Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Christmas 2008!

Well, we had a very enjoyable Christmas week, even though it was a little different than we had originally planned. Poor little Parker came down with a horrible cold and ear infection the weekend before we had planned to leave to drive up to Mima and Papaw's in North Carolina, and I ended up with a sinus infection- yuck. Our little Subaru was also broken into that weekend right in front of our house, so we felt really nervous about leaving the house vacant, especially since we had planned to take Lennox with us. We decided it best to stay home, let little P's antibiotics take action, and enjoy a quiet Christmas at home.

Although everybody was sick on my birthday, I still had a nice day and got a couple of really great gifts! Chris bought me an AWESOME new digital camcorder, which I am so excited about. This means as soon as I figure out how to do it, I can start adding video clips to my blog! How exciting!!! I also got a beautiful turquoise and saphire ring from my mom and dad- it is really unique and I've already gotten many compliments on it! Thank you, thank you for the gifts and love! :)

On Christmas day we got up and ate a good breakfast, sipped coffee, and opened the presents that Pete and Sue (my brother and sister-in-law) sent us from California. Because Chris and I had already exchanged gifts early, and I had given Peanut his new shoes early, we're sure glad we got that great box full of presents to open on Christmas morning! Thanks Pete and Sue- we love you!

Later that night we visited a few friends, went to bed, and got up the next morning and drove to Ashville, NC where we stayed at Chris' aunt and uncle's house and saw many members of Chris' family: Uncle Chip, aunt Melanie, cousins Sonny, Chelsea, Candace, Keith, Uncle Eric, Mima, Papaw, and of course little Matthew. Matthew is Parker's second cousin and is about to turn 4. He and Parker had a BLAST playing together, and spent hours jumping on the air mattress we slept on. It was so cute and funny. I can only imagine how much fun they'll have together next year.

We're home now, and doing some relaxing. I'm out at the office today getting things in order for our new students to arrive on Sunday. Parker is back up to full speed and feeling much better. The only bad thing about the medicine he's been taking is that it has been really hard on his stomach, and he consequently has his first case of diaper rash. I feel so bad for his little bottom, but we went out and got ourselves some Bourdeaux's Butt Paste, and are hoping it will clear up quickly. It certainly hasn't stopped him from running around (yes, he's running now- unbelievable!) and being the funniest, cutest thing ever.

We are now looking forward to a visit from Grandma and Grandpa next week, at which time we will celebrate Christmas number 3, complete with a visit from Santa, stockings, and our famous Christmas tree pastry! Yummm!

Have a wonderful New Year's Eve! Be safe and have fun! (I will undoubtedly be in bed asleep before the peach drops in Atlanta, so toast one for me!)

Love,
Laura and fam

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Class #2 complete!

I am SO relieved to report that I have survived another class, and even earned a 93%! Hooray! I am just giddy that I don't have to start the next one (Accounting... help, Tessa!) until January 7th. I plan on reading the entire Twilight series between now and then since I have time to read for pleasure. Now I can relax (sort of)and enjoy the holidays!

Speaking of holidays, I never gave much of a Thanksgiving report! We had a great time with Mima, Papa, Grammy, Adele,Cousins Joyce, Cliff, Claire, James, Emily and Abby! The food was fantastic and the kids had lots of fun playing together. Parker even gave little Abby a big smooch! Kissing is his new obsession. This past weekend he repeatedly kissed our 18 month old neighbor, Holland, to which she responded "Oh no, Oh no, Oh no."

Our ride home from Thanksgiving weekend, however, was not so fantastic. It took us over 8 hours, 3 of which Parker was VERY upset. The trip was especially trying since Chris, Parker, Lennox and I were all packed into my little ole Subaru and none of us had much personal space. We all felt better after a stop at Outback Steakhouse. Even Lennox, who got the scraps! Although I'm excited to go back to Mima and Papa's for Christmas, I am not excited at all about taking that drive again. Boo.

Parker can now walk across his room on his own!!! He continues to be a real clown. Deborah had a cold last week, and when he came home he kept picking up his wet wipes and pretending to blow his nose in them like he had seen her do with tissues all day. He also does this really funny fake laugh when he is around a group of people who are laughing about something. It is SO funny (I wish you could hear it because talking about it just doesn't do it justice.)

Well, I've got a busy Thursday and Friday at work, and then a roaming Christmas party to host on Saturday, so I'd better run. Have a great Thursday!

Love,
Laura

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

More fun pics...

Here are a few more random pics including: Parker's first taste of chocolate (fudge sundae sauce- he wouldn't give me the spoon back!), Parker in the waiting room at the Children's Hospital awaiting his x-ray results- as you can see, he wasn't worried, Parker in Mima and Papa's yard wearing his new fuzzy coat, and Parker passed out on his favorite pillow- Grandma. Enjoy! :)





Catching up to do!






Sorry for the lapse of posts... I don't even know what happened to November. I blinked and it was over. Here we are a couple of weeks out from Christmas, and I feel like Halloween was last week! Oh no! Let me start by catching you all up on some photos, and then later today I will write a little post about Thanksgiving in North Carolina. A couple are of Parker and his first birthday cake. Can you tell he was exhausted by the time we got to cake time? Thanks to Mima for getting these pictures off of my camera and into the hands of friends and family!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Parker's First Haircut!

After many subtle suggestions from friends and acquaintances, I finally admitted to myself that it was time for Parker to shed his adorable little mullet and get a trim. After obsessing and agonizing over the idea of cutting Parker's hair (every hair was perfect already, of course!), I went ahead and trimmed it up a little in the back and over his ears on Friday. I saved the tiny pile of hair in an envelope, as every good mother does, and I'll have to say, it looks pretty darn cute. For my first mommy-haircut, I think I did a pretty good job.

I'm also proud/relieved to let you know that Parker is once again toddling around, taking more steps every day. This means I didn't break him permanently when we fell down, so I can stop worrying about getting the worst-mommy-of-the-year award and lumps of coal in my stocking. Whew!

More than anything, Parker is talking, talking, talking and kissing, kissing, kissing! He wakes up every morning and gives me and Chris multitudes of kisses on our lips, each time proclaiming, "Tiss, tiss." He also loves to kiss the cats, dog, stuffed animals, and anything else that strikes his fancy. Here are some other words he's using frequently these days:

-Apple (one of his favorite foods- he likes to carry an apple around with him most of the time).
-Juice
-Dog
-Cat
-Hat (He LOVES hats and thinks that anything he puts on his head is a "hat," including tissue, socks, pants, and toys.)
-Chicken (He doesn't say this word clearly, but when he eats it he always says something that sounds like "gaken")
-Sock
-Shoe
-Mama
-Dada
-Emma (his friend)
-No (uh oh- we just heard this one for the first time this week!)
-OOh ooh, ah ah (when asked "What does a monkey say?)
-hiss hiss (when asked what does a snake say?)

I know there are others that I'm not thinking of right now...he's quite a little chatter box! I'll update again soon with stories of our Thanksgiving weekend at Mima and Papa's in North Carolina!

Love,
Proud Mama Laura

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Welcome Dean Andrew Kennedy!

