Between festivities....

That's where I find myself right now....right smack in the middle of a season of festivities. One might compare it to "the eye of the hurricane".

This past weekend, I hit the big one...yes, the big 3-0. Kevin and some of my sweet friends threw a small surprise party for me at Buca de Beppo, which was very fun. On the actual day-o-my-birth, there were many other parties to attend... We began the day at the Candy Cane Lane preschool Christmas party at our church. Laurel was a little unsure of the petting zoo, and was even less thrilled with the goat that went after her sippy cup. We then proceeded to celebrate the 3rd birthday of our friend Jayk before Kevin had to head to work.

The afternoon brought a college graduation celebration for our friend Christa. Seriously, this girl is amazing. I'm so proud of her. She has worked full time, taken care of her hubby, and gone to school full time....AND managed to graduate with honors. I'm pretty sure it was all I could do to get through college when the only thing I had to take care of was me. Way to go Christa!

The day ended with a dinner date with Laurel to Panera. We got to the register to order, and she immediately spotted the chocolate chip cookies by the register. So, in all of her cuteness, started sweetly begging....More cookie, pease....pease....PEASE!!!! Who could resist? I really wasn't wanting to ruin our "date" before we even ordered.

After 2 days of recovery...we are in gearing up for the festivities of Christmas. Kevin and Laurel left for Austin yesterday for Nanny and Baba's, and I'll head up there today after work. Last night I had the condo completely to myself. It was crazy-quiet. No monitor music...no puppy dog following me around...nothing. Which was nice for about an hour. Then I took myself on another date to Panera (are you noticing a trend?).

The festivities to come include candlelight service with Kevin's family, and Christmas in Austin. Kevin has to work Friday, so he'll come back that morning, and Laurel, Toby and I will stay until Saturday. Should be an exciting weekend of presents, wrapping paper, and boxes. And, maybe if Laurel hits the jackpot, some packing peanuts.

We hope you all have a Merry Christmas with your family or loved ones with whom you celebrate!

Much love to all of you!

And the countdown begins...

Not to Christmas, silly...to the 30s. Yes, they begin on Saturday. And, in anti-climatic form, Saturday will bring a 3-year-old's bday party, a Pre-K event at church, and then hanging out with Laurel while Kevin goes to work. I've noticed that as I get older, birthdays seem more and more like any other day of the week. Not a pity party...just an observation:)

December also has brought another landmark...the 5th anniversary for the Parkers. We got back last Monday from Key West...which for this ocean lover, was amazing. Ocean everywhere I looked...out the window, down the street, surrounding the highway...everywhere. In case you are from Houston and didn't know, the ocean is actually blue...not brown like you see in the gulf. Who knew? The best part is that my husband is a firm believer in the fact that vacation is for doing nothing....and that's what we did. We ate breakfast about 11 every morning, slept about 10 hours a night, and often took naps during the day. By Monday, though, we were definitely ready to return home to the Little Bit. Here are a few pics to give you the brief rundown of the weekend...
Outside our hotel in Key West


The street performers at Sunset

My anniversary present to Kevin...Dolphins tickets...these were our seats
And, the view from our balcony in Miami.

That's all for this Monday...Have a great week!

We have much for which to be thankful...

I am the baby of the family....I would like to say that I'm not the "typical bratty baby", but I have to confess that there are some definite brattish tendencies in my heart and mind. And, while I like to think that they are mostly hidden, they are probably way more evident than I know. So, as is typically the case, I need some reminders to not take all of the tremendous blessings I have been given for granted.

So, here we are...and you get to share in these reminders of my blessings....things that I can sit back this morning and say, truly, these are straight from the Giver of all good gifts, and nothing that I in the least deserve.

