Picture Time!

Today, we took Parker to have her pictures made. That is what I wanted for my birthday and what I got from my in laws. Man, the last time we had her pictures taken, it was so much easier!! She was all over the place and didn't want to be still or sit for a second. I didn't want anything too posey but they still tried to bring that in there. I wanted some natural shots of her playing or hanging out. I think what we got is pretty good. We got the CD this time and I am so happy. So, here are some of the pictures that we took today.

All Things

This week has been a pretty quick week and pretty boring. Jeff is working many more hours so we hardly get to see him, which is a bummer. School is school. Parker loves her class and teacher. Jeff and I were able to sneak out of the house for a few hours on Saturday and go to Bikes, Blues and BBQ and we had an okay time. I'm not much for going out but I tried to roll with it. It was very nice to get out of the house child free though. I did remember to bring my camera but when I started to take pictures, the battery was DEAD!! We had a scare last night with Coco, our dog. She was swollen on the right side of her neck and mouth and we thought she had an abscess tooth but I took her to the vet this morning and no abscess tooth! She has a tooth that does need to come out and some dental work that needs to be done. We think she was stung by something yesterday which caused the swelling. Such drama, :). We are taking Parker to have her pictures taken today and I'm so excited. We haven't had them taken since last Christmas and she has changed dramatically since then! I am hoping that we are going to have family pictures taken real soon too. I really can't wait to do that since we don't have any pictures of us together. I am preparing for another day of work tomorrow and I just can't wait! *Sarcasm*

Finally, She Naps in the Big Girl Bed!!

Today, I finally was able to get Parker to take a nap in the big girl bed. For the past two days, she has been getting up, running around and playing so I would have to move her back to the baby bed but today she laid down and went right to sleep in the bed. Of course, I had to get a couple of pictures of her in her sweet bed. What a good girl!

Saturday, a day to rest....or is it??

Today, Saturday, is usually the day I try to rest and eventually sneak in a little cleaning. Yesterday afternoon at work, my boss asked if anyone could babysit today while a couple went to the football game. Since I am usually never doing anything on a Saturday, I volunteered myself, who doesn't want extra cash for watching kids play? The little girl is in Parker's class so I thought it would be a perfect day and it was. The girls played so well together, ate a great lunch and both took a nap! While they were napping I grabbed some zzz's too! It was a pretty relaxing day and I made a few extra bucks while doing it. Here are a few pictures of Parker and Hayden have a good time today.

Big Girl Bed!!

Last night, I decided it was time to let Parker try and sleep in her "big girl bed". I had bought a bed rail for it earlier in the day. I set it up last night and we tried it out. She climbed in and didn't seem to happy about it at first. She had been just playing in it here and there but now she was having to stay in there. I walked out to let her try and sleep. It was quiet for a while so I went back up to check and as soon as I walked up, she started crying again. I quickly went back down stairs and waited it out again. About 15 minutes later, I walked back up and she was sound asleep. I, of course, wasn't able to take any pictures but I did take one of the before bed. I was hoping to take a picture or two of her during nap today but I couldn't keep the kid in it!! I had to put the mattress back in the crib so she could actually try and nap. I'll keep trying with the nap but at least last night went well. Let's just hope it goes well again tonight!

Conway Pictures

I had promised to put up the few pictures that I had taken from our trip to Conway. They aren't too exciting but I'll post them anyway. Jeff and Parker went on a trip down the drive to pick up the morning paper and I thought it was just so cute.

18 Month Check-Up

Today, Parker and I made the trip to Willow Creek Children's Clinic so Parker could have her 18 month checkup. We weren't able to see our usual pediatrician, Dr. Froman, so we saw Dr. Anderson instead. We love getting to see Dr. Froman but she is always booked and our schedule didn't allow us to see her, bummer. She had a great check up except for the suprise shot that she had to have at the end of the checkup. We were told at her last visit that she would be finished with her shots until kindergarten. Well, they changed that in the last few months and they are giving the Hep A shot before kids Parker's age goes into Kindergarten. Now, she won't have to have this series of shots later on. We weren't prepared for it so I was a little upset but all is well and she is fine.

Weight: 26.5 lbs (75th percentile)
Height: 35.5 inches (yes, still off the chart)
Head Circumference: 18.5 cm

She has grown quite a bit since her last check up. I believe she gained a couple of pounds and grew around 2 inches. I wish her weight would catch up with her height. Buying clothes for her is near impossible!!

A few of the things that she asked if Parker could do were; hold a crayon or pen and scribble, climb stairs, walk and or run, speak at least 15 words, show interest in using the potty, point to some of her body parts and there were a few other things but these are just a few that I could remember.

She now likes to play pretend with some of her babies as well as vaccum with her own little vacuum, which is so cute. She tries to put diapers on her bears and baby dolls and she puts them down for a nap, covering them up, patting them and and saying shhh.. The cutest thing I have ever seen. They watch everything, let me tell ya! This will be the last appointment until her 2 year check up and she will receive her second part to her Hep A shot. Yuck!!! At least I will be prepared for this shot next time. The flu shots will be available through our clinic in October so I will have to make sure and get that as well. No flu here please!! I do have a few pictures from Conway this weekend but they just haven't made it to the computer. They will be here soon, I promise!!