I just realized I didn't make a post about the birth of the son of Parker's godparents! Andy and Anna's son, Dean Andrew Kennedy, was born on Sunday evening at his home in High Point, North Carolina. His brave mommy went through the entire labor and delivery at home with the assistance of two midwives, and produced one super handsome little 7lb 5oz baby boy! We are SO excited about this new member of our honorary family and can't wait to meet him next week! Parker is thrilled that he is going to have a new buddy to play with very soon! If these two are anything like their daddies were, we'll have to keep an eye on them every second! :) Look out world, here comes another Kennedy/Nicholson duo!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Back on our feet...

I'm happy to report that Parker is doing much better, and although he isn't 100% back up to speed, he is using his right leg and foot much more than he was even a few days ago. It has been a long week and a half, but I'm finally allowing myself to take a deep breath about the whole thing. We'll still keep a close eye on him and make sure he reaches a full recovery, but for now, I feel confident that he'll be toddeling around sooner rather than later. Thank you so much to those of you who have kept Peanut in your thoughts and prayers and who have sent well wishes. We are so lucky to have a great network of family and friends to support us!

I'm drudging through the mid-weeks of my second on-line class, recovering from a cold, and trying to fit in a little mental health time. I was really feeling pretty down in the dumps last week and was questioning whether I can continue spinning as many plates as I have been, i.e. work, baby, commute, AND school. I think it was just one of those moments of feeling overwhelmed, and I've decided to just keep plugging away knowing that in 2 years I'll be done with the school portion. If it gets too hard, I can always make a change later. I have to stay strong and just take it one thing at a time. It's hard not to feel like I'm falling short as a wife/mother when I see giant piles of laundry on the dining table that I couldn't put away because I had homework and then felt exhausted and went right to bed, or when I drive through and get cheeseburgers for Chris and I to eat for dinner because we haven't fit in grocery shopping to our weekly schedule. I hope that Parker remembers when he grows up that his Mommy worked really hard to make sure that he had everything he needed and not that his house was occasionally a disaster zone. Sigh.

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend, and some time to put away all that laundry!:)

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Our big fall...

On Friday evening Chris and I had some friends over to the house to play Cranium. It was a fun filled evening until I walked out onto the back deck holding Parker, and my feet slipped on the wet wood and we fell flat on the deck...hard. Of course Parker was terrified (as was I), but he stopped crying after a minute or two and after looking him over and finding no apparent injury, we put him to bed. In the morning, he woke up cheery as always, but when we put him on the floor, he would not pull up to standing. When we tried to put both of his feet on the floor to "walk" him like we often do, he wouldn't place his right foot on the floor. Panic suddenly rushed through me when I realized something was wrong. My baby was hurt!!! Chris called our pediatrician and we went straight to our local Urgent Care for x-rays. They took a couple of his foot and didn't find anything. With directions to give hime Tylenol every 4 hours, we went home. I was so upset all I could do was cry. The thought of something being wrong with Parker was making me crazy! On Sunday there was not a lot of improvement, so I decided to take him to our pediatrician on Monday. They sent us straight to the Children's Hospital of Atlanta for more extensive x-rays. Parker was not at all happy about this process and cried harder than ever while we all held him down. It was heartbreaking! Of course as soon as they were done he was happy again and wanting to touch everything in the office. Parker's x-rays were negative for breaks and fractures, which is great, but no one has really been able to tell me what IS going on. They said to bring him back on Friday if he is still not bearing weight on his leg. I am SO WORRIED and so distrought over this whole thing I can hardly function properly. I will only feel better when Parker is back on his feet and back to his usual activities. Please help us pray for Parker's fast recovery, not only for his sake, but for the sake of his worried sick Mama!

Thursday, November 6, 2008

More Teeth!

Just a quick update to say that in addition to walking for his first birthday, Parker has also decided to cut 4 new teeth all at once. Poor little fellow! He had a miserable drive home from work yesterday with a sore mouth and no Grandma to keep him company in the back seat! Those crockedile tears break my heart!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Our little Etrade baby

I forgot to mention that Parker is a celebrity impersonator. We have had MANY people come up to us and ask if Parker is the Etrade baby. I just watched the commercial again, and can totally see why. I told you Parker was an early talker!

I don't know how to imbed the video, so just go to this link to view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdfvWAp5GUw


Change for America!





When I'm writing in my blog, I often think about Parker looking back through my writings about his (our) life at some point long down the road, when he is an adult wondering what life was like when he was little. Today, I feel it is important to make note of the significant event that has occured in the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. No matter what your political standpoint, it is undeniable that this election will be one that stands out in history and marks a paradigm shift for our nation. I feel proud to have been part of this change.

On a different note, Mima has sent us some pictures from Parker's party day. You'll see that Grandpa and I carved some pumpkins, and I looked super silly in my pirate get-up. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election day and other updates...

I got up early this morning and placed my vote! It felt good to know I had done my part towards electing the candidate I believe will provide the best future America for my family to live in. I'm in the mood for change!

Parker's party this weekend was a big success. He was his wonderful cheery self, and many friends and family came to help him celebrate his big #1! We had fun dressing up as Pirates and helping Parker open lots of great gifts! He wasn't sure quite what to do with his cake, but he got a couple of bites of frosting in and then threw the rest on the floor. :)

Grandma and Grandpa have had a fun visit and have gotten in lots of quality Peanut time. Parker likes to fall asleep on Grandma and take naps with her. He likes to listen to Grandpa play the banjo! They brought him a super cute pair of walking shoes with little three eyed monsters on them! More walking to come!

Mima made us a WONDERFUL scrapbook of Parker's first year. She had pictures we hadn't even seen yet and put them together beautifully in a cute little book. Thanks you Mima for such a considerate gift. We will treasure it always! xoxoxo

Today I got the exciting news that my cousin Jake is moving from New Mexico to Atlanta! It will be fun to have some family in town and I'm looking forward to helping him get to know the city. It's hard to believe I've been here for over 3 years now! How time flies.

Well, that's it for now. I need to enjoy my last day with my mom and dad before they head back to OR.

Love,
Laura

Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Birthday Miracle!

Parker turned one year old today as all of you know. Do you know what else he did? TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS!!!! Can you believe it? We went to have lunch with Daddy at work so my parents could see the Turner Campus and Cartoon Network. We were in his work area and Parker stood up and took three or four steps to get over to Chris!!! He was so nonchalant, you would think he did it all the time! It looks like he was just waiting for the perfect moment to showcase his new skill. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed and focused around preparing for the big party on Saturday. We've got our pirate hats and we're ready for a Parrrrrrty!

Happy Birthday my sweet baby Peanut. You are the light of my life and I could not possibly be more proud of the wonderful little person you are becoming and already are. I love you so much and always will. xoxoxo Mommy

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Mima's visit




Mima came in to town last weekend to help us prepare for Parker's birthday party! Parker spent his first whole day with her while I went to work, and they both had a great time! She helped us get the house in shape and entertained Peanut while I got some school work done.

As she always does, Mima took some great pictures. I'll write more on Sunday after Parker's birthday party has happened and update those of you who can't come on how it went. I can't believe tomorrow is his birthday- ONE year old already!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sorry... I fell off the Blog Wagon!