Thanksgiving brought illness to a lot of our family. Nothing drastic for the most part, a little geyser after lunch out of the mouth of Laurel, and a recovering ear infection from our nephew, Parker. Laurel's incident seemed to be a fluke, but sweet Parker only got sicker and sicker. Thursday night took him to the emergency room, and then on to Dell Children's Hospital in Austin. Poor little guy ended up celebrating his first Thanksgiving in the hospital and was released from treatment of RSV yesterday. Friday morning, we all visited the hospital. Due to his condition, Laurel couldn't go in, so we made our way to the family lounge at this beautiful hospital. As we sat there, Laurel was inhaling her Oreos (oh, the things we allow for our kids when we need them to behave!), and in walked a man wearing pajama pants and a stocking cap to make himself a cup of coffee. As we sat waiting for his coffee to heat up, we struck up a conversation. He asked if Laurel had a sibling in the hospital...and it hit me...no, I don't have a child in this hospital, but he definitely did. He told me of his little boy, not even 3, who has been fighting leukemia. The prognosis was good, he said hopefully, but the chemo had not been so good to the little fighter. It had created a blood infection that had left him in the hospital for the last month. No wonder this poor man looked so worn out. I told him I'd pray for his little one, and he smiled and walked out. I've thought of him every day since...and I am truly thankful.

Kevin left Austin early to come back to go to work. Working on holidays isn't the greatest, but the overtime pay doesn't hurt. Kevin ended up working a nice robbery-homicide that kept him out until 5:45 AM. After 16 hours of work, he called in and didn't go into work last night. No big deal...right? Well, about 5:30, as I was making dinner, I heard a small popping coming from the balcony. I walked out to find sparks coming from the electrical outlet. We unplugged everything, turned off the breakers, and Kevin worked his magic. Basically, the paper wrapping around the wires had started to come off, and they sparked as they touched the live wires. Instantly, the Lord reminded me to be thankful...for the "fluke" that I had been right there to see what was going on...that Kevin had been home to fix it...that no one had gotten hurt...that a fire hadn't started...and especially thankful for a man in our church in Austin that had given Kevin a job and taught him to do some electrical work so he would have a clue what to do in this situation. I was definitely reminded of how differently this situation could've ended up with just a few details playing out differently. Namely, we really don't want me playing with electricity. Yes...I am thankful.

So this weekend, I have been reminded of all that I have for which to me thankful. My amazing family, the health we have been granted, and so much that I don't even realize I need to be thankful for. This morning, the Lord also reminded me that even if the circumstances were switched, if we found ourselves in vastly different circumstances, we would be no less loved, no less cared for, and our God would be no less who He is right now. And, my hope is that, during the times that we do find ourselves on the other side of the situation, my heart will be just as thankful, because indeed, we have much for which to be thankful.

Before I close, as is the Parker tradition, the pictures were taken for the family Christmas Card. And, because you are faithful blog readers, you get a sneak peek at the picture:

I'm sure you can imagine that there were many other pictures taken, but as is the case when you are taking pictures with those under that age of 5...you use the ones when everyone is at least looking at the camera and not throwing a fit. Those are the successful photos:)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Re-entry

Re-entry into blog-land that is. Shocking, I know. The whole 4 followers we have on our blog will have another thing to keep them occupied. And, who knows? Perhaps we'll gain a few more if I can keep this thing up:). We'll see.

I'm hoping that blogging is like that old friend that you can just pick back up with even if you haven't spoken in months. If not, you will be forced to read the re-hashing of the past (I'm embarrassed to confess this) 6 whole months. Yes, that is over 25% of Laurel's life I've left you out of. So sorry. I will do better. Promise.

I'm sure you are dying to hear what we are up to these days, so here goes...
Kevin's life as a police officer gets more and more exciting each day. This weekend, he moved out of the 5th Ward to a new station. He's in love with running radar and writing lots of tickets, so obey the law if you are in his beat or he will write you a ticket. And crying won't help your cause.

