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

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!

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!:)

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!

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!

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!

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