Life has been really busy lately, and blogging fell off my list for a few weeks. Sorry for the lapse of information! :) We are all alive and kicking! In fact, a very special little Peanut is about to have his very first birthday party!!! In spite of the fact that I am having a bit of a personal crisis over the realization that my tiny baby boy is already a whole year old, we are throwing him a costume party at the house and have invited family and friends to come help us celebrate. To those of you who live far away, we will miss you and wish you could join us!

Chris, Parker and I are going to be a band of pirates, Grandma is going to be a French painter (as she will be painting faces), Grandpa is going to be a German Band man, and Mima and Papa have a funny surprise costume. We'll have games, food, and of course, a cake for Peanut to eat/play with/dive into or whatever he should choose to do with it. I have a lot of planning and orchestration to accomplish between now and then, but we'll pull it off somehow.

I finished my first online class last week with a 92%. Not too shabby! I start my next class this Wednesday. I wish I had a little more time to gather my thoughts before I start class #2, but I should survive. I've been in a little funk the past couple of weeks because I have so many commitments and not a lot of time to just relax. It scares me because I think that is just how life is going to be from here on out. I will always be a little overwhelmed, a little under-rested, and feel a little like a chicken with my head cut off. It's this crazy thing we call life!

Parker has become such a little boy. He is so expressive, funny, adventurous, and sweet. What a lucky Mom I am. I just hope I don't blink and realize he's graduating high school. The pace of this whole thing is really scary, and frankly, a little sad. I'm so happy for Parker that he is learning and growing and developing, but I will miss that sweet little bundle that I brought home from the hospital what feels like days ago. Sigh... (Ok- I'm actually getting teary, so I better get to work).

Love,
Laura

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Updates...

I realized this morning that I have a number of things on which to update my loyal blog readers. (LOL- :)) Here we go:

1. Atlanta gas crisis: The city has essentially been out of gas for 3 whole weeks. There have been fights at gas stations, cars abandoned on the side of the road, hour long waits at stations that have gas, and people unable to go into work. Rumor has it that today more stations are going to be receiving gas deliveries, so I believe the end is near.

2. Teeth: I have them now, and they look pretty good. They didn't turn me into a supermodel as I had hoped, but they look natural and feel good in my mouth. Good enough.

3. School: Things are going well. You read about the midterm, and other than that it is mostly a lot of busy work. I have only two and a half weeks left in this class, and I'm pretty sure I'll come through with an 'A' which makes me happy.

4. Parker: As always, Parker is wonderful and a constant joy. He is really starting to "talk" more, and has picked up some new words. His vocabulary includes:

-Dada
-Mama
-Kitty
-Juice (or something that sounds a lot like it)
-What is this? (or something that sounds a lot like it)
-I don't know (or something that sounds a lot like it)

He has the most delightful sense of humor and is the highlight of my day, every day. Can you believe in one month our Peanut will be one year old???? It is really blowing my mind.

Let me know if there are other topics I've left hanging. Basically, things are good, I'm really busy, and life is going by at a slightly disconcerting rate. Didn't I just give birth, like, last month?

Happy Wednesday.

-L

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Are you kidding me???

I just took my midterm. I spent about 20 hours preparing for it. No kidding. The professor said it would take 2 hours. It was 20 multiple choice questions long and was open book. No, I'm not kidding. It took me 11 minutes. WHAT?

Am I complainging? Of course not. Would I like to have my weekend back? Absolutely!

Sigh...

Monday, September 22, 2008

Got Gas?

I have only a moment or two to post, but wanted to share the weird news that Atlanta has run out of gas. We went to 14 gas stations this weekend searching for gas, before Chris finally was able to get 8 gallons for $51.00 before that pump ran out. Crazy! One of our students said earlier today that she couldn't find gas here in Gainesville, either. I've got enough gas to drive home, but I'm kind of worried that I won't be able to drive to work tomorrow! What a weird problem to have.

This weekend was kind of annoying. I spent the whole weekend studying for a 2 hour mid-term I was set to take on Sunday, and then the professor didn't post the link to the test! Grrr. Now I have to take it either tonight or tomorrow night when I get home from work. That upsets me because I'm always tired and busy when I get home from work! On the other hand, Parker got to spend lots of nice quality time with his Daddy this weekend. They went out and watched football and went to a street parade and went grocery shopping. What a great Dada little P has!

One good thing about my weekend was that I spoke on the phone with my old friend, Jessa, who I haven't talked to for 10 years. She is expecting a baby, so we had lots to chat about. It really made my day to talk to an old friend, and we fell easily into conversation like not much time had passed at all. So funny to think that we used to sit around writing song lyrics back and forth in class and talking about our first boyfriends, and here we are all grown up having babies! When did I grow up? Weird!

Ok- quitting time!

Pray I find gas.

Oh, and PS... I get my new teeth this Thursday. YES!

Monday, September 15, 2008

I miss Oregon...tear!


I was looking at the Facebook page of one of the students from my school who moved to Oregon this summer. She posted pictures from her new home in Ashland, and it really made me miss my home state. :( I just had to post the pic b/c it is so beautiful. I will never forget you, gorgeous Oregon!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

I love strawberries!


Cute Bunny Teeth



At least Parker looks cute with bunny teeth. :)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Rabbit Teeth

I had my dentist's appointment today and it was horrifying. I was there for 3 hours having chunks of old crown sawed/drilled/yanked off, sitting around looking like a gremlin with pointy little tooth nubs, and then getting "temporaries" installed. I think a better word would be gigantic glowing bunny teeth. I look like $&#*@* Rodger Rabbit, and of course, I have a wedding to attend this weekend where I will see a bunch of people I know. I feel like crying. To make matters worse, I can't even touch the rest of my teeth together, so I guess chewing is out of the question for the next 2 weeks as well. At least I will by a skinny rabbit. :(

This past week Chris and I took a few days off of work to go up to North Carolina. Chris was supposed to go on a big fishing trip off the coast, but it got cancelled because of Hurricane Ike. We had a lot of fun anyway spending time with Grammy, Mima, Papa, Andy, Anna, and Chris' cousin Joyce and her two kids. All was well until Chris pointed out the one of the tires on our little Subaru was completely bare. I guess the alignment was off very badly and ruined the tires. All of them. We got stuck in South Carolina on Sunday night and had to drive back on Monday, when Chris and I were both supposed to be back at work. 4 new tires and a newly aligned car later, we finally made it back home. Whew! The trip was so much fun, but it's too bad it had to end on such an annoying note.

Needless to say, my nerves are kind of fried. I'll write a nicer post later in the week to tell you all about the wonderful things Peanut is doing these days. For now, I'm going to hop-hop-hop out the door before anyone else sees me.

Laura Longtooth

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

All worked up about nothing.

I went to the dentist today expecting to go through the horrifying experience of having my front teeth removed (the crowns, anyway) and replaced with temporary veneers to wear until my new crowns were ready. I was so nervous/anxious/terrified that I couldn't even eat lunch. I went to the dentists office and sat in the chair waiting, hands shaking and sweating. I met with the dentist, and she said that she'd like me to do 2 more weeks of bleaching before they move forward. You'd think I would be relieved, but it was almost a let down not having something done after all of my worry! I think I wore myself out, because I really feel like I need a nap now.

But, on a better note, the dentist was really nice and seems really committed to making sure my teeth will look fabulous, bright, and shiny when they're done. That does make me feel better. So, I'll put my heeby-jeebies on hold for 2 weeks and just keep on bleachin!