Laurel is almost 2 and cracks me up on a regular basis. She loves to dance, play, harass Toby, run around outside, watch Yo Gabba Gabba, and has developed an infatuation with bodily functions. We're hoping this will serve us well when we embark on potty-training in a couple of months.

And me? Hmm...I guess the biggest change in my life is that I'll no longer be a full-time employee beginning December 1. I've decided to cut back my hours at HFBC to spend more time with Laurel. I'll just be working 3 days a week, and am so excited to get to spend more time with Laurel (and Kevin...whose schedule is nearly opposite of mine!). Another change in all of this is that I may have to time to blog and potentially spend actual time (not just Facebook stalking) with my friends. What will I even do with myself?

I won't keep you too long on this first re-entry blog. I know most of you are trying to settle down from the shock of me actually writing.

Have a great Tuesday:)

She's Got the Look...

Last September, when Laurel was 7 months old, she started attending Spring Branch Presbyterian Academy 2 days a week. Everything about it was a great decision...Laurel loves it, she loves the kids, the teachers, pretty much everything. And, even better, she is apparently a little angel there. Any time there is a behavior I'm trying to keep her from doing at home (ie...throwing food while eating, hitting) and I ask them about it, they look at me like I have 4 heads and say "We never have any problem with Laurel. She is so wonderful...never aggressive or causing problems"....ahh, music to my ears!

One of my favorite things about SBPA is that Laurel has her own little "locker" that we keep diapers, wipes, blanket, nap mat, and a change of clothes in case she ever 

gets dirty. From time to time, they tell me that she needs something...diapers, wipes...whatever. In the past 9 months, though, they have never told me I need to bring in new "extra" clothes. Occasionally, the thought would cross my mind that I probably needed to change those out, but Laurel never really gets dirty, so it's never came up...

On Wednesday, I went in to pick up Laurel. I always like to stand outside the door for a minute and watch her playing or doing whatever it is she is doing. As I scanned the room, though, I didn't see the blue shirt and pink pants that she had on. I did see, however, the back of the head of a little girl whose mother must not have been paying attention when she dressed her because her brown pants were WAY too tight and too short and her onesie was...wait...OHHHH....the extra clothes....And, so I laughed out loud as I walked in the room. Yep, Laurel got dirty on Wednesday, and the only thing they could put on her was her 3-6 month old pants and her 6 month onesie. Amazingly, they fit...sort of. To top it all off, her teacher had put her hair in a ponytail on top of her head, making her resemble a 1980s aerobics instructor. 

I've thought a little about this whole incident over the past couple of days. Mainly, I wondered why adult sizes can't work like kids' sizes. Wouldn't it be great if the size you wore matched your age? So, your size naturally adjusts for that metabolism slowing that takes place at 25, 27, and 29. If for some reason you can fit back into those "Age 21" jeans, it's just bonus. It's expected that as you get older, your size adjusts...Wouldn't that be great?!?! Ahhh... a girl can dream, can't she?

And, since it's been a while, here's the other piece of big news from the last couple of months...

Little one is walking! She had been "cruising" for months, but wouldn't let go of hands, walls, tables, chairs...anything that she could hold on to. Until, that is, last Tuesday about 3:30. She and Kevin were home and she just let go and started walking...and she has been ALL over the place!

Last but not least...here are some pics from the last few weeks...

...You give and take away....

Over the past 14 months of motherhood, I've learned a lot about a lot of things. Frankly, things I didn't even know I needed to know, and things that I didn't necessary want to know. But, there have also been some things that have been really fun to learn and realize. I have to say one of the greatest realizations that I am constantly struck with is the Fatherhood of God. I have been reminded so many times of His role as "Father" in my life as I make a feeble and often lacking attempt to be a parent to Laurel. Over the past 3 days, I have been yet again reminded of this as we have embarked on quite possibly our greatest (definitely our loudest) battle yet...the breaking of the pacifier.

