Wednesday, March 20, 2013

February

February started off better than ever because we took a family trip to Maui! Justin and I were in need of some sun. We've been to the Wailea Marriot in south Maui before so we knew what to expect taking Parker. We got a ground floor, ocean front room so that we could relax on outside and get sun while Parker was napping. Rachel and Scott DiBello happened to be planning a trip to Maui at the same time, so we invited them to stay at our hotel. What great luck! It was so much fun to spend time with them since they live in California. Rachel is pregnant with a little boy and is due just a few days after our baby girl. We got to catch up and talk babies which was a lot of fun.

Parker hadn't spent much time around water, so we were a little nervous how he'd take to it. He loved it! He was shouting "awa" (his word for water) all the time because everywhere he looked, he saw a fountain, pond, pool or ocean. We had to watch him like a hawk because he would just take off for any body of water he could find. He even tried to swim in the lobby koi pond a few times. The hotel offered a kid pool with sand, 1 1/2 feet of water, water slides and fountains. So fun! Parker was a little cautious once in the water, but he loved splashing around the edges. At the ocean, he loved playing in the waves with us.

We were lucky that it was humpback whale season and there were hundreds of whales right off shore from the hotel. We got to see them breaching, slapping their tails, and we could even hear them when we went underwater! Scott and Justin went scuba diving and could hear them the whole time while looking at turtles, tropical fish and coral.
What an awesome trip! I can't wait to go back as a family of 4.

The day after we got home, I had my 30th birthday. We were jet lagged, so Parker and I caught up on sleep. Justin had to go to work, but we celebrated the following weekend with both friends and family. Justin threw me a party with many of our good friends. It was fun to get a big group together- something we don't do often enough anymore. I am very lucky to have such loving people in my life! I can tell already that this is going to be a wonderful year!


New Year, Lots of Fun

January 8th we had an ultrasound to check up on our new baby. Justin and I were excited to find out the gender.  We saw pros for having either, and said we'd be excited no matter what, which is true.  At previous doctor appointments, we had two professionals guess that the baby was a boy for various reasons. Because of this, we were certain more blue was in our future. When the ultrasound tech said we are having a girl, my first reaction was to say, "Are you sure? How sure are you?" Once it sunk in, Justin and I were thrilled! It will be so fun to have one of each. We are looking forward to adorable clothes, cuddles and frilly things. Parker is sure to be a fabulous, loving, older brother. Yay for pink!

The second week of the month, our friends, Alicen & Brian Potucek invited us to their family cabin in Packwood, Washington.  Their friends, Abby & Sean came as well. Parker spend the weekend chasing around 2 and 3 year old girls. He loves watching big kids, so he was entertained the entire time.  Saturday morning we went up to White Pass for sledding. This was Parker's first real time in the snow since last year he was only weeks old. He was not a fan. It was super cold, so after 5 minutes he was shaking, saying, "all done" and headed for the lodge. Hopefully next year he will be more into it.  The adults went skiing/boarding, but I opted to stay back at the cabin with the kiddos. It was such a relaxing weekend and fun weekend.

Parker has been getting his first 4 molars. This means a lot of drool, ear aches, pain and waking at night.  Parker is pretty tough so when he's up at night crying we know he's not feeling well. Poor guy. One night Parker was crying inconsolably. There was nothing I could do to calm him. Justin came in after a few minutes to help.  Parker looked at him, stopped crying immediately, pointed at his Dad's chest and said, "chest hair".  We were shocked first of all that he knew those words, but that he was excited enough about it that he was able to calm down. Then he happily went to sleep. Whatever works, right?

Parker has begun testing his boundaries. He knows what is off limits in the house, but every once in awhile, he will do something just to see what we will do. He may open a drawer he shouldn't meanwhile saying to himself, "Noooo".  Or Parker may look at us with a fire in his eye and stretch his hand towards something to see if we will stop him.  We're trying to be consistent and hopefully his games will get boring soon.

Parker has a big vocabulary at this point. Here are some of the words he's saying:
Momma, Dadda, Pop, Grandma, Grandpa, Curt, Heido, RyRy, E-E, Kitty, fishy, sister, baby, shoes, milk, turkey, cheese, pasta, bread, Eggo, Cheerios, banana, yogurt, lemon, blankey, teddy, light, wall, door, window, toys, bath, water, all done, more, please, up, hold you, bless you, thank you, mail
Animal sounds for: cat, dog, bird, cow, bear, sheep
Sounds for car and Justin's electric razor

It's fun to see him pick up words. Most of them through direct teaching, but some of them he's learned on his own. We don't remember teaching him 'wall' or 'mail" but he's used both in the correct context on his own. It's so cool that babies are such sponges at this age. I guess it's time we watch what we say and watch on TV in while he's around!

We were invited by our friend, Brian & Alicen Potucek to stay at their cabin for the weekend in Packwood. We went with their friends, Abby & Sean. It was such a relaxing weekend! The best part was taking the kids up to White Pass for sledding. It was freezing so Parker only lasted a few runs before he headed for the lodge. The older girls, Brea and Kyler tried out skiing and snowboarding for the first time. They did great! Justin and I are excited for Parker to try next season!