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth, my two front teeth...."

-

Monday, August 25, 2008

Whew!

By the way, I had a very relaxing, do absolutely nothing weekend, and feel so much better because of it. Mission accomplished.

Tomorrow is my first major dental appointment- Yikes. Will update on how that goes.

Little Chris!



Chris' mom sent me this picture of Chris when he was about Parker's age. How hilarious! I can really see now that Parker is a good mix of both of us. I think I'll try and scan a photo of myself at this age as well so you can compare the two.

Friday, August 22, 2008

I can see the light!

My hell week is nearly over, and of course I will finish it with a bang by working late into the evening tonight, and returning home at 10pm. Peanut will stay late at Deborah's house, and be entertained by Emma and the cats. Chris left this morning to New York city, where he will DJ all weekend. Lucky him! The good news is that I have been excused from having to work tomorrow, for which I am SO thankful! I think I may just lie on the carpet all weekend and let Parker use me as a jungle gym.

Peanut is doing great. He's not walking yet- still cruising around on the furniture and crawling after me wherever I go. So sweet. He has hit a really fun stage where he is very interactive and really funny. I think he is going to be a little clown. He's very into tweaking noses this week. He thinks it's really funny to pinch my nose and make me squeal. He's got 4 teeth now, and has the funniest little beaver smile. Love it.

Believe it or not, I bought my books to start my masters program next week. (Actually, the undergraduate pre-requisite marketing course I need to start my Masters, but whatever...). I started flipping through the pages of my $200 text book (gasp) last night, and actually got really excited about being back in school. I got that excited rush I used to get at the beginning of each school year, before the disenchantment sets in and you realize how much work you're in for. For now though, it feels good to be doing something just for me.

Hopefully my next post will be letting you know that I feel rested and rejuvinated after a relaxing weekend. :)

10 hours til the weekend...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

From a couple of months ago...


A picture of Parker's first time swinging. I just found this photo on our neighbor's Facebook page from their daughter's birthday party. Parker had so much fun swinging! Weeeee!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Love my Hubby...

I just wanted to take a moment to say that I have the sweetest husband ever. He wrote me the most loving, complimentary email this morning and made my whole week. Thanks, Honey! No matter what I have to face at work this week, I can feel content and happy that I have such a wonderful family to come home to. xoxoxo

Monday, August 18, 2008

Too cute.


Move-in day and Orientation for new students was this weekend, and I just had to post this super-cute picture of two of my student leaders with our school mascot, the Golden Tiger.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Half... Way... There...

My super long, exhausting, complicated, demanding, everlasting week is half way over, and I'm feeling good about that. Some of the student leaders I manage at work are back at school and preparing for the arrival of our new students tomorrow. Their energy and enthusiasm is helping me stay upbeat, despite having to work all weekend.

My dentist's appointment went ok. My tooth isn't too badly broken, but they said that because my crowns are 11 years old, it really is time to replace them. The good news is that they are going to look a lot better and more natural than they do now. The bad news is that insurance only covers 50%, and the remaining balance is $1,400. Ouch. At lease this is a once every 10-15 year deal. I'm looking forward to my new smile.

Parker is having a good week, and despite being very busy, I've still been able to spend a good bit of time with him. He is so much fun. I fall in love with him every day.

Chris has been really sweet and supportive this week, as he knows I have tons going on. Parker has been really "Daddy attached" lately, which I know makes him feel good. He has said "Dada" to Chris many times over the past few weeks, and really seems to know what he's saying. He also makes a sound that sounds a lot like "kitty kitty" when he sees the cat sometimes. So cute!

Ok- I've got to run over and visit P, but wanted to tell you that things are fine, and I haven't lost my mind yet. Actually, it's been fun having some of the students back in the building. Hope you all have a great weekend!

Love,
Laura

Monday, August 11, 2008

Longest week ever...

Last week was pretty much crappy start to finish. Parker got a fever of 102 on Monday evening and I stayed home with the poor, miserable little guy on Tuesday. The doc said he probably just had a bug and to keep him hydrated. I went back to work Wednesday and had parents of students calling to complain about our new payment system, the raise in tution, lack of financial aid, etc. Since the economy is so bad, we're losing students whose families are reconsidering a $26,000 yearly investment in their daughter's high school education. This is no bueno in my department.

Friday was the only fun day of the week. We went to our friends Jacy and Jared's house to watch the Olympic opening ceremonies. Wow. It was amazing. We also ate our own version of Chinese food (Rachel Ray's chinese chicken meatballs and spaghetti) and pot stickers and egg rolls.

Saturday morning we went out to breakfast and in the middle of the meal I broke off part of one of my front teeth. I have had porcelain crowns on my front teeth since I broke them off in 4th grade. I may have to have them both replaced because they are nearly impossible to patch. Crud! Later that day I started to feel really bad, and ended up with the same high fever that Parker had earlier in the week. Now I have a super sore throat, and guess what?, this is the week I get to work all 7 days! Joy!

I'm now in survival mode... I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Monday...already?

It seems that our weekend was over in the blink of an eye. So was that brief period of time that we had a tiny baby! Parker is now 9 months old, is growing out of his cute baby-pudge, is crawling, standing up, cruising, climbing stairs, growing teeth, and beginning to form words. I look at him and marvel...where did this little boy come from?

This weekend Chris, Parker and I went to a new community pool that opened in our neighborhood. It has a "beach entry" for wee ones like Parker, and some fun fountains to play in. Parker, as always, was thrilled to be in the water, and was even more excited to "baby watch" as there were lots of other little ones there. Later that day we went on a trek to find the nearest Red Robin restaurant. I was craving one of their Bonzai Burgers and some strawberry lemonade! We drove forever, but had a great time once we got there. It is so much fun now that Parker is eating some table food and can try little bites of what we're eating. He loved bits of cheeseburger, blueberries, graham crackers and is crazy about strawberry yogurt!

Ok, well, I've got tons to do at work. Ugh! Ta ta for now!

Monday, July 28, 2008

What a relief! (literally)

Well, Parker is doing much better now and his daily supplement is doing just what it should. Whew! He is sleeping better and isn't suffering from the constant tummy aches he was having before. He is also "cruising" on the furniture, crawling at an ever increasing speed, and getting into everything! He had a weird look on his face on Friday night and he stuck out his tongue with a dried up leaf on it. Eew!

Chris spent a lot of time playing with us this weekend, which was so much fun. We went to the park (despite the fact that it was a million degrees and soggy humid) and Daddy pushed Parker in the baby swing and went down a few different slides with him. Parker loved it. I can't wait until it cools off some and we can spend more than 25 minutes there before we wimp out and retreat to the AC.

Parker also discovered this weekend that he thinks sneezing is hilarious. Chris had a sneezing fit and Parker giggled. Then Chris performed a few more pretend sneezes and Parker started laughing hysterically. He has the best sense of humor. He also thinks chasing the dog around the house in Mommy's arms is a riot. What a fun age he is right now.

I don't know if a drum roll is in order, but we think Parker may have said his first intentional word last night. Chris had been saying "Dada" to him all weekend, and last night when he was changing Parker's diaper, Parker looked at him and clearly said "Dada." Why is it Dad's always win out on that one? Anyway, we're excited that we might have a little talker soon, although I will miss the crazy little language he speaks in now when he learns "real words." :) He is also starting to wave "bye bye" which is super cute.

