission.  However, yesterday, her parents were told they found more malignant cells.  Her parents have already shown more strength than I think I could muster during this battle, but now they need prayers and support more than ever.  Please join me in praying for Paxten and her parents.

Here is her Caring Bridge website if you would like to follow her journey or pray more specifically for her recovery.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/paxtenpearson

dancing in the store

This is the video I tried to upload a couple of weeks ago.  I think I have finally fixed it.  Parker tore up the dance floor both at my friend Heather's wedding a week ago (with the flower girl) and Brady's coworker's wedding on Sunday night (with the much-older bridesmaids).  I just felt like this is the closest I can get to sharing what we see daily:)!

Recap Part 2

Where were we....right, after saying goodbye to Brady, his parents and I flew back to the states.  Unfortunately we weren't on the same flight.  So, Parker and I travelled almost 15 hours...by ourselves.  I must say, Parker was an excellent traveller.  Ok, so at hour 8 of flight 1, Parker did start "roaring" at the girl sitting behind us after she picked up his truck for him (I have come to learn that this is his new form of flirting...unfortunately for me, it seems to work...uh oh).  Flight 2 was a little more difficult because it was past P's bedtime here and he couldn't get himself comfortable enough to sleep.  This led to a slightly dramatic Parker...imagine crying through "I wanted the big banana" and " I want the Big Green Tractor song"...the second was after the "Big Green Tractor" finished while he was listening to my iPod.  Hands down, the best part of our trip was when Parker went running down the hill at the airport to my parents.  He was so excited to see them!!

It was so nice to be home!!  The main reason we came back to Wichita was for my friend, Heather's, wedding.  It was a whirlwind trip with lots of friends and family and not nearly enough time.  Heather's wedding was absolutely beautiful and I am so glad I was able to be a part of it!!

The hardest part was being away from Brady.  I know this sounds corny, but he is my other half and my partner in everything.  It is so hard to be away from him and I felt bad leaving him here by himself.  Luckily, even though he wasn't able to get off of work to come home, he was able to go to Spain for the weekend to play golf with a friend from Geneva.  At least it broke up the time a little.

Here are a few pictures of our trip, but in true Sam fashion, I dropped my phone in water the second day there so I don't have any pictures past Friday morning (I let Brady take the camera since my iPhone takes pretty good pictures...yeah, that didn't work out).

Parker "beating G-Dawg" down the slide!

He couldn't leave Gram Gram out!

Two of his "GG's" 

Uncle Landon helping him put!

"I do it by myself!"

Yeah...we're not used to the heat and neither is Parker's hair. 

Greyson and P giving hugs!

Trying to feed the giraffes.

Where Brady was golfing.

Brady and the whole crew!

Recap Part 1

Now I know why, when you start a blog, you should probably post everyday.  So much has happened since the last time I posted and I feel like I can hardly get it all in just a couple of posts, but I'm going to try.  Warning: you are about to see A LOT of pictures.  I apologize, but these next couple of posts are really for me so that I don't forget!  Two weeks ago, Brady's parents came to see us for four days so we made the most of their time here...the Norwich Castle, Cambridge and London.  It was so great to see them and we had a great time!  Here is their trip in pictures!

Waiting to go punting!  I wish I could remember what they are sitting in front of, but...

Our punter!  I have to admit, I was a little nervous when he stepped on board (I think it was the boxer briefs sticking out of his jeans), but he was extremely knowledgeable and we had so much fun!

The Mathematical Bridge!

I know this is sideways, but it is past 3 AM here...

Parker in Clair Gardens (yes, I'm pretty sure that is not how you spell it, but again, look at the time)

This statue was pretty much begging us to take a picture with it!

Kings College in the background!

Buckingham Palace!!  We wanted to go in, but it was completely booked for the day.

You should know by now that I can't resist posting pictures that show off P's cheeks!

In front of the Tower Bridge

This might be one of my new favorite pictures...:)

Fear of heights + motion sickness = fear of the London Eye!

No problems so far...

Grammy, Papa Marvin and P!

Almost there...

At the top of the London Eye!!

What you don't see is a man dressed like a lizard riding a bike next to this lizard...P didn't seem to notice him either.

This is right beside the sign reading, "please no pictures"inside  of Westminster Abbey...oops...

P loves pretending he's "working."  Notice the matching shirts!  It was Marvin's birthday so we couldn't resist!

Just inside the entrance of the Norwich Castle!

We had a wonderful time with Brady's family, next it was off to Wichita...stay tuned!

Giraffe Kisses

When P got "kissed" by a giraffe he began "kissing" like a giraffe (i.e. licking your face).  I thought we were over it, but he saw Greyson get licked last weekend and now he gives giraffe kisses all the time!!  I think I got some funny looks in the airport by those who witnessed a few...can't say I blame them.