Birthday Weekend

This past weekend, we all took a trip to Conway to visit, watch Cinnamon in her triathlon and celebrate my birthday. We were able to do two of the three, but unfortunately Cinnamon's triathlon was canceled due to the weather. Sad thing is, she doesn't get a refund!! We were looking forward to seeing her perform! :) We were able to do quite a bit of visiting with the family and I saw my very good friend, Sarabeth, she came into Conway for a bit. The weather was extremely yucky the whole weekend so we weren't able to really do anything. I really wanted to go into Little Rock and have some fun but it rained constantly so that was out. Saturday, Jeff and I snuck off to watch Burn after Reading while Parker went with her grandma and cousins to Playworld and sadly enough, I didn't get any pictures since I wasn't there. I would have loved to see that. Saturday night, the whole family went to Fuji and had a fun dinner.Of course, silly me, I forgot my camera. Parker really enjoyed it and she ate like I have never seen before! I am not exaggerating when I say she had a bite of everything. The soup, the salad, fried rice, veggies, steak, chicken, shrimp and scallops. She loved it all. I believe she slept pretty well that night. It was a great weekend and I received some wonderful gifts and wonderful company from family and friends. I hope 27 is just as good, LOL.

Birthday and Promotions

Well, today was another birthday that has come and gone. I'm now 26 and old as dirt. Closer to 30 than 20!! How hard is that to say? I believe I had a pretty good even though I had to deal with 30, 4 years olds. I'm only working half a day tomorrow and then we are heading to Conway for a hopefully relaxing weekend. Actually, I"m hoping for a night out!

Secondly, Jeff received a promotion where he works. We are so excited and he really deserves it. He works so hard. I'm proud of him and hope more things come our way!

Randomness

Parker and Mimi

Brian, Amy and Parker

who knows?

Brian and Amy

Getting into mischief

Another shot of the dress

Parker's cute new dress

I have a few random pictures of Parker that were taken with the video camera while I was in DeQueen and before. I believe there are some pictures on the digital camera too but those will be posted soon enough. They aren't too exciting but thought someone might enjoy them!

Last weekend, Labor Day weekend, Parker and I drove down to DeQueen to visit everyone. Parker was sick Friday so I stayed home with her all day. She seemed to be feeling better by Saturday morning when we left but the sickness wasn't gone for good. She ended up throwing up everywhere in the middle of the night but my wonderful parents and brother and future sister -n- law ended up taking care of her for me while I slept. Slowly she started to get better but wasn't 100 percent. We had a small cookout Saturday as well as Sunday and it was good to see a few people. I was able to go and visit Jennifer Smith and her twins, Abbie and Zach, and they are a couple of cuties. I briefly saw my old pal, Beau, and it was nice to him too. Brian and Amy were there obviously and it was nice to see them too.

Next weekend we are off to Conway to visit the other side of the family. Cinnamon, my sister-n-law, is participating in a Triathlon next Sunday so we are going to cheer her on and hopefully celebrate my birthday in style. Maybe I'll have some exciting pictures from then!

Wow

I will just start by saying I have had one of the most difficult weeks that I have had in a long time. I started a new schedule at school so I have to be at work at 7:30 in the morning. The time change has been hard on myself as well as Parker. She has been used to sleeping until she wants to wake up but now I'm having to get her up earlier and she is going to bed a little earlier as well. Parker is still adjusting to not being home with me everyday and instead staying in daycare so that has been hard as well. The upside to where I work is that I can go and see Parker whenever I want. After my lunch, I spend probably 45 minutes to an hour with her, just hanging out. The downside is that I have to leave her again and we aren't together all day long. Every night this week, she has cried constantly from the time I have picked her up from her classroom until she goes to bed at 8 o'clock. Finally, last night, I couldn't handle it anymore and broke down. I believe it is because I feel extremely guilty for going back to work and not spending as much time with Parker. I know she will adjust soon and things will be fine but it is absolutely difficult at this point.

Saying that, I have been hard on myself but today as I was looking into Parker' s mouth, I noticed she had two molars coming in on the bottom, as well as, a a tooth coming in on the top. I'm not a genius, but I do think that these teeth have something to do with her attitude change. I'm not for sure why I never even thought to check her mouth but I'm a slow mom. It just took me a week. She hasn't been eating as well as not acting like her sweet and cute self. I don't feel as bad but after spending the whole day trying to "teach" and corral four year olds, a person just really doesn't have the patience for their own child to be screaming non stop at home too!

All and all, the week is over and I have the weekend to spend with Parker giving her as much love as humanly possible. I'm hoping I can do some relaxing as well! My birthday is coming up soon, 26 I know, and so I'm trying to mentally prepare myself for that well. I'm blessed to have such a wonderful husband who was there to help me through this week and my nervous breakdowns! He did all the small things just to make me feel better about my parenting skills. I love you Jeff!! So I'm hoping and praying that next week is a fresh beginning and the sun will finally shine!