Hope everybody is having a great Monday!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Update #2

Parker Pooped!!! Sadly, he did also throw up, but at least he pooped. Hopefully now that he's on his medicine, next time will be easier. Thank you for sending your special poo poo prayers. They worked. :)

Update

I feel better today and am not so stressed... although there still has been no relief for poor Peanut. Pray for poo poo.

-L

Monday, July 21, 2008

Plugged Up.

Ever since Parker started eating "real" food, he has been pooping only 1-2 times a week. I called his nurse line to see if I should be worried, and they told me to start giving him prunes and apple juice. I did.... to no avail. So then, a few weeks ago, Parker started throwing up every time he pooped. He didn't get upset when it happened, but naturally, it was very concerning to me. We went to the doctor on Friday and they said some babies just take longer to adjust to digesting food, and prescribed Miralax once daily in his juice. 4 days later, we're still waiting for a result. There's nothing worse than feeling like there could be something wrong with your darling baby.

I've been stressed and high strung lately already, for a variety of reasons: job changes for Chris, travel, company, Chris traveling, my job demands, etc., and worrying about Parker and his health coupled with the sleep loss that is coming along with his tummy aches has put me in a funk. I feel exhausted and emotional. Hopefully it is just today that it is really getting to me and it will pass. I think a good cry might also be in order. I'm heading up on a couple of the busiest work weeks I have all year where I will be working 8+ days in a row. Thinking about it makes my blood pressure go up, but after those days are over I will be able to relax and recoup a little.

I would feel so much better if I could just go on a walk a few days a week, which is something I love to do and is great at improving my perspective, but it has been so $&*#*@ hot here lately I would die of a heat stroke if I tried to walk, let alone taking Parker along with me in his stroller. Bah! Ok, Thanks for listening to my rant. I (obviously) am having an off day and appreciate those of you who care to read my ramblings. :)

Don't worry... I'll be better tomorrow. :)

Love,
Looney Laura

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

More pics...





Happy Birthday, Mima!!






Mima Beth came to town this past weekend and we had such a nice visit. She arrived Thursday, Chris cooked us a delicious dinner, and on Friday Mima helped with Parker while I worked from home. On Saturday we went to Lowes and I got all of the supplies I needed to sand, prime, and paint our coffee table, which I did, but it was a lot more work than I thought it would be. Whew! On Sunday we took Mima out for a celebratory birthday dinner since her birthday was yesterday. What a nice weekend!

As always, Mima took lots of pictures and sent them to us yesterday! Hooray! As you can see, we had lots of fun with our Peanut!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Parker's first 4th of July!






This past weekend we spent the 4th of July with friends up at Lake Blue Ridge in Georgia near the Tennessee border. We stayed at a really cute cabin with 10 other people, ate lots of good food, played in the lake, and visited with friends. Here are some photos!

For New Moms to Be...

I have a few friends who are expecting babies right now, and one of them asked me for some advice on what to register for. Now, as you know, I'm no expert. I've only had one baby and he's only 8 months old, but here was what I came up with. If you have a baby and have things to add to this, or have different thoughts on various products, please comment so my other expecting friends can benefit from your experiences! Parker may not have liked something that your baby really enjoyed! :)

1. Diapers- are you planning to do disposable or cloth diapers?
We have only done disposable diapers mostly because we are a super busy working family and just couldn't imagine either laundering cloth diapers or being organized enough to manage a diaper service routine. If you want to be as earth friendly as possible and have time/energy to make it happen, go for cloth. I will note, however, that I read in one of my books that the amount of water used in laundering diapers may be as damaging as the waste created by disposables. Not sure how credible that is. If you choose disposable, pick a diaper receptacle you like to register for. Let people know exactly what kind of diapers you want (we really liked Pampers Swaddlers- ask for size 1 and up. If you have a bigger baby they won’t fit in NB size for long). If you have a small/average baby, you can buy the number of NB size w/ gift cards.
2. Feeding- are you planning to bottle feed or breast feed?
If planning to formula feed, even partially, ask for gift cards to places that sell formula. This is one of the most expensive baby items! You won’t know which formula is a best fit for your baby until you try a couple, but ask your doc for some suggestions. When we supplement we use Enfamil Lipil. Parker likes it, but it does give him more gas than breast milk. Also pick a bottle set to register for (we use Avent, and I know a number of people who swear by Dr. Brown’s).
If planning to try and breast feed, I would recommend waiting to buy an expensive pump. I know a few moms who planned on breast feeding, bought a $200 pump, and then it didn’t work out for some reason. They are easy enough to pick up once you know that feeding is going to work for you.
*Of course I have to include a plug encouraging you to breast feed! It is such a fulfilling experience and is great for baby! 

3. Where is baby going to sleep?
I knew I wanted Parker to be in the same room with us for the first few months, so we wanted the cuddle nest and a pack’n’play to have in our room. This is totally up to your parenting preferences. Some families choose to put baby in the crib from day one, which would be convenient for you since your room is right across the way. I would do a lot of reading about what your options are and what feels like a fit for you. I feel like my parenting style is a very close fit with the “attachment parenting model: Dr. Sears,” but there are lots of other books out there. Co-sleeping is not for everybody, but once again, we have definitely enjoyed the special bonding time it allows. 

4. Car seats/etc.-
-I don’t know that I would get a “travel system” again. I would get a nice, lightweight*, carseat and one of those handy metal frame buggies you can plop it into for the first 8 months when you need to. Make sure your carseat can fit into a grocery cart child seat! Mine weighs a ton and would not fit there so it was impossible to grocery shop! Then, pick a nice stroller to use from 6 months on with the following features: reclining seat, baby tray with space for sippy cup and cheerios, mommy tray with place for water bottle and keys, canopy. I haven’t found the perfect stroller with these features that will fold up and fit in a car trunk, but I’m sure its out there!  Definitely go on line and read customer ratings before buying anything.
-We LOVE our Britax roundabout convertible carseat. We began using this when Parker outgrew his infant seat. You could, technically, just use it from the beginning, but you couldn’t tote it around like an infant seat, which comes in pretty handy. I would definitely recommend this brand for the future even though it is more expensive. They are very well made and comfortable for baby.


Other things we like:

Evenflo Exersaucer- very entertaining and a good way to keep him busy in one spot while making dinner or doing laundry!
Canus Goats Milk baby products- very soothing on the skin and smell amazing!
Door Frame bouncer- endless entertainment for baby and parents!
Fisher Price portable booster seat- this is great when you are traveling to a place without a high chair. You could even use it on a picnic. Parker was able to use it starting at 6 months and it straps onto any normal kitchen chair and is only about $25.00. Great for grandma and grandpa’s house!

Those are the main areas, now, I can tell you a few things we didn’t use (and you’re welcome to them!):
1. Tummy Time mats…. Babies can have tummy time anywhere and aren’t old enough to care about the mat when they need to be doing “tummy time”.
2. Exercise mats with things that hang down to play with…. Once again, Parker usually just wanted to play on a blanket with toys he could really get a hold of. He did, however, like to watch a mobile in the crib.
3. Bumbo seat- some people swear by these, but for the price, I didn’t think it was all that great. At first he just sort of slumped over in it, and by the time he fit it better it just annoyed him to be so immobilized.
4. Baby Bjorn carrier- For heavens sake don’t spend $100 on one of these things. The other brands do exactly the same thing and you can find them anywhere for around $25.00!

