Pool Fun!

I decided to buy Parker a plastic baby pool because it is so hot and we haven't been able to get outside a lot because of the heat. I got the pool today and we tried it out. I was a little worried because I wasn't sure if he would like it or not. When we were in Myrtle Beach a few weeks ago, he wanted nothing to do with the ocean or the pool. However, he LOVED his little pool! He stayed in the pool for about 45 minutes before he got tired - it was awesome and we had a lot of fun.

Parker didn't quite know what to do when I first put him in the pool. At first, he just sat there and stared at the water. I would splash with my hands and feet, then splash him, then use his hands and feet to splash, but he just kept sitting and staring. He was probably thinking whether or not he liked it and if he should cry - but, luckily he never did.

Jake came around by the pool and I picked him up and put him in the pool. Jake and Parker love staring at each other now, so I was hoping by putting Jake in the pool, that would stimulate Parker to do something. I think this picture shows that both of the boys still don't quite understand what this water-thing is.


Then, Jake decided to start drinking the water from the pool and that finally got Parker going. Jake was drinking and Parker started kicking and splashing and reaching for Jake.


Once Parker figured out his little pool, he loved playing in the water. He sat there and kicked and splashed and looked around. His face is so cute in this picture and I believe he is very content.


Playing ball in the pool. He understands the concept of 2 hands on the ball. He's starting to pick up toys with his right hand, but he still favors his left hand. Hopefully he'll be a left-handed pitcher!


Just chillin' in the pool. This was at the end of his pool time, so he was starting to get a little tired. He actually liked laying down in the water, but I just let him do this for a couple of seconds.

Parker at Home Depot

This is Parker's 1st trip to Home Depot. As you can tell, he's loving it! I believe this will be the first of many trips to Home Depot with Brad! On this particular day, we ate lunch at Chick-Fil-A and ran a couple of errands. Parker was a good sport and did great, considering it was about 98 degrees!

1st Father's Day

Sunday we celebrated Brad's 1st Father's Day. It was a hot summer day, but we made the best of it inside the house. Parker took a long nap and was in a great mood all day. We spent the day at home relaxing and I cooked dinner for Brad. I am so glad to have such a wonderful husband and father to Parker. Brad is a great person and will be a great role model for our son. We want to give special thanks to the father's in our lives and those that are no longer with us. We would like to thank Brad's dad for all he has done for us. We don't get to see him that much because he lives in Omaha, but we want him to know he is a great dad and a great grandpa for Parker. I would also like to thank my dad for all he did for me. Most of you know that my dad passed away unexpectedly in October 2002 and I still have days that are very hard for me. I miss him so much and I think of him often and what a great grandpa he would be with Parker. When Parker is older, I will tell Parker all kinds of funny stories about my dad. I love you and miss you very much dad!!

Parker with Brad on his 1st Father's Day


Parker and Jake got Brad socks for Father's Day


Brad giving Parker a kiss for his socks


Brad and Parker relaxing. Brad is reading the paper and Parker is watching his reading video.


Parker looking into his toy basket. This was hilarious - he kept leaning forward to look in, then raising back up. He did this about 10 times in a row.

Parker loves his spinny-animal toy.

Parker at Grandma Henry's

Parker's 1st Wedding

Saturday we went to Bethany's wedding in Chattanooga. Bethany is a good friend of mine whom I played softball with at TN Tech. She is a great girl and we were so happy for her. This was Parker's first wedding and he did really well during the ceremony. I do have to give Bethany credit because the ceremony lasted only about 15 minutes - so, I think that helped! The reception was nice and Parker had a bottle of milk and actually took a 30 minute snooze laying in my arms. After his snooze, he woke up and Grandma Henry walked him around the reception site and he was happy as could be. He was up way past his bed time and we had to leave the reception early because he was getting tired. Once we got home, he went right to bed, but then woke up several times and didn't go sound to sleep until 1am. Needless to say, I was a little tired the next day. However, it was ok because Parker is such a good sleeper, so I let him have an "off" night.

My good friend Whitney and her son Will. Will is about 2 weeks older than Parker and it was so good to see them and her husband Mike. Will is a cutie and it was so cute to see the boys together.


Bethany and her husband, Daniel.

Parker in Knoxville

Last weekend we went to Knoxville to see my nephew, Dakota, play baseball. I also got to see my brother, Ryan, and it was good to see him because even though we don't live that far apart, we still don't get to see each other that much. It was so hot, but luckily we found a shady spot with a little bit of a breeze.


Me with Ryan, Parker, Dakota and my mom


We eventually took off Parker's outfit because it was so hot and just went with the diaper. Parker was much happier after this.

Some pictures of Dakota during his game. Dakota got to pitch and did very well. His team won the game and I really enjoyed getting to see him play. He will turn 11 next week and will be a 6th grader! I can't believe how fast he is growing up!

9 month fun!

