Teachable Moment

Parker grabbed his 'G' alphabet magnet off the fridge so I started singing a phonics song.  "G says g like grapes and great and G says j like giraffe and....um gigolo!"  I would make a kick ass elementary teacher!

I Mustache You a Question...

What are you doing to save the Truffula Trees?

Yogurt!

This morning, I set Parker up with yogurt then went out to the man den to grab a few things out of the freezer.  When I came back in the house, Parker was whining and I figured he had dropped his spoon.  This is what I saw when I walked into the kitchen...



I'm guessing he tried to drink the yogurt then dropped the container when the yogurt hit him in the face! 

Fall Go BOOM!

On Monday, we piled into Sarah's car and visited Jack and Parker's Great Grandma and Great Aunt Linda.  After we got back, I left the car seat in the entry way...big mistake!  Parker decided to sit in it, then stood up and tipped it over.  Unfortunately, he stopped his fall by hitting his face on the low windowsill next to the door.  A bloody and very swollen nose had me worried completely panicked that he had broken his nose.  So we jumped back into the car and headed to Urgent Care to get him checked out.  Looks like he hit his cheek and the tip of his nose.  No permanent damage, but his nose is still swollen and as you can see in the pictures he has a large bruise on the left side of his nose. 

You can't really see the bruise in this one, just thought it was a cute pose!

This is day 3 and the bruise has finally stopped getting darker. 
Sorry about all the boogers, but his nose is pretty tender and he won't let me touch it.

Shower Buddies

Parker started taking showers with Brian, when he was battling croup (hot steamy air helps calm the cough) and is now a shower convert.  We tell him it's shower time and he grabs his towel and sprints to our bathroom.  He thinks it is hilarious to change the settings on the shower head and spray us in the face with water.  The other night I came in to check on the boys and found them playing with a shower cap and laughing hysterically!

Art Critic

Last year I realized we were in need of some grown up artwork in our house.  The small handful of things we had were a) from IKEA or b) framed posters from college.  So I started trying to find a few things to add to our sad little collection, but immediately ran into a huge road block.  Brian. 

Here is an example of a typical conversation:

Brian:  So I was thinking about getting you that picture of Mt. Rainer that you liked at Pikes Place Market for Valentine's Day, but you watch the bank account like a hawk so I couldn't figure out a way to do it secretly.

Me: Why would you buy that?  You didn't like it.

Brian: I didn't mind it.

Me: Huh?  Well what do you like?

Brian: Nothing with color or flowers.

Me:  Oh that's really helpful!

Brian:  I would be happy with a stained piece of wood above the couch.

Me: Seriously?!?  So let me get this straight, you envision our living room with a chunk of wood above the couch, some random black and white pictures, and probably an elk or deer head mounted on the wall?

Brian: Yeah!  That would be perfect!

Me: AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!  Maybe my second husband will have better taste in art!

Playtime

Parker playing with his zoo playground. 

Oldish Videos

Sorry, these videos are a little old.  The new laptop saved them in a format that Blogger didn't recognize so it took me a while to get it sorted out!

Allergies-smallergies

Parker has been eating soy yogurt for 2 weeks and last night he chowed down on teriyaki chicken...and fortune cookies. Brian and Parker ran some errands and brought home dinner.  Parker wanted to be picked up while I was loading up a plate and started whining and pointing at the fortune cookies.  I looked at him and said. "Why do you want those?  You don't even know what a fortune cookie is!"  Apparently, Parker and Brian shared some cookies while they waited for the food! 

Parker has also been eating waffles made with milk for a week, and has yet to have any reaction!  Sometime this week we will attempt whole milk yogurt to really test his intolerance to dairy.  Fingers crossed we may finally be done with making special meals and worrying about him eating the wrong thing!

Contagion

Classic timing! Brian started back to work on Wednesday. Wednesday morning I woke up feeling like crap.  I thought it was the stomach flu, but now realize I probably contracted Rotavirus/Norwalk virus.  These are the same viruses that are sweeping through schools and at last count 145 people at a local cheerleading competition came down with Norwalk virus. 

For the last 3 days, poor Parker has been trapped in the living room for most of his waking hours while I shivered and napped on the couch.  He was such a trooper!  I managed to get him to hangout in bed for an extra 2 hours by bribing him with cartoons, rice chex and a sippy. He even played nurse, giving me blankets and books!

By Friday, Parker had covered the entire living room with toys and was getting pretty frustrated with being cooped up.  Brian came to the rescue and made it home early enough to help Parker burn some energy before bed.   By Saturday morning I was finally starting to feel human again and Brian was able to get Parker out of the house so he could run around and make up some of his lost playing time.
Now I just need to find the energy to get back into the swing of things and decontaminate/sanitize the entire house so no one else gets sick!

Seattle or Bust!

While making breakfast this morning I mentioned we should do something fun to take advantage of the warm sunny weather...an hour later we hopped in the car and headed to Bremerton for Parker's first ferry ride to Seattle.  By "hopped" I mean an hour of packing, prepping, showering and wrestling a stroller into the car...spontaneity with a toddler is a little more complicated!

Parker wasn't too impressed with the actual ferry ride, but loved running laps around the boat.

Parker decided watching the sailboat was
more important than posing for a picture

We knew the trip was a success when we left the ferry terminal and ran into some construction. Parker would tell you Seattle is awesome because there are excavators, dump trucks, concrete mixers, barges, and cranes everywhere!

We hit Pike's Place Market first so Brian could buy his usual apple and orange (it's become a market tradition) Parker happily munched free samples of grapefruit and apple as we strolled through the market.

I fell in love with this local artist's work and bought this print to hang in Parker's room. She makes these amazingly intricate collages by tearing up recycled magazines, junk mail, etc. I really wanted to buy this print of Mt. Rainer but Brian didn't like it!

We had lunch, bummed around for a few hours then headed home. Parker did very well considering his first nap of the day was at 5:30 in the car on the way home!

Campin'

House Full of Helpers

A few months before Parker was born we had the hardwood floors refinished.  To do this Brian had to remove the trim in the kitchen, dining room and entryway.  Priorities changed. Family time became more precious and much more important than having trim on the walls.  This week, Brian was able to take some time off and project #1 was replacing the trim.  No small feat with a very active toddler and two dogs!  Here are some pictures of Brian and his "helpers"...

Parker has a slight obsession with measuring tapes so
trying to pry it out of his hands was not an option

Parker showing Brian how it's done

Brian tried to give Parker the boring end of the tape, but...

He prefers the "business end"

Ike came in and decided he needed to supervise

When Ike tried to get better view by standing on Brian
 Turner decided he needed to get in on the action 

As usual, the boys started wrestling, got kicked out of the kitchen and...

Brian and Parker got back to work

Zoo Day

Brian took a few days off so we took full advantage of the beautiful weather and headed to the zoo.

Getting to the zoo right when it opens means fewer people and
the volunteers are friendly and wandering around looking for
 things to do.  Which is how we found out this tiger had chemo, if
you shave a tiger his skin is striped, and that rock is a toasty 75 degrees .

We finally have a family picture in front of the famous tiger head!

Going early also means feeding time!

Otter love (okay, they are actually wrestling)

Posing for the camera

Polar Bear calisthenics?

One of only 200 Red Wolves in the world

First time on the carousel

Smile Guy