I’m sure I’ll think of more later, but this is a start! 

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

So Much News!!!

Well, I have 9 minutes before I need to head over to pick up Peanut, so I'll see how efficiently I can cram all of our news into one quick blog. My trip to Oregon was fun, fast, not particularly relaxing, but worth the while. Parker did quite well on the plane minus a few little outbursts because of hurty ears, but to mommy it felt like we were on the plane for about 30 hours instead of 6. We got into Portland around 11 pm on Tuesday and spent the next day visiting with family, shopping, and driving. On Wednesday we got the VERY EXCITING NEWS that Chris had been offered a job at Cartoon Network, which he happily accepted. As he said over the phone "That was great: I got a three week vacation, a three thousand dollar raise, and a job I like better!" Not too shabby!

On Friday my parents, peanut and I went to the Roseburg Arts Festival and chatted with some local artists that my parents know from the community. That was fun since I have been going to that event since I was Parker's age! I bought a couple of pretty photographs to bring home.

On Saturday we had a party for some of our family friends to come over and meet Parker. He met Jan and Dick, Virginia (our neighbor), Francis Sohn, Manya, Judy, and got to see auntie Leah again. That night we went out to eat with the Mullers (Leah's fam) at my favorite Chinese resteraunt. Yummy!

Uh oh.... two minutes to go.... Ok- So we drove up early Sunday, saw Aunt Kathy, uncle Paul, and my cousin Kristin and her husband Mark and their two cute kiddos, Cassie and Luke. Then we headed over to Auntie April's house and visited with her and Auntie Fletcher for a few hours. We had a nice dinner with my folks and the aunties and the next morning were back on the plane! Whew. I think that's about it.
Gotta run!

Love,
L

Monday, June 23, 2008

Cheerios, lint, and dog food...

Parker started eating Cheerios last week, and then little lint balls he found on the floor, and then dog food Lennox dribbled onto the carpet. Oh my, how my little Peanut is growing up! He is also crawling the speed of light, pulling up to a standing position on anything he can get a hold of (including the dog), and has begun complaining if you take something away from him (magazine he is eating, ball point pen he found, giant ball of cat hair the cat kicked off...).

Things are still a little stressful for us right now, but at least one thing got sorted out. Chris' tax lady (our new personal hero) somehow got things straightened out with the IRS and we got our tax return. Although Chris may still have identity theft issues in the future b/c his SS card was stolen a few years ago, this was unrelated and easy to fix. Thank Goodness!!!!

Our fingers are still crossed for Chris and his job search. He got a very frustrating call last week from Cartoon Network letting him know that he was the candidate they had selected to hire for the position to which he applied, but the same day the paperwork was submitted to finalize the offer, the company underwent a hiring freeze. We still don't know if they can squeak him in, or if that opportunity has now been eliminated. The HR lady also warned Chris that if he is given the position and the branch undergoes cut-backs, his position as a new employee would be the first to go. Wow, that's encouraging. Chris will still be receiving severance for a couple of months, so we're not in any immediate danger, but I can't help but feeling a little nervous anyway. He does have a couple of other options on the horizon though, so I just have to trust that things will work out as they should, as they always do.

So, on a lighter and most fabulous note, I got the very exciting news today that my long lost friend, Jessa, is expecting a baby!!!! CONGRATULATIONS John and Jessa on the great news! Jessa and I were very close friends in junior high before she and her mom moved down to the Palm Desert California. I visited there once but we lost track of eachother after we headed into high school and college. We have re-connected over the net and have been keeping up with one another via one another's blog. (Ah, the age of the internet...) Anyway, I am overjoyed about their news. Hooray, hoorah, yipee! There is truly nothing better in the whole wide world. :)

As you know, tomorrow I head to Oregon. I'm almost packed, and am left now to let my anxiety build about a cross country plane ride with an almost 8 month old (can he possibly be 8 months...??? GASP!) I'm sure it will be ok, but please think calm, relaxing thoughts for me tomorrow evening. :)

Ok- lots to do, lots to do. Will update from Oregon.

LOVE,
L

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Girls just want to have fun!

You will never guess what I ended up doing last night. Yesterday afternoon my friend, Christi, called me and said "I have a surprise for you." She had gotten her hands on some tickets to see Cindy Lauper at this neat little Ampitheater in Atlanta, and invited me to join her! I picked up Parker a little early, dropped him off with Daddy, and flew to the concert venue. The concert was part of the "True Colors Tour" which, obviously, is geared around the gay community (which is HUGE in Atlanta). It was quite a lively and interesting croud, and we had so much fun dancing and listening to great '80s music. The B-52's played, Cindy Lauper played, and Rosie O'Donnel and that guy Carson from Queer Eye For the Straight Guy did some stand up, which really was funny. Chastain Ampitheatre is a really cool venue b/c you get seats and a table, so you can bring a picnic to eat while you watch the show. Christi, MaryBeth and I had some great food to nibble and shared a bottle of wine. I was really overdue for a fun, stress-free girls night, and I feel so rejuvinated today even though I didn't get a lot of sleep. Fun times! :)

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Oregon bound!


I just realized that in all of the hustle and bustle of the past few weeks I never mentioned that I will be coming home to Oregon for a week this month. Parker and I are flying to Portland on June 24th and will fly back to ATL on the 30th. We will be spending the week in the Burg with Gramma and Granpa, enjoying some rest and relaxation. I'm a little nervous about flying that far with the Peanut all by myself, but I'm sure he'll be a trooper.

I was just thinking back to what I was doing a year ago, and realized that I made a trip to Oregon at almost the exact same time to attend my baby shower. My friend Tessa must have read my mind, because today she sent me this picture that she took at the shower. I looked at this picture and could not believe that just a year ago I was not yet truly a mother, and today it is so much of who I am. Amazing how a year (even a moment) can change us.

I don't have any more updates about our many complicated scenarios, but will keep you posted. Keep sending those good thoughts our way!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Ok, this is getting ridiculous...

Someone please blow away the dark cloud that has settled over our house, because this is getting ridiculous! The IRS called last week to let us know that we have been "Red flagged" because Chris filed his taxes twice. Of course, Chris did not file twice, so we called our H & R Block folks to see what the deal was. Chris talked to the IRS and the tax lady, and apparently someone else filed under Chris' name with his social number. What does this mean? The identity theft that Chris has battled since 2005 has re-emerged in a big way, we won't get our much needed tax refund until who-knows-when, and we have one more thing to worry about! AAAAAAAAAaaaahhhhh!!!

If anyone knows how to deal with this type of thing or has any advice, please let me know. Chris is meeting with Tax Lady tomorrow and they are going to call the IRS together to see what needs to happen next. I'm hoping the info this moron provided on "his" tax paperwork will lead us right to his door so we can have him prosecuted. What a *@)!)#*$&) misery!!!

In the mean time, we're still waiting to hear back from a couple of the places Chris interviewed (fingers crossed!!!!!). It sure would have been nice to have that refund check so we could feel a little more secure right now, but hey, that would be just too easy, wouldn't it.