I remember the first fews days with Laurel in the hospital. Little Bit wanted nothing to do with the green pacifier everyone gets at the hospital. I of course had heard the cries of "don't let your baby have the terrible pacifier...she will never want to nurse" from everyone, but at 3 AM when she had already been crying for two hours and I was alone in a hospital room, I could have really cared less what anyone had to say. I could've kissed the nurse that got her to take one. I so remember just asking her in shock "how in the world did you do that?"

She hasn't been over the top about her pacifier, and in fact, she hasn't used it except for sleeping in months. But, it has definitely been her best friend to sleep. So, at her 1 year doctor's appointment, when her doctor said "get rid of her pacifier by 15 months", my stomach hit the floor. I knew these days wouldn't be pretty. But, I told myself that we would be obedient to the pediatrician for once and get rid of it. In fact, we'd do it a month early so I could be the good mom that could easily say at the 15 month appointment "we've been rid of that thing for SO long"(aka...days now). And that brings us to this week....the beginning of April...one more month until the 15 month appointment. I had decided to take Thursday off from work to make up for some missed days off while mission teams were in, and I figured it was as good of time as any to throw out the beloved pacifiers. After all, I wasn't going to make anyone else listen to her scream and refuse to sleep without it. So, Wednesday night was night one. She was so exhausted from school that day that she almost instantly went to sleep. The tough times came when she woke up. Typically she crawls all around her crib to find the pacifier to get her back to sleep. That night, it was no where to be found. She cried from 10:30-11:30 and then a couple of times in the middle of the night. Thursday nap time involved another 40 minute crying fest, 30 minutes of sleep, 15 minutes of tears, another 45 minutes of sleep. Not near enough of a nap. But, enough crying to block up her little tear ducts, leaving gooey eye boogers through the rest of the day. Thursday night, she slept better, only a short cry before passing slick out face first, bottom up in crib. And, the good news is she slept all night! PTL! Poor little puddin' was so sleepy all morning, though. She nearly racked out at lunch, barely keeping her eyes open as she ate her chicken and veggies. But, when she got to bed, she had a rough go of it....20 minutes of crying, about an hour of sleep and then another bout of crying. I finally broke down and went to get her, only to have her emotionally break down in my arms. After about 20 minutes of me rubbing her back and her little body shaking with sobs, she wore herself out and went back to sleep. Which brings us to right now. As I rubbed her little back, knowing she would instantly go to sleep if I just gave her a stinking pacifier, I was reminded that's not what is best. And, while I seem really mean in her little world by not giving her the thing she wants the most, I can see a bigger picture of straight teeth, self soothing, and peaceful sleep. And I was reminded of how often I want things that I think I can't live without...even throw crying screaming fits (on the inside if not on the outside), and wonder why God can't just throw me a bone and give me what I want. And I have remembered and been thankful that He sees such a bigger picture than I ever will, and he sometimes throws away my pacifiers because He knows that life without that thing will be ultimately better than life with it.

And, while that all sounds well and good...we probably still have a few days of crying for a pacifier ahead of us....

Bad hair day?

Walking, talking, using the restroom on her own...these are all things that the little one has not mastered yet as a one year old. But there are a few things she is incredibly good at...laughing, throwing food, waving, saying "daddy", playing ball with Toby, and the 2 most notable...growing hair and teeth. We have all of our first molars, and I'm pretty sure the little incisors are about to rear their heads. And, then the hair. Laurel was born with a good amount of hair, including her trademark mullet. She lost all of the top hair, making her look a little like an old man on top, but then at about 7 months, her hair started growing. And once it started, it has yet to stop. There have seriously been days when Kevin and I get her up and swear that she has gotten more hair overnight. As it has grown, it has gotten more "body" (aka...out of control!). It's really funny to hear people's response to it. The polite ones will comment on how she has so much pretty hair. The others will say something along the lines of "when are you going to cut it"...haha. Nice try. Little girl doesn't even let me brush it...I can't imagine letting someone near her head with scissors as she violently shakes her head back and forth when you come close. The days that she actually has a barrette in her hair to keep it out of her face are nothing short of a miracle. A feat of quick and masterful hands while she is too busy with something else to notice. And, just in case you can't appreciate her wild hair, I decided to throw in a picture from when she woke up a few mornings ago. I promise...this is EXACTLY how she woke up.

