New Seat, New Shoes, New Room

Parker has had a fun past few days.  Saturday, we ate lunch at Chick-fil-A and it was packed!!  We went at 11:30, thinking we would beat the crowd, but there was a birthday party going on, so Parker and I actually had to wait a few minutes for a table!  Parker was so excited once we finally got to sit down and start eating! Hah!

Before lunch, we went to Target to get a new car seat.  We finally decided our old car seat needed to be retired and Parker needed a "big boy" seat.  This one is a 3-in-1, so it eventually transforms into a booster seat for him, and it should be the last one we buy.

I think he likes it!  It's like a whole new world for him now - he can see out the window so much better now!

After we got his new car seat, we headed over to Rack Room to get Parker a new pair of Nike shoes.  He had literally worn the tops out of his other Nike shoes, so it was time to buy a new pair.  I put these on him in the shoe store, and I couldn't even take a picture, because he took off!  He was walking all over in the store - it was hilarious!  Luckily, we were the only ones there. 

And, our most exciting news this week - Parker moved up to the next class at his school!  He is now a "Butterfly" with Ms. Keri.  We are so proud of him and we are glad he is progressing so well.  He is doing great in his new class! 

This is Parker's room that he just moved from with Ms. Marenda - he was a Caterpillar for about 3 months.

This was Parker's 1st room at school with Mrs. Dawn - he was a Sunflower for about 3 months.

Birthday Party Fun

Parker was invited to his friend Lily's birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese Friday night.  This was Parker's first time going to Chuck E. Cheese and Brad and I hadn't been in many, many years.  Brad and I were excited to see how Parker would react to all the noise and lights!  He did great and we believe he had a good time!  He rode some of the kiddie rides, but he really just wanted to walk all over the place!  Needless to say, we were all worn out by the end of the night!

Parker meeting Chuck E. for the first time! 

Parker and Daddy waiting for the food!

Riding the fire engine

Riding the Merry-Go-Round

Parker and me playing my favorite game.  It used to be called "Whack-a-Mole" and now it's called "Whack-a-Letter."  It's really not as fun as the original, but Parker enjoyed it!

Brad trying out his arm in Skee Ball.  Neither one of us were very good at that, so we moved on to shooting baskets.  Brad and I got a little competitive with that game, so there are no pics. Hah!  (I won, by the way!)

Parker enjoyed his pizza very much!  He ate 2 pieces (they were small and he had definitely worked up an appetite)!

This was Parker's face when I told him we were "all done" with the food. Hah!

Clapping for the birthday girl, Lily, and Chuck E.

The birthday girl Lily, and her mom Mandy.  Mandy and I work together and we live about 5 minutes from each other!  Lily was so cute trying to blow out her candles!  The cookie cake was yummy too!

Mandy, Parker and Chuck E.

The attempt at a picture with all the kids

Parker in the monster truck - he loved it!  It would go up, down, back, forward and side to side - he was really working on keeping his balance. Hah!

Daddy and Parker on the roller coaster ride.  This one was kindof a dud!

Parker on the horsey-ride.  He really liked this one too.  In front of the horse was a video screen of a horse race.  You could guide the horse and make the horse jump - it was pretty cool!

So, at the end of our fun night, we had earned about 60 tickets.  We took them to the prize counter and Parker picked out this spider (with some help from Daddy and the guy worker) - thanks a lot guys!  I hate to say this, but that spider is going to "accidentally" find its way in our garbage can!

I had to put this in.  This was Lily's birthday invite - so cute!!  Thanks Mandy for inviting us - we had a blast!

Dentist Visit

Parker had his check-up at the dentist Tuesday and all went well.  The dentist's name is Dr. Bongiovi and he is so nice!  I tell Parker he's going to see the "rock star" dentist! Hah!  The office is very kid-friendly and everyone there is super nice.  If any of my mommy friends are looking for a great pediatric dentist, I would highly recommend him!

Dr. B started off by showing Parker all the dental tools.  He let Parker hold the tooth mirror and Dr. B blew air in his face and let Parker push the air and water button.  Dr. B even "brushed" Parker's finger with the dental brush!  Parker got the full dental experience - laid on the "big kid" dental chair, Dr. B did an exam of his teeth, and he brushed Parker's teeth with the real dental toothbrush!!  Parker has 16 teeth and we are waiting on his 2-year molars to come in.  Parker did great - there were a few tears, but overall, not a bad job!  Dr. B said he was very impressed!  Yay Parker!!  Miss Britney, the assistant, gave Parker a Nemo sticker and 2 tokens to get a toy out of the machine.  He got 2 bouncy balls. 

This was Parker, at 20 months, back in May when he visited Dr. B for the first time.

We go back in July and we may get our first set of x-rays done!  Fun stuff!

Random Fun

Finally, the snow and ice has almost melted away and life is pretty much back to normal.  I am so glad!  I liked the snow, but not the ice!  Below are just some random fun pics to share.

Parker on his laptop and Brad on my laptop - priceless pics!

Jake chillin' on couch - he loves laying in his "spot" on a blanket!

Parker and Brad doing a little workout!