I would say it's about time for the Nicholson Family to have some super Good Luck!!! Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket... Will definitely be praying for an end to this unlucky streak we've been on. Don't worry, I do not forget how many blessings we have regardless of this rough patch. We have a caring and supportive family, the most beautiful, hilarious, and charismatic little boy alive, a roof over our heads and love for eachother. Ah, I feel better already just having listed those things.

Love,
So far evading a nervous breakdown Laura

Monday, June 9, 2008

Pets

On Friday Lennox went to the vet because he has chewed a giant hole in his back and neurotically chews on it all day long, every day. Gross. We thought it was just a hot spot and have been waiting for it to go away (for months) but it hasn't. We were worried he had some sort of tumor or skin disease or something, so we finally broke down and took him to the doc. Apparently he is just severely allergic to fleas, and any time he comes in contact with a flea his skin is going to erupt. We have been treating all the pets for fleas, but come on, now and again he's going to run into a flea. Super. Anyway, we came home with a couple of bottles of meds, and a dog with a giant lampshade around his neck. He has been walking around like a blind person, running into every thing, all weekend long.

Saturday was pretty low-key. It was about a million degrees and humid here, so we didn't leave the house much. We went grocery shopping and lounged around the house for most of the day. Parker is getting his second tooth and has been a little less chipper than usual. He's also had some constipation problems, which is really sad to watch! We're implementing some prunes into his daily diet. Poor little guy!

On Sunday we arranged to have our friends Jacy and Jared come over to watch Parker while we went out to dinner together, which we haven't done for ages. In preparation, we spent the whole day cleaning the house so that it would look nice while J & J were there. It was a big cleaning process, but it feels good to have the place back in order. Some time in the early afternoon I realized that I hadn't seen Marvin for a few hours. We looked high and low all over the house, and could not find him! Marvin has been looking punier than usualy lately, and I had a horrible feeling that he had crawled away somewhere and was not ok. We still hadn't found him when we went to dinner, so I worried about him the whole time in addition to worrying about whether Parker was ok or not. So much for a relaxing, romantic date! We did, at least, have a very nice dinner and bottle of wine.

When we got back, Parker had been upset, which made me sad, but he calmed down, ate, and passed out as soon as he had Mommy back. Jared and Chris went to the back deck to let Lennox out and suddenly Jared saw Marvin pop out from under the deck!!! He was out there all day long in temperatures nearing 100 degrees! What was he thinking!!! We have no idea how he escaped, but he scared the daylights out of me. He seemed very nonchalant about the whole thing. Little Booger.

So, that was the big weekend update. Chris had an interview last week at Cartoon Network and should hear back some time this week. Keep him in your thoughts, prayers, cross your fingers and anything else you can think of to do in hope that he gets an offer. This is a job he would really enjoy! :)

I'm super tired today, but wanted to keep you in the know.

Luv,
Laura

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A Tooth!

The first time we thought a tooth was coming in, it was a false alarm. This time Parker is teething for real! He has a tooth coming in that we can see and feel! Pretty soon he'll have one of those cute two teeth grins. :)

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Bye Bye!!!

Parker waved Bye Bye to me for the first time this morning when I dropped him off at Deborah's.... My little boy is growing up so fast... tear!

Monday, June 2, 2008




Oh, What a week!


Well, this week I have some fun news to share, and some not so fun news to share. My spider bite is looking much better, thank goodness, so I can scratch that off the list of things to worry about. We had back-to-back meetings last week at work, which means I had a voicemail full of people annoyed they couldn't reach me when I got back to my desk. Joy. And last but not least, we got the unfortunate news that Chris had been laid off, along with half of the employees at his company. Not to worry- we will be fine and he has already set up a bunch of interviews, but it was a little scary (for me at least... but then I worry about everything).

Beth "Mima" came to visit, which was so nice. She did a great job of lifting our spirits and Parker had a great time playing with her. As she always does, she took tons of great pictures, which I will post today. Parker is really crawling now and is getting faster and faster day by day. If I walk out of the room for a second while he is playing on the floor he starts to follow me. So sweet.

More news later...

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Cutie!



This is a cell phone pic, so not very clear. Sure is cute though! :)

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

My Little Swimmer!

Parker went swimming for the first time this Sunday in the pool at one of our friend's loft community. HE LOVED IT!!! We buttered him up in baby sunblock, got some swimmer diapers and swim trunks, put a hat on him, and even got him some super cute baby sunglasses! He was stylin! Chris got in the water with him and towed him around. Paker kicked his little feet and squealed and giggled the whole time. We have a little water baby! :)

On a less exciting note, I got a weird bug bite on Thursday, which turned out to be a poisonous spider bite. First it just got really swollen, but then opened up into a big dime-sized sore. I had to go to the urgent care place to get some meds. Yuck. It's looking better now, but will definitely leave a scar. Alas.

Today I'm back at work. I'm really, really tired today and my usual coffee shop is closed. How dare they!!! I'm going to have to go sniff out a cup somewhere else before I fall fast asleep on my keyboard.

TTFN-
Laura

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

One Big Day!

Today is not only our 2 year wedding anniversary and the day of Chris' job interview, it is also the day that Parker first pushed himself up to a sitting position all on his own! He even sat there for a while smiling and playing after he did it! Way to go Parker! He is also on the move and learning to crawl- he can get nearly anywhere he wants to be now, which is great for him, a little scary for us! He's not a power-crawler yet and is still working out the logistics, but I can tell we don't have much time left before we're chasing him around the house. Yikes!

Monday, May 19, 2008

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Stu!

My dad is celebrating his birthday today! We wish you a great, relaxing, and celebratory day, Dad! We love you!!!

Also, everybody think good thoughts for Chris tomorrow! He has an interview for a new job opportunity that would be a fun and exciting change. Tomorrow should be a lucky day to interview since it is also our 2 year wedding anniversary! WOW! How the time flies...

Love you, Chris! GOOD LUCK!!!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

I like this quote:

Albert Einstein - "There are two ways to live your life - one is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is a miracle."

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Gramma and Granpa meet Bill...


...Clinton that is... in Roseburg of all places!!! Most of you may not know that my first cousin, Hannah Richert, is Bill Clinton's personal assistant (no, not like Monica...). She works out of New York and has worked for the Clintons for many years now. Anyway, she called my dad two days ago to ask if he wanted to shake Bill's hand while he was campaigning for Hillary in my home town. Mom and Dad were personally introduced to Bill and got their picture taken! How about that! (*Uh oh, Mima and Papa- please don't disown us! :))

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

My First Mother's Day!

Sunday was such a nice, relaxing day for the Nicholson family! :) Chris made me a wonderful breakfast: a fritatta with basil from my herb garden, tiny tomatoes and cheese from Oregon :), sliced bananas and strawberries, and a biscuit! Yummy! Chris mowed the lawn and then we went out and got a new cell phone for me b/c my old one kept falling apart, and then we ate dinner at Noodle, a really yummy Thai noodle place. We came home, did some chores around the house, and got to bed nice and early! Ahhhh. Parker made me a mother's day card with Deborah with stamps of his cute little feet on the front! So sweet! I also got happy Mother's Day wishes from lots of my friends, which made me feel very special. Thank you, everyone!

