Happy 1st Birthday Parker!

Saturday was Parker's 1st birthday party. He won't turn 1 until Tuesday, but we went ahead and had his party this weekend. We had a great time, the weather was great, and we had lots of our friends and family there to celebrate the special day. We had the party at our house and it worked out great. Most of the party was outside - I had games for the kids in the backyard and I think they really had a good time. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and watermelon. The party was awesome and Brad and I both enjoyed the day with Parker. It seemed to go by really fast, but everything we put into the party was well worth it! I just can't believe he will be 1 on Tuesday!!

This was Parker's cake and it was so good! I ordered it from Publix and I think the decorator did a great job! I had given her a picture and it was just perfect!



Parker looking at his cake.


Parker's "smash" cake. This came from Publix as well (you get a free one when you order the serving cake). The design on the cake was the theme from his party. It was really cute!



Brad helping Parker figure out what he needs to do with his cake. He was able to put his fingers in the cake, then he didn't know what to do from there. With a little help, he figured out how to put a few fingers in his mouth, so he was able to taste the icing. Later, he ate some cake off a fork.

Jake helping Parker open a few of his gifts.

This was one of Parker's gifts - a $1 bill. He loved it! One of our good friends got it for Parker and they told me their family gives $1 when they are one, $5 when they are five, $10 when they are 10, and so on. I thought that was a great idea! Parker got a lot of nice things and we really appreciate our family and friends thinking of Parker.

Jake was running all over the backyard, so he stopped for a quick drink. I think a few of my friends dropped a few pieces of food for Jake as well. So, I know he was well taken care of during the party!

Parker playing bean bags with a new friend. She was really nice to Parker and played with him - thanks Maddie!

Parker with his grandparents - Grandma Kleeman, Grandma Henry, and Grandpa Kleeman.

What a difference a few days make!

2 days ago, I posted some pictures of Parker trying to stand and now, 2 days later, he has already come so far! We have been practicing and he's getting better and better everyday. This is a milestone that I thought would come much later.
He cannot stand on his own, unsupported, but he's definitely much stronger in his legs and can stand leaning or propping on something for up to 1 minute! As long as he's got something in front of him to watch (the rain picture) or play with - then he's good to go!

This is an early birthday present for Parker. I got it at a consignment store about 2 months ago, but I didn't think he would be ready for it until Christmas. I have been storing it, but got it out today to use at his birthday party coming up this weekend. Brad and I decided to try it out with Parker tonight and we think he really liked it! Of course, he loved the lion's hair - it was like little tags and Parker loves tags! Parker didn't "do" anything on the lion, but he did sit up real nice and he worked on keeping his balance. He did clap for himself and laughed at the lion's nose when it lit up and sang a song.

Trying to Stand!

Brad and I think Parker is going to skip the crawling phase and go straight to walking. This of course, is fine with us because we've heard from several people that some babies never crawl. So, these pics are of Parker trying to stand on his own. He is actually doing pretty good and has really improved in the last 2 weeks.

Here we go - digging our heels into the carpet.


And up we go!


Almost there!


Parker standing.


He loves playing with his blocks. He likes to pick out a couple of blocks and chew on them, but he especially loves dumping the blocks out of the basket.


Taking a snooze. I just thought this was a sweet picture of him, with his giraffe buddy.