Working on the abs

Doing some push ups (with a little help from daddy)

Parker's face cracks me up - such concentration!



Saturday Cheesecake Fun

Saturday, Parker and I took my mom to the Cheesecake Factory.  She has never been and has always wanted to go.  The past few times she's been down here, we've planned on going, but something always came up.  Luckily, the weather and the roads cooperated, so we were able to make it out to lunch there today. 

Parker and I shared meatloaf, mashed potatoes and corn succotash (yummy, by the way).  Parker ate his entire plate and loved the zucchini in the succotash!  My mom got a chicken salad sandwich.  The lunch portions were HUGE!!  Needless to say, we both brought home leftovers.  

Of course, we got cheesecake and we each got our own.  My mom got chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake and I had white caramel pecan macadamia nut cheesecake!  Oh my, heavenly!  That last time I was there, I had red velvet cheesecake and I believe that will always be my favorite! 

So, while we were finishing up, my mom and I were talking and the next thing I know, Parker picks up a spoon and literally reaches across the table and dives into the whip cream on my mom's cheesecake!  My mom and I both looked at each other and we said, "Did that just happen?"  As we were saying that, he did it again!  He would have kept going, but we had to stop Mr. Piggy! Hah! 

I mean, seriously, he was licking the spoon!  I'm telling you, their cheesecake is addictive!

Parker really knows how to "work it" with Grandma Henry!

Parker thanking Grandma for a good lunch, yummy whip cream, and a fun day out!

After lunch, we went inside the mall so I could use my coupons at Gymboree.  I love that store!  Grandma and Parker had a blast exploring the mall and playing in the kiddie area.  Parker walked all over the mall and his face was red from working up a sweat! Hah!  Later tonight, Brad and I are going to have a date night and my mom is going to keep Parker for us.  Everyone is excited for that!    

Snow Day - Day 5

Day 5 of snow and ice.  Parker slept until 8am this morning - I think he was worn out from being outside so much from the day before!  After breakfast, Brad and Parker headed out to sled.  None of the snow had melted and the yards were all ice - it was still very slick!  

So, as the boys were outside, I was inside cleaning.  About 5 minutes later, I turn around to see Parker and Brad walking towards me, and what do I see . . . blood on Parker's nose!!  (Scroll back up to see the wounded sled boy)  The first thing Brad said to me was, "He's ok, we just had a little accident!"  Parker wasn't crying, so that was good.  Brad said the snow was so icy, it was super fast and they just lost control.  He said Parker went forward a little and that's how he got some ice-cuts on his nose.  Parker is a tough cookie and it makes for a good story!

The main roads are ok, but many of the neighborhoods and some of the side roads are still icy.  Many of the weekend school activities are cancelled because of all the ice still on the roads.  The bad thing is the snow is melting during the day and refreezing all over the roads at night!

Luckily, we were able to get out today, so Parker and I headed to Taco Mac to meet up with my good friends and to celebrate my friend, Kathy's birthday.  Kathy brought her little girl Mackenzie.  PK and Mac were so cute eating next to each other.  As an appetizer, they shared goldfish and graham crackers!   

My mom is here for the weekend, so we went to Target to look for a birthday present for Parker's friend, Lily.  He got invited to her birthday party that's coming up in a few days, and we are so excited (it's at Chuck E. Cheese).  I was looking around in the toy section and all of a sudden I see Parker in this firefighter hat!  My mom always finds some type of cute hat in every store we go into together.

We look forward to a fun weekend with Grandma Henry!

Snow Day - Day 4

Day 4 of snow and ice!  We were going to take Parker to school, but he woke up coughing, so we decided to keep him home.  The roads were a little better - we were at least able to get out of our driveway and go to the grocery store!  The bottom of our driveway is still solid ice, but we had a few clear patches on our driveway where we could get the car out - whew!  It was nice getting out and seeing new scenery!

Our sleds finally came UPS today!!  Brad and I were so excited.  We saw the UPS truck drive down the street in front of our house and I asked Brad to run outside to see if the sleds had come!  He yelled, "They're here - they're here!"  Hah!  (It was like Christmas to us!)

We put Parker in the laundry basket because I thought that would be perfect for him - he couldn't go anywhere and he wouldn't fall out!  It was hilarious!  Both neighbors came out to watch and they thought we were pretty creative!

Then, we tried Jake in the basket.  Poor thing was scared to death! Hah!

I was able to send Jake down the hill once in the basket, but that was it.  He got smart and would jump out as it was starting to slide down the hill!

Brad and I got on our sleds and we had a blast!  Brad had Parker on the sled with him and Parker really enjoyed it!  We slid down the hill in our backyard.  Then, we went to the front of our house, by our mailbox, slid across the front yard, between our house and the neighbors, and all the way down the backyard.  Awesome!!

Then, we ventured up our neighborhood and slid down the hill along the street.  This is how Parker got carried to the perfect starting spot! Hah!

Even I got in on the action.  I'm glad my driving skills are better than my sledding skills! Hah!

We had a great snow day!  Parker was absolutely exhausted after all the sliding fun.  He took a good nap afterwards.  Maybe Brad will get lucky and get 1 more day off from school, to make it a full week off!