A couple of weeks ago when my parents were in town, we got Parker's 6 month pictures taken. We got to see the proofs online yesterday, and they are soooooo cute! If you want to check them out, go to hnmphotography.com and click on clients, view proofs, and then select Nicholson. The password is parker. He is our little Gerber baby! ;)

Ta ta for now!
L

Thursday, May 8, 2008

So much to say, so little time!

Sorry to have fallen off the blog wagon for a moment- we have had a very, very busy week! Let me backtrack a bit and fill you in briefly on the past few weeks:

*My big Open House on April 26th went really really well and Parker and his Daddy had a great time hanging out for almost 8 whole hours! They went walking, took a nap, and played. This was the longest I have been away from Peanut, and I did just fine too! We're all growing up. :)

*May 1st: Parker had his 6 month check up at the doctor, and once again, was 50th percentile for height and weight- absolutely perfect! (16lb, 14oz, 26.5 inches:) The doc gave us the green light to try any baby food we want. Here are the results: Apples= good stuff... love 'em Sweet Potatoes= yummy! Ate almost the whole jar! Bananas= taste good, make tummy very upset! Peas= still not overly enthusiastic, but will eat them in a pinch.

*Physical milestones: Parker can sit up, roll all over the place, and is about to crawl. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth. He can also get up on his hands and feet with his bottom in the air. Very cute!

*Gramma and Granpa came to visit which was so much fun! We played games, got our picture taken together, went for walks, and ate lots of yummy food, and went shopping! Unfortunately, Parker was having some tummy trouble for the second half of their visit, but aside from that, we had a blast! Too bad the time went by so fast. :(

*Exciting News! Parker's Godparents and our good friends are expecting a baby! Congratulations Andy and Anna! We could not be more happy for you and can't wait to meet your little Kennedy Bean! :)

Ok- I feel at least kind of caught up now. Whew!

Up next: My first real mother's day! :)

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Parker is 6 months old Today!!!!

Happy 1/2 birthday, Peanut! I cannot believe how fast our first 6 months together (face to face, that is) have gone!!! You have brought more joy, happiness, and fulfillment to my life than I could have ever imagined. Every day you amaze me as much as the day you were born. What lucky parents we are. xoxoxo- Mama

P.S.- To celebrate your big day, Gramma and Granpa are arriving this evening for a visit. How exciting!!! :)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Happy Bloggiversary!

I just realized that a few days ago was my Blog's one year anniversary! I am so amazed that I have managed to keep it up for a whole year! I have tried so many times to keep a journal, and always give up after a few days. Somehow having an audience for my thoughts gives me more incentive to put my experiences down in words.

Well, today I cleaned up the most giant, explosive poo I have ever seen. Usually I try to spare you the dirty little details of parenthood, but today I just can't help but mention that I spent a good portion of an hour cleaning poo out of Parker's hair, armpits, bouncy seat, changing station cover, outfit, and laundry hamper. WOW. Eating foods has opened up a whole new world of diaper changing. Ok. That's all I'll say about that.

I just got done cleaning out our showers with my new 'Green Works' cleaner (new non-chemical Clorox product). I really like this line. It smells good, it doesn't bleach stuff, and it gets the job done as well as other cleaners I've tried (for the most part). As I was scrubbing (without gloves, nice), I was thinking that someone could really make some money opening a 'Green' cleaning service that only uses eco-friendly products. The whole 'green' movement is so big right now, I bet you could make a killing in a neighborhood of yuppies (as my dad likes to call them) who want to do the in thing and be green, but want someone else to clean their house. I was thinking it could be called "Squeeky Green". I was sure I was about to become a millionaire, but as it turns out the catchy phrase is already being used by Target line, Method. Oh well. There go my millions (again).

I have another tub to scrub before Peanut wakes up from his nap, so I better go. Hope you had a great weekend. Oh, just realized I forgot to update you on my Saturday. Will do that tomorrow.

Luv, Laura

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Eeeew, Peas!

Well, over the span of a week, Parker has decided that he was mistakenly enthusiastic about eating peas. Chris tried to feed him some last night and he turned his head from side to side and got irritated. As it turns out, he was holding out for baby applesauce mixed with rice cereal. Can you blame him?

Parker and I enjoyed our relaxing weekend last week. We went to a cook-out with friends and had a play date with 1 year old neighbor, Holland. They were pretty funny together. Holland would pry toys out of Parker's hand, which he didn't seem to mind, and he would tug on the back of her shirt over and over, which she tolerated. :) Holland's mom, Ashley, and I enjoyed a glass of wine and some snacks.

We were all ready for Daddy to come home on Sunday (tired Mommy, neurotic Doggy, and full-of-energy Baby). Chris had a good trip, but was excited to be back home from San Francisco. He played two good shows, met some weird San Fran folks, and ate some delicious West Coast food.

...And then we all went back to work on Monday!

I have another Open House this weekend, but this one is going to be big! I have 11 families (32 people), coming to learn more about Brenau. I'm so excited that we received so many RSVP's for our first Prospective Student Open House!!! It almost makes me feel better about working all day Saturday... sigh.

More later...

Zombie Mommy

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Yummmmmm....Peas!

I just realized I forgot to mention that Parker started eating rice cereal a couple of weeks ago, which he loved, and this week he got to try his first real food... PEAS! I went to Whole Foods and got a bunch of organic baby foods for him to try. My book said to start with a vegetable, so he wouldn't get hooked on the sweet stuff right away (bananas, apples, etc.) and reject other stuff. Parker LOVED his peas!!! I couldn't shovel them in fast enough and he was grabbing the spoon and smearing peas all over the place. It was hilarious!

I had planned on waiting until Parker was 6 months old to introduce any foods like my breast feeding book suggests (yes, I'm still doing it and proud of it!), but Parker was getting hungrier and hungrier between feedings, reaching for our food, and is sprouting a tooth, which were all signs that it was a good time to go ahead and let him start trying some of the good stuff. Besides, he will be six months in two weeks (how is that possible!), so we weren't far off of the recommended time line. We introduce one food per week, so I'm excited to see what he thinks about sweet potatoes next week! Wahoo!

Chris is leaving tomorrow for yet another trip. This time to San Francisco where he will dj at a huge club that holds 2,000 people. I'm so jealous that he gets to go out to the West Coast without us. :( We will miss Daddy tons while he is gone, but Parker and I will enjoy having a relaxed weekend at home, with no company, and no big plans. Ahhhhhh.

In two weeks Gramma and Granpa Richert will be visiting from Oregon! Yippee! The last time they saw Parker was the first week of January, so they are in for a real surprise when they see their little grand-peanut. I'm so looking forward to spending time with Mom, going for daily walks with Dad, and having some nice family time all together. I have scheduled a 6-month photo shoot with a photographer here in Gainesville for that weekend so we can get some great Parker pics, and a few family shots.

Ok- I've got a phone interview to conduct in a moment, but wanted to update you on our latest adventures with food.

Love and Whirrled Peas,

Laura

Monday, April 14, 2008

I spy with my little eye...

...a teeny tiny fleck of tooth in Parker's little mouth!!! Oh boy, here we come teething! Hopefully it won't be too hard on my sweet Peanut. I'll write more about the weekend later, but wanted to share the news. Our little boy is growing up so fast!

Thursday, April 10, 2008