We took Parker for his 9 month check-up last week. He is growing a lot! He weighed 18 1/2 pounds and was 28 1/2 inches long. He has grown 3 inches in just under a month! He has really been eating a lot more lately. He is still sleeping good - 2 hour nap in the morning and an hour nap in the afternoon and asleep by 8:15pm and up around 7am. I found some food menus on the internet, so we've been trying a variety of different foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Parker seems to be liking the foods so far. I've started giving him some banana puffs that dissolve in his mouth and he's had a few bites of chicken. He is a happy little guy and pretty chilled out (hopefully that continues when he's about 2)!

Parker and Brad playing together on the floor.


Parker has mastered sitting up. He is getting stronger with this everyday. He loves sitting up and playing with his Georgia ball. He will grab it with 2 hands, then transfer to one of his hands and sortof throws it. At least he already knows to field the ball with 2 hands!


Parker enjoys being on his belly more, so he's starting to push up on his arms for longer periods. We have to help him get his knees under him, but once we do - he starts to rock. Everyone we talk to says he is close to crawling! That should be fun chasing him all over the house!


I believe Jake enjoys Parker now. When Brad and I are playing with Parker in the floor, Jake will come over and sit right in the middle of us (and he usually brings a toy - see the brown dog beside Parker's head)! Sometimes Jake will sit beside Parker, so we take that opportunity and have Parker pet Jake on his back and I think he really likes it! I know Parker does because he will just smile and laugh! We are excited for Parker to start crawling around the house and chasing Jake.

Fun at the Beach!

This past weekend we went on our first family vacation to Myrtle Beach. My mom was going there for a long weekend, so we met her there. Sunday the 7th was also mine and Brad's 6 year anniversary, so we celebrated that as well. We had a good time, the weather was pretty good - it did rain twice, but we got to go to the beach, the pool, shopped, and ate - so overall, it was a nice mini-vacation. I have never packed so much stuff in my life! I now understand why parents say it's so hard traveling with kids - you have to bring everything from home. We had to get a luggage carrier from the hotel to haul everything up to the room. I have stayed in lots of hotels over the years and I have never used a luggage carrier! WOW - I was amazed at how much 1 little guy needs to bring with him!

Parker chillin' on the bed before we venture out to the beach


1st time on the beach


1st experience with the ocean - not too bad. Parker really didn't know what to think. The first time I put his feet in the water, he was pretty good. But, . . . . . .

Then I decided to sit him in the water and he wanted none of that. He started crying - it was funny! I tried again, but then he got red eyes and big tears. He did not like the water at all. Brad was not with us at the beach - he was golfing. Later, I told Brad what Parker did and he said, "That's my boy." For those of you that know Brad, knows he is not a big fan of the ocean/water/beach. He would just rather be doing other things, so it's hilarious that Parker seems to be the same way.

Parker was perfectly fine laying on the towel on the beach in the shade!

After laying on the towel for about 10 minutes, he went to sleep for 2 hours!

Parker and Grandma Henry at Planet Hollywood

Parker at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. He loved looking around at all the lights and decorations in the restaurant.

Outside the restaurant, we got our picture made with a parrot - yes, he's real and he's really on my shoulder. He was very friendly and he was a beautiful bird!

One day we tried the pool, but again, Parker would rather sleep than swim. Grandma was holding him and he went right to sleep. So, I got in the lazy river and Grandma held Parker for a while and let him sleep.

Parker and Dad. Parker's shirt says, "Totally cuter than daddy." I think that's true - don't you?

Our family at a restaurant called Thorny's. It was really good.

Ok, so Parker wasn't too fond of the ocean, so I thought he would like the pool. WRONG! He didn't want anything to do with the pool or the ocean! I tried just having his feet in - NOPE - didn't like that. So, then I tried sitting him on the first step of the pool - NOPE - didn't like that either. So, the consensus was - doesn't like the water, but loves sleeping - just like his daddy!

After all the "fun" at the beach and pool, we came back to the room and Grandma gave Parker a bath. He loved it! We had a fun family vacation and we have lots of fun memories. Maybe next time we visit a pool or the beach, he will like it. Who knows!

Fun with Friends!

After we left Myrtle Beach, we went over to Wilmington to see our good friends Casey, Amy and Colton. We had a lot of fun and we are so glad we got to see them. The last time we saw them was at Christmas and we couldn't believe how big Colton had gotten - he will be 2 in 2 weeks! We really appreciate Casey and Amy letting us stay with them.

My how times have changed - Amy and I went from our "doggie babies" to . . . . . . .

Our baby boys!

Colton giving Parker some love! Parker was fascinated with Colton. He would sit on the floor and watch Colton do everything - it was funny!

The Bough's and the Kleeman's at a "kid-free" dinner out. Our grandma's were watching the boys.

Me and my best gal-pal Amy

The baseball boys, Casey and Brad, being their normal silly self

The boys after a long, hard day of golfing