3 bandaids, a cotton ball, and a blister….

…who knew being 1 was such an ordeal?





I know it’s been a while, and much has happened in the Parker Household in the past couple of months, so this post will be an attempt to catch you up and relieve myself of some serious blog-guilt.



So, we’ll start with Christmas…We got a special gift this year in that Kevin was able to be off for our anniversary, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas, and New Year’s eve. I tried to really enjoy it, knowing that this will most likely never happen again. We went to Austin to see Kevin’s parents. We decided that driving in the middle of the night after Kevin got off work at 11 was the best way to get there and spend the most time with the family and mess up Little Bit’s routine the least. That whole theory was contingent on her immediately going back to sleep when we got into the car. No such luck. Once we woke her up at 11 and got her in the car, she was wide awake. Not crying or anything, just wide awake. Until Smithville…which is over halfway to Austin. Needless to say, there was an extra nap involved the next day. Christmas was great…Laurel wasn’t quite sure what to do with the presents, and tissue paper was the best gift of all. The day after Christmas we drove straight to the airport, and Laurel and I headed to Missouri to see my family. This was my first flight without an extra baggage hauler, so I was a bit nervous. I was so thankful that some of our friends, Curtis and Amanda, were on the exact same flights all the way to Springfield, which meant I could go to the restroom without carrying everything I own. Such a blessing!



Missouri was great…Laurel charmed all the grandparents and great-grandparents. And, we returned with suitcases MUCH heavier than we left with. The miracle of the trip was at no point in any of the airports was any of our baggage weighed. And let me tell you, if it would have been, there would have been some extra fees to be paid. Missouri is always so bittersweet…I love my family there, love being around them, love watching Laurel around them, and hate to leave…but also, hate to think about leaving life as we know it here. Maybe one day they’ll all move south…I know, wishful thinking.



As the new year arrived, we got some other new additions…molars. I am so thankful these guys are almost all in. Laurel has been chewing on everything and is now an emotional roller coaster. The new favorite part of the day is when she gets Tylenol before bed and the favorite teething toy is my shoulder…it’s nice and bony, right at mouth height when I pick her up.



And, the biggest news of all…Laurel turned one on February 6th. I have no idea where this year has gone…it is honestly a blur. There are some moments I am so thankful have passed, and some that I would give anything to have back again. She has been such a joy to my heart and taught me so many things about life and priorities. We have yet to have her birthday party…that will come next weekend. But, we did have a cake experience…and what an experience it was! I bought her a cupcake for the day (I’ll be a good mom and make the cake next week). It was pre-equipped with a candle, covered in purple icing…perfect for a 1-year-old mess. I lit the candle and blew it out in front of her to show her what to do, set the cupcake in front of her, re-lit it, and instead of blowing, she reached up before we could stop her and put out the tiny flame with her fingers. The ensuing screams and meltdown prevented any cake from being eaten. She still bears the remnants of a blister on her little index finger. Hopefully the cake experience at the party will go better.



Finally, as a 1-year-old, we had to go to our 1-year check up with the pediatrician. I had heard rumor of what happens at this appointment and was not at all looking forward to it. Three shots later, we had to get blood taken like a big girl. That’s right…rubberband around the arm, drawing blood like you’re giving it. Apparently, Little Bit has “tough veins” because it took at least 5 minutes to get the needle to go into the vein. 5 minutes of screaming (not that I blame her!). But, all is well now…just a tiny bruise to remind us that she is not a baby anymore. Nope…21 lbs 10 oz and 29 ¾” long of a toddler.